Gretel and the Witch

         “Gretel, child, come in here.”  The decrepit form of a witch licked her fingers as she finished the last of a very satisfying meal.

         A young girl, her face pink and splotchy from days of crying, entered the kitchen of the house.  Her eyes gleamed with the residue of tears, and she felt fresh moisture being brought forth when she gazed upon the platter of bones on the table.

         The witch quickly reprimanded Gretel for the absurd behavior.  “There will be no more tears in this house, young lady.”

         “Yes ma’am,” Gretel replied, wiping away the new tears.

         “Now,” the witch started, “today we will begin your lessons.”

         Gretel cleared away the remnants of her brother from the table and the witch invited her to sit down.  “You see, I need to find someone to carry on my work here in the forest after I am gone.  Your step-mother, being my daughter and devoid of powers, sent you and Hansel to me so that I may choose between the two of you.  I have made my decision, and you will be the one to succeed me.”

         Gretel looked to the witch with pure confusion.  “Why did you eat my brother?”  She choked on the words as she uttered them.

         The witch cocked her head.  Her nose was prodigious and long, a large brown wart stuck to the end of it.  Her face was covered in wrinkles and age spots, her body frail and bony.  The woman looked as if she would perish at any moment.  Then Gretel saw the change. 

         A glimmer appeared in the witch’s eyes and for a moment Gretel thought she saw Hansel there.  There was a flicker when Gretel blinked and without warning the gross old woman’s face shifted.  No longer was she emaciated or ugly.  The witch had transformed into a beautiful young woman with fresh tight skin and a button of a nose.  Her eyes cried youthfulness and scorn.

         Gretel gasped at the alteration and was awed at the beauty of the witch.  “I have taken your brother’s youth so that I may live long enough to teach you all that I know.”

         Gretel had no words for the witch.  She knew that she would be given a great gift from this hermit in the woods.  She was hooked, and Gretel wanted to know everything the witch knew.  Her brother was fed to the wolves and quickly forgotten; Gretel would become a witch.

         The witch trained her hard, cramming the girl’s head with a number of spells and potion recipes.  Gretel absorbed it all, and as she learned more and more, she noticed that the graceful beauty was slowly being drained from the witch.  The grossly obtuse nose was returning and hard creases formed under the witch’s eyes and on her forehead. 

         It was a month before Gretel was tested on her new powers.  The witch was again walking stooped over and often used her cane.  “Now, child, show me what you have learned.”

         The witch pointed to a wolf that had strayed too close to the gingerbread house.  It growled at Gretel and the witch and bared its teeth in disgust.  “This wolf ate the bones of your brother.  Take your revenge upon it.  Use whatever spell you wish, only make sure it is no longer a living, breathing wolf.”

         Gretel took a deep breath and closed her eyes to compose herself.  She formed and image in her mind of what she wanted to do to the wolf.  She clamped her eyes tighter, blocking out all light.  She body shook lightly as she pointed her finger at the lupine. 

         “Yes child!  Concentrate!”  The witch was screaming as she watched the beast’s fur begin to fall out.

         The hag’s eyes widened as she realized exactly what was going on.  The wolf leapt into the air, transforming as it dove for the witch.  Paws stretched and reformed, becoming hands.  Fur became skin, the shaggy tail disappeared and the yellow-green eyes of the creature became a vivid blue.

         “No!” the witch screamed when the wolf-man landed on top of her.  “Gretel, what have you done?”

         The face of the wolf had turned boyish, although the snout and angular teeth remained.  The wolf-man growled again and bit into the old woman’s naugahyde flesh.  The witch choked on her blood as it came pouring out of her mouth and nose. 

         “I taught you!” the witch spat.  “I took you in and gave you the power to control all.  How could you do this?”

         Gretel stood over the dying woman, a grin of evil spreading across her face.  “You ate my brother.”

         The witch took her last breath and then lay motionless on the forest floor.  The wolf-man had finished his transformation and he shook off the last of his brown fur.  Hansel and Gretel stared down at the witch’s body.  It began to smoke and was reduced to a pile of ash. 

         “Its good to have you back,” Gretel said looking to Hansel.

         “Its good to be back,” Hansel replied. 

         “So, what now?”  Gretel scooped up a pile of the witch’s ashes and scattered them about.

         “I say we go get that evil woman that cast us out of our home.”

         Gretel agreed.  Hansel again took the form of a wolf and began to sniff the ground for clues as to which direction they should travel.  His ears perked up as he found a scent.

         “Revenge is a dish best served when you have the power to change the ingredients,” Gretel said as she followed Hansel’s tracking.  Hansel howled in agreement and they started off sown the path to fix the wrong that had been done to them. 



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