11 Tales Of The Neworld - Performed By Stephanie Poppins

Persephone Strange has never had it easy.

For one thing,

She's a Wendel Witch and everyone hates Wendel Witches.

For another,

Sister Witch makes her do all the chores in their little fabric shop in the land of winter,

Which is very hard work and a thankless task.

So it's not long before Persephone changes her mind and runs away to East Cairn Keep.

Tales of the New World Today's story is set deep in the land of winter in a small fabric shop.

This shop is home to the Wendel Witches,

That band of spiteful ne'er-do-wells who can think of nothing worse than having to work for a living.

But work they must because the Lord of East Cairn Keep has spoken and when the Lord of East Cairn Keep speaks,

The folk in the land of winter have no choice but to listen.

Sister Witch eyed her cousin spitefully as she scratched uncomfortably at her long black locks.

Why was it whenever that nuisance came to visit she brought bad news?

Didn't she know there were tricks to be played and rules to be broken?

She had no time for such nonsense.

He wants more handkerchiefs,

More handkerchiefs.

Not likely,

She spat.

Who does he think I am,

A meadow master?

She swung her long arms about in defiance and Cousin Witch shrank back.

But they both knew the Lord of East Cairn Keep was on a short fuse after their last debacle and this time he would be taking no prisoners.

If he didn't get what he wanted,

They would be banished to the land of summer for good and they would rather die than live in the land of summer.

Summer folk were their enemies.

She looked out of the tiny leaded window.

It was snowing outside again.

Good.

But to her disgust,

The winter sun had caught the tops of the mountains and they were shimmering with delight.

Ugh.

She turned her back to face the darkened room.

What in lord world does that fool want more handkerchiefs for anyway?

The flower season,

Cousin Witch persisted.

Tomorrow night is his party,

Remember,

And the pollen makes everyone sneeze.

Turning her back on her cousin,

Sister Witch looked to her cauldron for answers.

Why couldn't she be mixing her new perfect power potion like she wanted to or go out foraging for more ragwort?

It just wasn't fair.

She didn't want this responsibility.

The Wendel witches were one of the oldest families in the winter lands.

How dare he dictate to them.

We don't have enough silk,

She hissed,

And the land is springs half a day away.

She dug in her heels.

Anything was better than toiling away for something she wasn't even invited to.

Are you sure,

Sister Witch?

Her cousin persisted.

His guard said he can't do without them.

Don't patronize me,

Sister Witch screamed something and her jaded eyes burned with indignation and went aware of how much silk I have.

She took a sneaky glance at her stock that sat in wooden boxes on the shelves lining the far wall.

These handkerchiefs had been woven with the silk of Mother Kramer's finest worms.

She'd been lucky to make that trade last trading day,

And they were precious to her.

She planned on keeping them for herself,

But by the look of this order,

Old Lordy McLordison wanted more than he'd ever asked for before.

Pink,

Green,

Blue,

Violet and orange.

It just wasn't fair.

She didn't have orange or blue.

How was she supposed to make those in such a short period of time?

Little Witch will just have to work twice as hard,

She said to herself defiantly.

She has the smallest clues for stitching,

And I,

The oldest and most beautiful of all the witches,

Cannot be put to such inconvenience under any circumstances.

What about Brother Witch,

Asked her cousin.

Can he help?

Brother Witch is at the Great Lake,

Said Sister Witch,

And anyhow he's as good as useless.

Little Witch it will have to be,

And besides Witch,

She has the nimblest fingers.

She screamed,

Persephone,

Come here,

You're wanted,

At the top of her voice,

And poking her curly head round the door,

The smallest Wendell Witch of all,

The one that had just been on hands and knees in the cupboard,

Stitching the hem of a particularly fine cloth,

Peered into the cauldron room for further instruction.

Cousin Witch looked at her with pity.

Sister Witch was a hard taskmaster,

There was no doubt about it,

But Persephone was the smallest and therefore must do as she was told.

Persephone,

How are you,

She asked,

Not really wanting to know the answer.

Enough of that,

Sister Witch yelled.

I have a job for you,

Little Witch,

A new order,

And it's to be done by the morning.

Persephone sighed.

She had hoped to be out on adventures with her best friend George,

But now it was just not to be.

What is it,

Sister Witch,

She asked,

In as calm a voice as she could muster.

She knew by the look in her sister's eye,

This conversation could go either way,

And being the black sheep of the family who was smaller,

Brighter and kinder than the others,

More often than not,

It went badly.

A new order,

Sister Witch stated.

Your cousin has the details.

Then she left for the kitchen,

Her long cloak trailing in her wake.

That night,

Persephone worked harder than she'd ever worked before.

Her nimble fingers were experts at working loom and her beady eyes preferred the dark,

For the dark meant peace,

And Persephone liked peace.

Then,

As the frosty air lit up once more with a new day,

She was back in the cauldron room,

Folding the handkerchiefs and packing them neatly into a wooden casket,

Ready to be sent to East Game Keep.

Sister Witch sat and watched her carefully,

But after hours of weaving,

Stitching and folding,

Persephone felt very tired and fell to her knees in a fainting fit.

I must stop for a rest,

She begged.

I'm weak and unable to carry on.

But Sister Witch would not let her rest even for a moment.

You'll rest when it's done,

She hissed impatiently.

This made Persephone see red.

Like her sister,

She had a stubborn streak and was now at the end of her tether.

Please,

Sister Witch,

I just need some air,

She begged.

I won't be long,

And I'll work twice as hard when I come back.

But Sister Witch still would not bend,

So she waited for her to go to the cupboard to collect the next batch for folding.

Then she ran to the cauldron to taste the perfect power potion that had been brewing all night.

Her sister might be a lazy good-for-nothing,

But she knew how to brew a potion alright.

And with a huge gulp,

Persephone dashed out of the door and down the front path as fast as she could.

She ran all morning,

Fuelled with the power of her sister's potion,

And as the midday light started to fade,

She reached the long-bored line surrounding East Game Keep.

It had been lit with small flames from torches set deep into its stones,

And there were clusters of roses peeping over the top in bursts of red and pink.

Everything was ready for the flower party,

Except her handkerchiefs.

I don't know what to tell the Lord,

She thought,

But I'll think of something when I've had a rest.

Then she laid down an exhausted heap,

And as she slept,

A cluster of fireflies shot out from within the heart of each tired rose to keep her warm.

We'll keep you cosy,

They hummed,

And when you awake,

You can help us in return.

Then they buzzed around her and covered her in a velvet blanket of softest leaves and warm undergrowth that they'd heated with their golden glow.

It didn't take long for Little Witch to gain her strength.

She arose,

Wondering what they had in mind for her to do.

But to her surprise,

The fireflies were nowhere to be seen,

Only two burly castle gardeners with thick mops of black feathery hair heading her way.

He's not going to be happy,

One moaned.

The rose has never been this tired,

Muttered the other.

Persephone looked up at the flowers peeping over the top of the wall.

They were closed up and pitiful looking.

What in the old world was the matter with them?

I can help,

She cried,

Eager to get the gardeners on her side.

After all,

She was empty-handed and needed all the allies she could get.

Your roses will fail if we don't do something fast.

Then what can you do?

Asked Gardener Number One.

You're a Wendel Witch and no one trusts Wendel Witches.

Then your roses will die before the party,

Persephone declared,

And the Lord will be furious with you.

As the gardeners left to discuss what they needed but didn't have time to think,

Little Witch thought long and hard about what she could do to help.

She was a generous soul and knew what it was like to be in trouble.

I might not belong with the other witches,

She said to herself,

But I am good for something.

I have nimble fingers and can fold faster than anyone else in this land.

And so without asking,

She did just that.

She folded each of the rosy petals as carefully as she could,

Tucking each one delicately into each other until they were so snug not even the most bitter of frost could get to them.

Then when at last the gardeners returned,

They found the roses had opened up to display the most rosy red,

Brightest petals they had ever seen.

How did you do it?

Cried Gardener Number One.

Whoever heard of a kind Wendel Witch?

Said Gardener Number Two.

They were overjoyed,

But they couldn't understand what miracle had happened to rescue them.

Then from out of the bushes came the fireflies who had been watching all along.

Little Witch has the nimblest fingers in the whole of the kingdom,

They sang.

She's rescued the Lord's prized flowers,

And now in return you must do something to help her.

The flower party at East Cairn Keep was a great success that night.

At first,

The Lord was cross at Persephone for attending when she wasn't invited.

But when he was told what miracle she'd performed with the roses,

And saw her beautiful workmanship on the handkerchiefs his birds had kindly collected for her,

He clapped his hands and declared Persephone could visit whenever she liked,

And that she would always be welcome with open arms at East Cairn Keep.

I hope you enjoyed this tale from the new world.

If you did,

Look out for my others.