The Witch at NO46
Verbrola
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Clair looked at Annette and then at Jackie. She could see only one way out of this. So Clair decided to put it to them. They would give Verbrola an envelope. It would be pink, with a second class stamp, and Jackie would write a name and address on it. Verbrola would never know the difference. That way, she got a pink envelope, we got a nice payoff, and the boys (especially Mathew) would never be any the wiser. It was a perfect plan. All they had to do was get the money to buy the envelope and stamp without the boys knowing. How hard could that be? They went back to the boys and told them they would have to search for the envelope. They did not say which of them had it. With that the three girls headed out of the garden. It was agreed that they should start by checking their homes to see if they might find what they needed. If that failed, they would ask their parents for money. None of them held out much hope for the success of that part of the plan, but it was worth a try. If all else failed they would resort to rummaging in the bins for discarded lemonade bottles. The shop paid three pence for each one returned. The search was on. They agreed to meet up in half an hour.
The Plan in Action
At Clair’s house things were quiet. Her Mum was in the kitchen. She was sat at the table surrounded by potatoes, carrots, pots, peeler, and a pile of skins on a piece of newspaper. This was a common sight when she was preparing food. Clair asked if there were any envelopes and stamps. She was told no, but there was some writing paper. It was the reply she had expected, as letter writing was not a big practise in her house, all the family lived near by. Clair sat at the table opposite her Mum. With her elbows on the table, she placed her chin in her cupped hands, and looked as sad and as fed up as she could. She waited for her Mum to notice. A few minutes passed and her Mum was up at sink washing the vegetables. Clair decided to try and move things along. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.
“What’s the matter love?” Her mother asked.
“Nothing just bored” replied Clair.
“Why don’t you go play with your friends?” Mum suggested.
“There’s no one out at the moment,” Clair lied.
She sighed again for good measure.
“Mum did you read the note I brought from school?
Her Mum looked over her shoulder.
“Sorry love, I don’t think I’ll be able to give you money for a ticket, but I can give you three pence to go the shop, you can get some jellies or something,” she said as she produced her coin purse from one if the pockets in the front of her floral dress. With a pleased and eager expression on her face, Clair stood up and stretched out her arm with the palm of her hand facing up. She watched with delight as her mother dropped the coins into her hand.
“Thanks Mum,” shouted Clair as she headed out the door.
Clair ran past Jackie’s grandmother’s house because her grandmother did not like people calling to the door. As she neared Annette’s house she could see Annette sitting on the wall by her gate. She did not look too happy.
“I got three pence,” Clair said with triumph.
“I got nothing, said Annette. Can you believe a house with no envelopes, no stamps, no money, and no lemonade bottles; I don’t know what my mother does with money.”
Just then Jackie came skipping along. She was smiling and waving a pink envelope.
“Look. I forgot I had bought two because I couldn’t decide which one I liked best. How lucky is that?”
“Lucky? Yes if you put a stamp on it at the same time? Because I could only get three pence and Annette got nothing,” said Clair.
“It’s not my fault,” said Annette sounding a little offended.
“Sorry,” said Jackie, I only intended to post one so I only got one stamp.”
“I guess that means the bin rummaging is down to me as I’m the only one who didn’t get anything,” said Annette in a sulky voice.
Jackie and Clair looked at each other. They had not intended for Annette to be the one who got the dirty job, but as she was kind of offering, they decided to go with it. Fifteen minutes later, Annette was, on her tip toes, bent at the waist, arms length into her filthy bin, with only one lemonade bottle to show for her efforts.
“What are you up to?”
It was Mathew. His mother had called him and sent him to the shop for butter. He was holding the pat of butter and the change in his hand. Jackie and Clair quickly responded.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that, you three have been gone for ages. What about the pink envelope? And what is she doing in there? He asked in a very accusing tone.
“We told you, nothing, she dropped something, that’s all.”
“She dropped something in the bin, and now she’s trying to get it back. Is that what you’re expecting me to believe?”
“Yes, said Jackie, you better hurry home I think your butter is going soft.”
Mathew looked down at the pat of butter.
“I’m going to take this home and then I’m coming straight back to find out what you are really up to,” Mathew said as he started to walk quickly away.
As Mathew made his way down the road he looked back over his shoulder at the girls. He knew they were up to something. Girls were always up to something. They always stuck together. They were always whispering, and giggling. Mathew did not really trust girls. They were a strange bunch. Especially Jackie, she was definitely weird. She looked and sounded like a girl, but played ball games like a boy, she always beat him. She gave him dead-arms all the time, but if he gave her one back, she cried like a girl. He pondered on what they might be doing. He decided he would go back the other way so as to sneak up on them. Then he would see what they were up to.
“Please hurry up Annette, if he comes back while we are still here we will never get rid of him,” said Jackie.
“I’m going as fast as I can. I almost have it.”
As soon as Annette retrieved the lemonade bottle they rushed out of sight to the next street. They just needed one more. As they turned the corner, Annette screeched with excitement;
“Look a bottle.” There lying by the edge of the path was a lemonade bottle. Suddenly Jackie screamed;
“Ah”; “There’s Mathew, he’s coming the other way. Quick get the bottle before he sees us,” said Jackie panicking.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
A small group of children meet after school each day to play on their street and in each others gardens. At the end of one of the gardens is a low wall. Beyond it, among the trees and bushes, the can make out a hut. The children believe that a witch lives there. They can also see a gate leading to an apple orchard. The children decide to steal some of the apples and so begins their adventure into secrets, spells, lies, and rewards.
About the Author
I come from Limerick in Ireland and as a child I spent many happy hours playing with my friend on our street and in my sisters back garden. My story started there on a summer afternoon. As a mother of two I have over the years read many books to my children. I occasionaly made up stories for my daughter. She seemed to enjoy them and sometimes ask me to repeat them. This was a problem as I never wrote them down In 2007 I was told that I was cronicaly ill and would have to under-go a rather sevear treatment. In 2010, my husband and children moved to NewZealand and I stayed in London and moved into a registored nursing home to undergo my treatment. While there I found that I was missing my kids so much I wanted to find ways to keep connected to them. I desided to write a short story for my then eight year old boy. The original five page story seemed to grew. My treatment did not work so my decision to publish was mainly to give a special and lasting gift to my young boy Alexander before my illness catches up with me.