The Tale of a Witch

Long ago, in a crooked little house at the edge of a dark forest, there lived a witch named Griselda. She wasn’t the scariest witch in the world—her spells often went wrong.

Once, she tried to turn a pumpkin into a carriage, but it hopped away like a giant orange frog. Another time, she tried to summon a thunderstorm and only got drizzle.

 But there was one thing Griselda was very good at: scaring children who wandered too close to the forest. She didn’t want to hurt them—oh no!—but she wanted to teach them not to wander alone.

So, she would make owls hoot extra loud, bats swoop low, and trees creak like groaning giants. One Halloween night, a group of curious kids tiptoed into the forest, giggling and daring each other to get closer to Griselda’s house. Suddenly, the wind howled, the shadows stretched long, and a voice whispered, “Who dares disturb my forest?”

The children shrieked and ran back to the village, never to wander alone again. When they looked back, they thought they saw Griselda in the moonlight, flying high on her broomstick. Was it real, or just their imagination? No one ever found out.

 Moral: Sometimes fear keeps us safe. Respect warnings, and be careful where curiosity leads you.