Snaggletooth and the Happy Picnickers

Snaggletooth lived in the woods on the edge of a large, sunny field. The field was a favorite spot for picnickers, which just drove her wild with annoyance and frustration. From her small, dark house she would hear them laughing and shouting light-heartedly and it simply set her nerves on edge. Besides daily tasks like reciting spells and collecting snails, her main preoccupation in life was to keep picnickers out of the field and away from her house!

One bright summer day, there was a particularly rowdy, fun-loving group of children having a picnic lunch in the field. They sat on a blanket under a solitary shade tree, eating and laughing and teasing one another good-naturedly. Little did they know that nearby, a frustrated witch's nerves were about to explode.

Snaggletooth had been spending a quiet afternoon collecting mushrooms, snails and spiderwebs from the forest near her cottage. The close set trees blocked out most of the summer sunshine (which gave her a terrible headache) and there were few birds that dared to twitter within earshot of Snaggletooth. She walked along slowly, mumbling an off-key tune:

Hee ho, through the woods I go
Poking and snatching and scratching along
Hee ho, looking high and low
I'll cook up a spell that won't be wrong.

Her basket was almost full and she was nearly ready to turn towards home. Suddenly, all the hair on her arms stood straight up and she gave a terrible shiver. The light, happy laughter of a young girl penetrated the dark, close woods.

"Oh hahaha, oh my oh my, how funny!" heard Snaggletooth. And several other young voices answered with more laughter.

Snaggletooth pushed her pointed hat more firmly down on her head.

"Oh hahaha, you tell such good stories!!" heard Snaggletooth. And the other high, young voices chorused, "Yes, yes! Tell another!"

Snaggletooth wrapped her thick scarf more securely around her neck.

"Oh hahaha, I'd be delighted!" heard Snaggletooth. "Let me see...One day, in a kingdom far, far away..."

Snaggletooth pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders.

"There lived a beautiful princess, a brave knight, and an evil witch," said the young voice. And Snaggletooth realized that she was very near the edge of the woods. In fact, through the tress, she could see the picnickers in the field.

"I'll singe their fingernails and pull off their toes!" shouted Snaggletooth angrily. "They have ruined my afternoon!" And with that, she stomped off towards her cottage, thinking of revenge.

A short time later, Snaggletooth again neared the field. She carried several empty sacks and a thick cord of rope. At the edge of the woods, she peered at the picnickers from behind an old tree. They lay sleepily in the afternoon sunshine, napping after their lunch.

"Perfect," said Snaggletooth. "I'll grab them all in no time." She set out across the field with her sacks and rope in tow.

Within minutes, Snaggletooth had bundled and tied up all the children. She started back towards the woods, dragging them behind her. When she entered the woods, she picked up her pace. The bundles bounced wildly on the tree roots and Snaggletooth began to hear muffled cries of alarm.

"Ouch! Omph!"
"What's going on?"
"Hey what's happened?"
"That hurts!"

Snaggletooth was going at top speed now and could see the chimney of her cottage. Arriving home, she went around back, quickly shoved the bundled children into her storage shed, and locked the door.

"What do I do with them now?" she wondered.

"If I cook them all at once, I'll have far too many leftovers. But if I leave some in the shed, they'll drive me batty with their cries and complaints. If only there were more witches in the neighborhood, I could have a barbecue!"

"I know, I shall go ask Aunt Mildred for advice." With that, she headed deeper into the forest.

Inside the storage shed, the children were recovering from their bumpy ride through the woods.

"Where are we?" said Delia. She had a small hole in her sack and peeked through it with one eye. In the dim light, she saw many sacks piled up against the wall of the shed. There were several others lying crookedly on the floor nearby. She hopped herself over to one of them and gave it a nudge. "Who's there?"

"Ouch! It's me, you dimwit," said her brother Payton, the oldest boy of the bunch. "Help me out of here!"

"I can't. My hands and legs are tied up. I'm inside a sack just like you."

"Me too," said muffled voice. It was their brother Pierce.

Delia hopped towards him, but suddenly found herself lying on the floor. She had tripped over a very large sack that was making groaning sounds! She righted herself and peered through her small hole.

"Hello? Who is in this sack?" She poked at it with her elbow.

"It's us, Julia and Olivia. That nasty witch shoved us both in one sack!" All the bangs and bounces had knocked the twins out cold and they were just coming to.

"Where are we?" asked Delia again.

After a moment, Olivia said, "I woke up and got a look at her just as she shoved me in the sack. It was a witch! I told you all I had heard someone sneaking around in the woods earlier."

"A witch? Are you kidding?" said Payton. "There is no such thing."

"I saw her too," said Delia. "I have a little hole in my sack and I saw her pointy witch's hat when she shoved us in this shed."

Suddenly, Pierce asked, "Where's Chloe?" "Chloe, are you here?"

No answer.

"Oh no!" said Julia. "The witch is cooking Chloe!"

Pierce and Delia started to cry and the older children tried to comfort them.

"How could she be cooking Chloe?" reasoned Olivia. "I'm sure she hasn't even had time yet to get her fire started." She frowned at her sister.

For a long while, the children sat huddled together in the dark. They felt depressed and sad, thinking of their baby sister being stewed in a large pot by a mean witch. Then, they heard a scratching sound. Someone was trying to get into the shed!

"Maybe the witch lost her key," said Olivia.
"Maybe it's just a little mouse," said Pierce.
"Maybe it's a hungry wolf," said Payton.
"Maybe you're all imagining it," said Julia. "I don't hear a thing!"
"Maybe someone has come to rescue us," said Delia.

They waited with bated breath as the hole under the door got larger and larger. They could hear an animal breathing hard. Then, a small voice piped up: "It's me! Petunia and I are here to save you!"

Someone had come to rescue them - Chloe and their pig, Petunia, who was digging the hole! "Soon the hole will be big enough for you all to sneak out under the door," said little Chloe as she untied their sacks and ropes. "The witch is no where to be seen, but we have to be fast. She could be back at any moment."

One by one the children wiggled their way beneath the door of the shed. But when Payton was only half-way through, Delia shouted, "Ahhhh! Here she comes! RUUUUUN!!!"

Snaggletooth rounded the corner of the house and stopped dead in shock. How had the children escaped in such a short while? As the other children scattered, Snaggletooth made straight for Payton, still struggling to get out of the shed. He made a lunge away from her, but she caught his ankle and cackled, "Oh hahaha, thought you could escape, did you? You'll make a tasty shepard's pie!"

"You mean witch! I'm not afraid of you. Let me go!" And he gave her a sharp kick with his other foot.

"Ouch!" cried Snaggletooth, loosening her hold. Suddenly there was a rush of air and Snaggletooth found herself flat on the ground, the children holding down her arms and legs and Petunia's snout in her ear. The pig grabbed Snaggletooth's wide-brimmed witch's hat in her teeth.

"Give me my hat, you hambonebaconmeatporkyporker!" screamed Snaggletooth. Petunia just grinned.

Chloe ran over with the largest of the empty sacks and a long piece of rope. Snaggletooth kicked and jabbed, but the children tied her hands and feet and then shoved the sack over her head.

"See how you like it!" they cried as they pushed her into the dark shed. They slammed the shed door and piled it high with dirt and rocks. As they headed away from the witch's cottage and out of the woods, they heard Snaggletooth screech, "Just you wait, I'll get you all for this!"

At the edge of the field, they paused and looked back into the forest.

"We've made an enemy for sure," said Payton.

"And you didn't even believe in witches," said Oliva.

"She's no match for us," said Delia. "We must make a pact to protect one another against that snaggle-toothed witchy witch."

"And Petunia too," said little Chloe. "That snaggly tooth called her bacon meat!"

"Hurray for Chloe and Petunia!" cried the children. "Our heroes." And they headed home across the field.