Whose House?

Once a little girl, named Lauralea, was walking through the woods when she passed an old house with the door open and, curious to know who lived in the old house she opened the door and went inside to look about.

Suddenly, from behind her, she heard a deep voice,

“Whose house do you think this is?”, it said.

Turning round with a fright, to her relief she saw that the voice only belonged to an old owl who was perched upon a window sill.

“Umm..I don’t know”, she replied.

“Well then, look around”, said the owl, “Can’t you see any clues in this room?”.

The little girl looked around and she saw, in a corner of the room, an old broom.

“Well”, she said, “A broom is used for cleaning. Perhaps this is a cleaner’s house”.

“No”, said the owl, chuckling, “It’s not a cleaner’s house. Guess again”.

So the little girl looked around the room again and, in another corner of the room, she saw a big black cooking pot.

“Well”, she said, “A cooking pot is used for cooking so perhaps this is a cook’s house”.

“No, no”, said the owl shaking its feathered head from side to side, “It’s not a cooks house. Guess again. Guess again”.

And so the little girl looked around again and she saw, sitting upon a table, a big old dusty book.

“Well”, she said, “A book is used for teaching so perhaps it is a teacher’s house”.

“No, No, No”, said the Owl, “It is not a teacher’s house either”.

“Then whose house is it?”, asked the little girl.

“Why, it’s a witch’s house of course”, said the owl, “The broom is her magic flying broom; the cooking pot is her magic cauldron for mixing up potions and the old dusty book is her book of spells”.

But just then, from outside the house, the little girl heard footsteps coming closer and, peering out from behind a curtain she saw an old woman in a long black cape with a tall, pointy hat walking towards the house.

“Oh no”, said the little girl, “It is a witch’s house and she’s coming home”.

And, frantically looking round about her, the little girl, because she could not think of where else to hide, hid inside the big cooking pot.

But, just then, she heard the door of the house creak open and the old witch enter.

“Hello old owl”, said the witch to the owl, “Has anyone come into my house while I was away?”.

“Why yes”, said the owl, “A little girl came to the house”.

“Oh”, said the old witch chuckling, “And did she go away again?”.

“Why no”, said the owl, “She is still in the house. In fact, she is hiding in this very room”.

“Oh hiding, is she?”, said the witch, “Well. I wonder where she can be hiding?”.

And, first the witch looked in the corner of the room where her old broom was but she couldn’t see the girl there.

“Well, she’s not in the corner where I put my broom”, she said.

And so she looked under the table upon which the old dusty book of spells was sitting but the girl was not hiding there either.

“And she’s not under the table where I keep my book of spells”, said the witch.

And so the witch went to the only other place in the room where the little girl could be hiding, inside her cooking pot.

But, just as she was about to look inside the cooking pot, the little girl leapt out and ran to the door shouting.

“No, no, no. Leave me alone, wicked old witch!”, she shouted in a frightened voice, “Don’t eat me!”.

“Just a minute! Just a minute!”, replied the old witch, “Who said that I was a wicked witch or that I wanted to eat you?”.

“But all witches are wicked”, said the little girl, cowering in a corner next to the broom.

“Oh, that’s not true at all”, said the witch cheerily, “Some witches are very nice and I happen to be one of the nice kind”.

And, saying this, the old witch took off her pointy hat and, waving her hand in a circle over its brim, she lifted out a little furry kitten and held it out to the little girl,

“There now. Would a wicked witch give you a little kitten?”.

The little girl thought for a moment,

“Well, I suppose not”, she said, taking the kitten and hugging it as it licked her nose.

Then the old witch, who said that her name was Broomella, invited the little girl to stay and have some tea and cake with her and, when she had poured out two cups of tea and cut two slices of chocolate sponge cake with fresh cream and cherry flavoured jam, they both had a very long and very pleasant chat and then Broomella flew the little girl home upon her magic broom.

“Please visit my house any time”, said the old woman raising her pointy hat before flying away on her broom.

“I will”, said Lauralea, waving goodbye to the witch and hugging her kitten before taking it into her house.

And, from that day on the little girl and the old witch became the very best of friends.