Mr Rabbit & Mr Wolf - The Witch

Once upon a time Mr Wolf woke up in the morning feeling very excited. He jumped out of bed quickly and put on his outdoor clothes. He had a quick breakfast and then wandered over to Mr Rabbit’s house next door.

‘Good morning Mr Rabbit,’ he said happily.

‘What’s good about it?’ inquired Mr Rabbit. ‘Today is going to be a bad day for me.’

‘Why?’ asked Mr Wolf. ‘It is a wonderful day outside. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the air is fresh, and ..…..’ Mr Wolf paused for a minute. ‘There are mushrooms to be picked,’ he said in a rush.

‘Bugger the mushrooms,’ grumbled Mr Rabbit. ‘I have to go over to my sister’s house and look after her ten children. She has to go and see a doctor in town and she cannot take the children with her so I have been volunteered against my will. Very naughty children,’ added Mr Rabbit with a shudder.

‘So you cannot come with me to pick mushrooms?’ asked Mr Wolf in disappointment.

‘I am sorry Mr Wolf but I cannot go with you. I wish I could but my sister is waiting.’

And Mr Rabbit rushed off to his sister’s house.

‘Oh well, I will go by myself then,’ Mr Wolf told himself.

He picked up a big basket from his house to put the mushrooms in and he set off into the woods.

He knew the way as he had been there many times before. It did not take him long to arrive at his secret spot, a clearing in the middle of the woods where hundreds of mushrooms grew to a wonderful size.

Mr Wolf licked his lips, thinking of the many different ways mushrooms could be cooked. He knew them all as he was absolutely crazy about mushrooms. There were going to be some scrumptious meals coming up in the Wolf household.

Imagine his surprise when he saw an old woman in the clearing picking his mushrooms. True, there were heaps of mushrooms, more than enough for ten people, but Mr Wolf thought of this place as his place, these mushrooms as his mushrooms. To say that he was upset was putting it mildly.

‘Hey you,’ Mr Wolf shouted. ‘What are you doing with my mushrooms? Leave them alone.’

The old woman stood up and slowly turned and looked at Mr Wolf. Mr Wolf took a step back in surprise.

‘Oh my, she is ugly,’ he thought to himself. She had a very long pointed nose with a big wart on its tip. She also had a long pointed chin and he saw black teeth when she opened her mouth to speak.

‘The mushrooms belong to everybody,’ said the old woman in a soft voice. ‘You cannot stop me from picking them. Besides, there are plenty of them, more than enough, even for you.’

But Mr Wolf was angry and when you are angry you should be careful what you say. Without thinking Mr Wolf said angrily, ‘Go away, you ugly old woman. The mushrooms are all mine and you cannot have any.’

Then the old woman became angry too and said to him, ‘I am ugly am I? Let us see what you look like.’ She took out a wand and pointing it at Mr Wolf she said, ‘I am a witch and I am going to turn you into a toadstool.’ (A toadstool is a very ugly, poisonous type of mushroom)

“ Higglidy, pigglidy, let this fool
Be turned forever into a toadstool. “

But Mr Wolf did not wait for the witch’s spell to hit him. He ran away as fast as he could, and boy could he run fast, especially when he heard the old witch cackle and laugh at him. ‘Come back Mr Wolf. Don’t you want to chat any more? Come and pick some mushrooms.’

Mr Wolf kept on running until he arrived home and when Mr Rabbit came that night for a visit he was very quiet. He never went back to the woods for mushrooms. When he really, really felt like mushrooms he bought them from the shop in the village.

And every time he saw an old woman walking his way he would turn around and run back the way he had come. Poor Mr Wolf. He learnt his lesson. Do not mess around with witches. But was she really a witch or just an old woman getting back at him for yelling at her? Mr Wolf never found out.