The Would-Be Witch

by Ruth Chew

  “No,” the old woman said. “One thing I really must have is a cat. If you want to visit Pearl you might come in and mind the store for me this afternoon. I have to be out between four and five o’clock.”

  Robin thought for a minute.

  “Meow!” Pearl jumped down from her perch by the cash register and ran to rub against Robin’s leg.

  “I’ll come,” Robin said.

  Andy was listening. “What about me?”

  Zelda looked at him hard. “Just don’t sell anything to anybody. Find out what they want, and tell them I’ll be back later. Good-bye now. I’ll expect both of you at four o’clock.”

  The two children ran all the way home. Their father was in the living room watching a football game on television. Robin and Andy went into the dining room. The door of the breakfront was open about two inches. The little silver birds were gone.

  “What will Mother say?” Robin said.

  “What would she say if she saw the live birds?” Andy answered. “It’s better this way.”

  Robin went into the kitchen. The silver birds were sitting on the table. The one who had been a salt shaker looked up and gave a hungry little cheep.

  Robin remembered that her mother kept a big bag of birdseed in the basement laundry room. She used it to fill the bird feeder in the back yard. Robin found a pie pan in one of the drawers of the sink cabinet. Then she went down the back stairs to get some seed.

  When she came back to the kitchen Andy had filled the sink with water. The silver birds were splashing in it.

  Robin put the pan of birdseed in the middle of the kitchen table. “Here, Salt. Here, Pepper,” she called.

  Salt hopped onto the sink top and shook himself like a puppy dog. Then he flew to the table to peck at the birdseed. Pepper took time to smooth her feathers with her beak before she joined the other bird. Both birds dropped the shells from the seed all over the table and the floor.

  Andy watched them. “They’re a messy pair,” he said. “We’ll have to sweep the room when they’re finished.”

  Robin expected the birds to go back into the breakfront when they were done with their meal. Instead they flew up into the air and winged their way through the house to the front hall. Then they flew upstairs.

  “What do you suppose they’re up to?” Robin said.

  Andy ran up the stairs after the birds. Robin followed him. She found her brother in the upstairs hall. He was moving his head round and round as he watched the birds fly from room to room. “They keep going back to your room, Rob.”

  Robin went into her bedroom. She had left the door of her closet open. The birds flew into the closet. Robin’s Easter basket was in the corner of the high shelf in the closet. There was still some purple Easter grass left from last year in the basket.

  Salt and Pepper were excited. They flew around picking bits of fluff off the blankets.

  “What do they want that stuff for?” Robin asked.

  “Take a look in the closet, Rob,” Andy said. “Those crazy birds are building a nest in your Easter basket.”

  During the early part of the afternoon Robin and Andy were busy cleaning up the kitchen after the birds. Robin took the pan of birdseed up to her room and set it on the shelf in her closet. She put an old raggedy wool sweater on her bed. The wool was just what Salt and Pepper wanted for their nest. They flew onto the bed and began to try to unravel the sweater. Robin sneaked out of the room and closed the door.

  It was just four o’clock when the children got back to Zelda’s. The old woman was waiting for them at the door. “I was afraid you weren’t coming,” she said.

  “Meow.” The fluffy little cat came running to the door.

  Zelda leaned over and grabbed the cat. “Pearl always tries to sneak out whenever the door is opened.” She handed the cat to Andy. “Hang onto her.”

  The old woman went to the back of the store. She took a long black cloak down from a peg and put it on. Then she stood on a chair to get a large hatbox off a high shelf. She opened the box and looked into it. “I hope you like my new hat.” She took out a wide-brimmed hat with a tall pointed crown.

  When Zelda put on the hat Andy said, “You look just like a witch in that get-up.”

  Zelda giggled. “Do I? Well, I must hurry. Now remember, don’t sell anything. I’ll be back at five o’clock.” She walked to the door. Before she opened it she turned and pointed her long bony finger at the cat. “Now, you, Pearl, behave yourself!”

  When the old woman was gone, Robin took off her jacket. She fished something out of the pocket and then went to hang up the jacket. She walked over to the shelf at the back of the store where Zelda had put the tray with the pieces of broken teapot.

  Andy hung up his jacket. He turned and saw what Robin had in her hand. “Rob, what are you going to do? That’s the magic polish!”

  “I thought it might mend the teapot Pearl broke,” Robin said. “The label says it works wonders with china.”

  Andy ran to look at the bits of china on the brass tray. “Rob, look! It’s already mended!”

  Robin went to see. A blue and white teapot was on the tray.

  “She did a neat job,” Andy said. “You can’t see the cracks.”

  Robin stared at the teapot. It looked as if it had never been broken.

  “You know what I think, Rob.” Andy lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think Zelda is a witch.”

  “Maybe,” Robin said. She looked at the floor. It was thick with dust. “She’s messy enough to be one,” she said. “I wonder where Zelda keeps her broom.” She put the jar of polish on the tray beside the teapot and began to look for the broom.

  The cat Pearl followed Robin wherever she went in the store. Once Robin almost stepped on her. Robin looked in all the corners and behind the counter. At last she saw the broom. It was wedged between one of the cabinets and the wall. Robin reached behind the cabinet to get it. The cat jumped onto her shoulder. “Stop it, Pearl!”

  Pearl rubbed against Robin’s neck and licked her ear with her rough pink tongue.

  The bell over the door jangled. The fat lady in the pink hat walked into the store. “I can’t find a decent teapot anywhere,” she said. “Where’s Zelda?”

  Andy picked up the blue and white teapot. “Zelda’s gone out. She’ll be back at five o’clock.”

  The lady walked over to Andy. Before he could stop her she took the teapot out of his hands and handed him a five-dollar bill. “Give this to Zelda.”

  “Zelda said we mustn’t sell anything while she’s out,” Andy said.

  “I don’t have time to argue. The guests for my tea party will be arriving any minute.” The lady started for the door.

  Robin ran after her. The cat was still on her shoulder. “Please, don’t take the teapot. Zelda will be angry with us!”

  “Just be sure you give her the money,” the lady in the pink hat said. She opened the door and went out.

  Robin went back to get the broom. “I can’t reach it.”

  Andy grabbed the corner of the cabinet. “Help me pull this away from the wall.”

  Together the children moved the heavy cabinet. Andy squeezed behind it to get the broom. Something small and furry ran between his legs and raced across the dusty floor. It was a mouse which had been hiding behind the cabinet.

  The cat jumped off Robin’s shoulder and ran after the mouse. Round and round the little store they went. Pearl knocked over a silver candlestick and spilled a dish of seashells. She upset a vase of fake flowers.

  The mouse ran up the chains of the old clock. Pearl tried to follow her. Robin grabbed the clock and held it steady. Then she picked up the fluffy little cat and put her on a high stool in the corner. “Leave the mouse alone, Pearl.”

  The cat sat down and began to clean herself.

  “I wonder why Zelda won’t give Pearl to us,” Robin said. “She’s a terrible cat to have in a store like this.”

  Robin collected the fake flowers and stuck them in the vase.
She put the seashells back into their dish.

  The broom was very old and raggedy. “It doesn’t look much good,” Andy said. “Zelda ought to get a new one.” He started to sweep the floor.

  A cloud of dust began to rise. Andy coughed and sneezed.

  Robin opened the shop door to get a little air. “This is awful,” she said. “I read a story once about a broom that swept by itself.” Robin had an idea. She put her hand over her nose and mouth and ran through the cloud of dust to where she had left the magic polish on the brass tray. “Bring the broom here, Andy.”

  Robin unscrewed the lid and dipped her fingers into the jar. She smeared a little pink polish onto the broom handle.

  “Sweep!” Robin said to the broom. The broom began to sweep the floor.

  “Get your jacket, Andy.” Robin took hers down from the peg and put it on. “We can wait outside until the dust clears.”

  Robin and Andy had to dodge the busy broom as they went to the door of the shop. Robin opened the door just wide enough for them to squeeze out. The two children stood outside the store and looked through the glass door to watch the broom work. It swept all around the store and gathered the dust into a pile.

  “It needs a dustpan,” Robin said. “And Zelda doesn’t have one.”

  “I’ll go home and get ours.” Andy ran down Church Avenue and turned the corner onto the street where he and Robin lived. Robin went on watching the broom. It was still sweeping. The dust was piled in a mound in the center of the floor. Robin remembered the rest of the story about the broom that swept by itself. The boy who used it couldn’t stop it sweeping. Robin wondered if she would have the same trouble.

  When Andy came back with the dustpan the children took it into the store. The broom at once swept dust into the pan. When it was full Robin took the pan outside to dump the dust into the gutter. Then she brought it back for another load. After she had made three trips with the dustpan there was still dust in a pile on the floor.

  “Rob,” Andy said, “you’re doing it the hard way.” He opened the jar of magic polish and smeared a little on the dustpan. “Do your job, Pan,” Andy said.

  The dustpan gave a little shake. It flew over to the pile of dust. The broom swept a load onto it. Andy held the door open, and the pan sailed out to dump the dust into the gutter.

  A lady with a baby carriage was walking down the sidewalk. She ducked when the dustpan came flying out the door of the little antiques store. The lady put the brake on her carriage and walked into the store. She was angry. “Who threw that dustpan? It nearly hit my baby.”

  Just then the empty dustpan swooped back into the store. Robin grabbed it. “Rest for a minute,” she whispered to the dustpan. It stayed still in her hands.

  The lady turned to see who had thrown the dustpan back into the store. While her back was turned, Andy grabbed the broom. The broom jiggled, but Andy held onto it.

  The lady glared at the children. “Be careful what you’re doing.” She went out of the store and pushed her carriage away down the sidewalk.

  Andy wrapped his legs around the broom. It flew about a foot up from the floor and took a turn around the shop. Robin watched it. “That broom seems to be better at flying than sweeping.”

  “Of course, Rob,” Andy said. “That must be what Zelda uses it for.”

  “Meow!” The fluffy little white cat was still sitting on the high stool in the corner of the store.

  Robin put down the dustpan and went to pick up the cat. “No wonder you don’t like it here, Pearl. You’re not at all the type to be a witch’s cat.”

  “Talking of witches,” Andy said, “Zelda ought to be here pretty soon.” He jumped off the broom. “Back to your corner, Broom!”

  The broom dropped to the floor and slowly shuffled to its place behind the cabinet.

  “I’m glad this broom does what it’s told,” Robin said.

  It was nearly five o’clock. Robin set Pearl on the floor and helped Andy shove the cabinet closer to the wall. Then she put the jar of magic polish into her jacket pocket.

  Robin began to wonder what the witch would do when she found they’d sold the teapot. She looked around the little store at the china lady and the plaster frog, the glass alligator, and the hound dog. Maybe they were once alive! Was Pearl afraid Zelda would turn her into a china cat? Robin could just imagine Andy made of wood like the turtle. Suddenly the back of her neck felt prickly. And she was cold all over. Robin shivered.

  The bell over the door jangled. Zelda walked into the store. “Did I have any customers?” she asked the children.

  Robin looked up into the old woman’s green eyes. She took a deep breath. “Only one,” she said. “The lady in the pink hat came back for the teapot.”

  Andy handed Zelda the five-dollar bill. “She gave me this to pay for it.”

  Zelda took the money.

  Robin wanted to run out of the store before the witch could do anything to her. But she was too frightened to move.

  Andy picked up the dustpan. “We cleaned up the store a bit.”

  Zelda looked at what was left of the pile of dust in the middle of her floor. “Thank you,” she said. “That was kind of you.”

  She was still wearing the long cape and the funny pointed hat. There was a round mirror with a curly frame on the wall beside the old clock. Zelda went to look at herself in it. She sighed and took off her hat.

  Andy walked to the door. “Good-bye, Zelda.”

  “Good-bye.” Robin turned to look at the witch. Zelda was still holding her hat. Slowly the old woman took off her cape and went to put the hat away in its box.

  Robin and Andy left the store. They walked to the corner. When they turned onto their own street Robin started to run. Andy chased after her. They didn’t stop running until they came to their own house.

  Robin rushed up the front steps and rang the bell. She had to ring three times before her father answered it.

  The football game on television was still going on.

  “Robin, have you seen that jar of silver polish I had this morning?” Mrs. Gates was looking into the breakfront in the dining room. “Now what could I have done with the salt and pepper shakers?”

  Robin went to get the magic polish out of her jacket pocket. She handed it to her mother.

  Mr. Gates turned off the television set in the living room and walked into the dining room. He laughed when he saw the jar of polish. “Read the label on that stuff. It claims to clean everything from wood to plastic.”

  Mrs. Gates looked at the label in silence. Then she opened the jar. “Robin, this stuff is half gone! And the label says, ‘Keep out of the reach of children’!” Mrs. Gates put the jar in her apron pocket. “I hope you and Andy didn’t eat this.”

  Andy was in the kitchen. He came into the dining room. “Of course not, Mom. We took it to Zelda’s to work on some of the things in her store.”

  Mrs. Gates looked at the bread and peanut butter in Andy’s hand. “You’ll spoil your supper,” she said.

  Robin ran upstairs before her mother could ask her any more questions. She wanted to see what the birds were doing.

  The door to her bedroom was still closed. Robin opened it just wide enough to slip through. Then she closed it behind her. She turned on the light. She didn’t see the birds.

  Robin looked in the closet. The pan on the shelf was empty. The shells from the birdseed were scattered on the floor of the closet.

  Then Robin saw Salt. He was perched on the end of her clothes pole near the wall. His head was tucked under his silvery wing.

  Robin went to get her desk chair. She put it in the closet and stood on it to peek into the Easter basket. In the basket was a nest. It was woven of the yarn from her old sweater together with the purple Easter grass, a tassel pulled from Robin’s bedspread, two hair ribbons, and some ice cream pop sticks Robin was saving. The birds had lined the nest with blanket fluff. Pepper was sitting on the nest. She opened a sleepy eye and looked at Robin.

&nbs
p; Robin heard her bedroom door open. She jumped down from the chair.

  “It’s only me, Rob.” Andy shut the door. He walked over to the closet. “Mom says she’s locking up the magic polish so we won’t get into it.” Andy saw the chair. “Did you get a look at the nest?”

  Robin nodded.

  Andy climbed up on the chair. He had to stand on tiptoe to see into the Easter basket. When he saw Pepper, Andy reached up and lifted the little bird out of the nest.

  “Oh,” Robin said. “Don’t!”

  Salt took his head out from under his wing. When he saw what Andy was doing he flew off the clothes pole and pecked at him.

  Andy stretched as tall as he could and looked over the rim of the Easter basket. He whistled.

  “What is it?” Robin asked.

  “See for yourself.” Andy moved over on the chair. Robin climbed up beside him and looked into the nest.

  Side by side were two little silver eggs.

  Andy put Pepper back on the nest. She settled down over the eggs. Salt flew back to his perch on the clothes pole. Robin took the chair out of the closet and closed the closet door.

  The two children went downstairs for supper.

  Robin was quiet during most of the meal. When it was time for dessert, she said, “Mother, is there really such a thing as a witch?”

  Mrs. Gates smiled. “Nowadays, there’s a fad for witchcraft. People like to call themselves witches. They join clubs and have secret meetings and claim to have magic powers. It’s all pretty silly.”

  “Can they do magic?” Andy asked.

  “Not really,” his mother said.

  Mr. Gates put down his spoon. “Magic is like everything else. If you believe it, it’s true for you. Not for anybody else, just for you.”

  Mrs. Gates was thinking. She finished her Jello. Then she said, “Some people make other people believe that they can do magic things.”

  “But what about flying brooms?” Andy persisted.