2 The Witch of Bogburp

CHAPTER 2

The Witch of Bogburp The royal trumpets trilled. The king and queen looked at each other in surprise. "Who could be at the door on a day like this?" questioned the king. Stefan, one of the king's men, entered the throne room. "Your Majesty, the Witch of Bogburp wishes to see you," he said as he bowed slightly.

The king frowned. He hadn't seen the Witch of Bogburp in years, and for good reason. She used to be the king's adviser, and although she had meant well, she had made a lot of terrible mistakes. One time the witch had offered to make the king's apples the sweetest in the entire kingdom. The king loved apples and gave his

permission. The witch sprinkled magical plant food on the trees, but instead of making delicious apples, the trees withered and died. Another time the king had wanted a sweet, cuddly kitten. The witch brought him a beautiful white kitten with golden eyes. The cat hissed and spat whenever it saw the king. To make matters worse, it disobeyed all the rules. The king named the cat Mischief because she always got into trouble. She knocked over the queen's perfume collection and smashed all the bottles. Then she fell down the garderobe—the palace toilet—and

was flushed into the moat. Stefan had to fish her out and give her a bath. If that wasn't enough, the witch had given the king a special blond tonic to cover a few gray hairs. But instead of covering the gray, it had made his hair fall out! Luckily, the king's hair had grown back, but his friendship with the witch had not. She was no longer welcome at the castle, nor anywhere else on the castle

grounds. She had been banished to her tree house in Bogburp. Yet here she was, knocking at the door. The king was about to send the witch away when the queen said, "Perhaps she's changed, Caleb. Let's hear what she has to say."