Taggie's Remedies

By Suzi Macdonald

Taggie Tweedle is nine years old, and loves to help her mother, Emmie, make the potions they sell in their shop. When she is nine years old, Taggie meets a new friend and, through her, discovers that Emmie has a secret past. But an old adversary has returned to the village with a score to settle... and magic is involved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suzi Macdonald
• Release date: Sep 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301833009

Suzi Macdonald

I am an independent writer living in Fife in Scotland. I write both adult and children's fiction and I would love to hear your comments on my books.

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Taggie’s Remedies

By

Suzi Macdonald

Copyright © Suzi Macdonald 2011

Smashwords Edition

This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locations is entirely coincidental.

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CHAPTER 1

One summer morning Agatha Tweedle, who was three years old, pushed open the kitchen door and looked out into the sunny garden. Bright butterflies danced through the masses of coloured flowers that lined the garden path, and Agatha knew exactly what she wanted to do.

She hauled a silver bucket almost as large as herself from the kitchen out to the garden. The sunlight picked out the many strands of copper in Agatha’s hair and turned her eyes from soft blue to a peculiar green.

The path meandered through slightly overgrown grass and past well-tended beds of summer blossom. Every now and then she stopped and picked a flower for the bucket that bumped along behind her. Halfway down the path, she added some water from the outside tap on the shed.

At the bottom of the garden, Agatha’s mother, Emmie, was tending the plants she used to make healing medicines. The herb patch was behind a fence so tall that Agatha had to stand on her highest tiptoes to reach the top. She toddled purposefully towards it.

She held up her bucket. Mummy, look!

Emmie looked into the bucket. Multi-coloured petals floated in the water, and the scent that rose into the air was delicious.

Well done! Emmie exclaimed. It’s lovely. You’re going to be very good at this kind of magic.

Agatha smiled happily. Will it make people better? she asked. Like yours do?

Emmie looked at her for a moment, and then she said, Do you know, I think it might. How about we call it your Remedy, and see how it goes?

Agatha nodded, and together they took the bucket back to the house. She had made her first potion.

By the time Agatha was nine, Emmie had taught her what most of her plants were used for, and the words to whisper as she stirred them into her potions. By then everyone who knew Agatha called her Taggie, which suited her much better.

Taggie’s father, Jack, owned a grocery shop in the village where they lived. In the corner of the shop was a special section called Taggie’s Remedies, and this was where people came to tell Emmie about their aches and pains, and buy the treatments she and Taggie made. That part of the shop had brightly painted shelves for the pretty bottles, and beside the shelves were two comfortable chairs and a low table for anyone who wanted to rest. Although Jack worked long hours in the shop, he always made time for Taggie and loved to listen to her stories.

They lived in a pretty cottage covered in climbing roses and ivy, and sometimes Taggie thought that one day she would come home from school to find that the house had been swallowed up!

Every day Taggie walked home from school with her best friend, Martha Jones, who lived across the street. Taggie liked Martha’s straight brown hair - so much prettier than her own red mop – and her cool dark eyes behind red-framed glasses. Making flower potions was their very favourite thing to do, and they spent many happy afternoons in Taggie’s garden making up different recipes.    

One day near the end of the school term, Taggie rushed home full of excitement.

Mum! she cried as she burst through the door, "Guess what? There’s a new girl in my class, and she lives in our street! She’s called