Chapter 3

Chapter THREE Carlotta and I stared at each other in horror as broken crystal tinkled on the patio below. 'Oh my stars, oh my stars!' said Carlotta, running over to the window. 'Did you forget that crystal balls can be used as telephones, Mirabelle?' 'I thought you had to say a number

spell to call someone!' I wailed. 'No!' cried Carlotta. 'This is the Witch-Twitch-Supreme! You can have people on speed dial! That was my cousin Agnes! Oh, I hope she doesn't tell Edith...' Carlotta looked close to tears, and I felt so incredibly guilty that I wished I could disappear in a puff of frog glitter. 'I'm so sorry, Carlotta. I didn't mean to drop it! When that face appeared, it just slipped out of my fingers! Maybe we can fix it... Have you got any glue? Edith might never notice!' 'She will notice!' said Carlotta. 'But maybe we could glue it back together, so

she might think she cracked it herself. Come on, let's fetch the pieces. We ran downstairs and out into the garden, where the crystal ball lay in shards across the patio. Hurriedly, we scooped them up into a wicker basket and carried it into the house.

'Hello, girls!' said Mrs Cobweb as we passed her in the kitchen. 'What are you up to?' 'Umm,' said Carlotta, whipping the basket behind her back, 'we thought we'd do some gluing and sticking.' 'Crafting!' I squeaked.

We bolted out of the room and up the stairs to Carlotta's bedroom, where she tipped the shards onto the floor. We tried our best to piece it back together. 'I think it looks OK,' said Carlotta as she held the completed ball up to the light. 'Apart from all the cracks...'

'Mmm,' I hummed doubtfully. 'Well, there's nothing else to do,' said Carlotta. 'Let's just hope Edith doesn't notice!' 'Yes,' I agreed, my insides twisting with guilt. I knew deep down that what we were doing was wrong. Downstairs, the front door banged open. 'Edith's back!' Carlotta hissed. 'I need to put it back in her bedroom!' Carlotta disappeared and returned a few moments later looking flustered. 'Done!' she said, just as we began to hear Edith's boots climbing the stairs. We sat listening, as still and quiet as mice.