The Witch Made Me Do It

By Edward Ahern and TBD

An improbable genii, a color-shifting cloak, a helpful skunk-some of the things in this shimmering collection of wonder tales for children. These fairy tales are set in today's world, in places where the young readers and listeners already live. Literally a labor of love, this collection was first written for the author's grandchildren w

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gypsy Shadow Publishing
• Release date: Mar 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781619505803

Edward Ahern

Edward Ahern resumed writing after forty odd years in foreign intelligence and international sales. During that time he lived in Germany, Japan and England, learned French, German and Japanese, and visited seventy-six countries. He has his original wife, but advises that after forty six years they are both out of warranty. Edward has had over fifty stories published thus far. He dissipates his free time fly fishing and shooting.

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Contents

Copyright Page

Dedication

Care and Feeding

Sadko

The Girl Who Couldn’t Tell a Lie

The Adventures of Rabbit

The Troll Child

The Great Man of the North

Looking Forward to It

The Filigreed Lamp

Baba Yaga

The Boy beneath the Birch Tree

Make a Wish

The Dun Horse

The Feathered Cloak

Puzwuk the Orphan Boy and the Starving Time

About the Author

The Witch Made Me Do It

Modern Fairy Tales

by Edward Ahern

All rights reserved

Copyright © January 24, 2015, Edward Ahern

Cover Art Copyright © 2015, Charlotte Holley

Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC.

Lockhart, TX

www.gypsyshadow.com

Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

No part of this book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC.

ISBN: 978-1-61950-580-3

Published in the United States of America

First eBook Edition: April 1, 2015

Dedication

For the five grandchildren for whom these stories were first written—Kestrel, Laurel, Anaea, George and Rhys.

Acknowledgements

Care and Feeding was first published in Enchanted Conversation, since reprinted in three other publications.

Sadko was first published in Hogglepot, since reprinted in two other publications.

The Girl Who Couldn’t Tell a Lie was first published in The Lorelei Signal, since reprinted elsewhere once.

The Adventures of Rabbit was first published in The Beorh Quarterly.

"The Troll Child was first published in Alban Lake’s Frost Fire anthology.

The Great Man of the North was first published in The Yellow Medicine Review, since reprinted once in another publication.

Looking Forward to It was initially published in Eternal Haunted Summer, reprinted elsewhere once.

The Filagreed Lamp was initially published in Seventh Star, reprinted elsewhere once.

Baba Yaga was previously published in Bewildering Stories.

The Boy beneath the Beech Tree was first published in Aurora Wolf, and reprinted elsewhere once.

Why the Sea Is Salt was previously published in Ineffective Ink.

Make a Wish was previously published in Aurora Wolf, reprinted elsewhere once.

The Dun Horse was initially published in Red Fez, thereafter podcast on Cast of Wonders.

The Feathered Cloak was initially podcast on Cast of Wonders, thereafter reprinted twice.

Puzwuk the Orphan Boy and the Starving Time was initially published in The Grey Wolf Storybook, 2014, since reprinted twice.

*PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This short story collection was originally intended to be only modern fairy tales, which is why the title says Modern Fairy Tales, but we expanded it to include the retelling of some folk tales as well.

Care and Feeding

Terry ran crying into the reeds behind his house. He hopped from tussock to tussock, staying dry until he reached his secret place. The patch of ground was circled by tall reeds, making him invisible. Deer bedded there at night, but during the day the little island was Terry’s alone.

No one else would want to come. Terry peeked eastward through the reeds at a brackish pond, and across the pond, at the town landfill. The town’s garbage and broken toys and worn out clothes and grass clippings had been dumped there for over 50 years. The slope facing Terry was ash-tinged dirt decorated with patches of weeds and scrub brush.

He dropped down onto a bed of broken reeds warmed by the sun. The dried reeds crackled and sent out puffs of plant dust. Terry stared at the landfill without really seeing it. He’d stopped crying, but was pretty sure he’d cry again tomorrow.

Bruce had hit Terry three times, then pushed him down. Before that, Bruce had sat behind Terry on the bus ride home, whispering to Terry what would happen to him once the bus let them off and before Terry could run home. And he’d done it.

The sinking sun behind him robbed the landfill of colors except red. And as Terry stared without focusing, wallowing in his thoughts, something moved out onto the slope across the water. He squinted. It was a person, no, maybe an animal, something bigger than Terry. And then it spread its wings.

Terry turned to run back home, but before he could jump onto the first tussock he heard a leathery whooshing and was picked up and dropped back onto the islet.

Now there’s a bother. It wasn’t words, but the sense of the words, uttered without sound right into Terry’s mind.

I am sorry, but I’m going to have to kill and dispose of you.

Terry opened his eyes. A greenish-red something was staring at him, slowly beating its wings and flexing the talons where its feet and hands should be. Terry screamed.

Only thing that’ll do is scare away the deer.

Terry screamed again anyway. Then he stood up, getting ready to run, when a front limb talon grabbed his arm. Please, please, he sobbed. Let me go. I won’t tell anyone.

First rule: Never trust a human, they lie to everyone, even to themselves. No, I’m sorry. If you have any last thoughts, think them now.

Despite his fear, Terry began to stare at the thing clutching him. Its thorax was lit from within by greenish and yellowish lights that slowly swirled from one spot to another, vanished, and rekindled. It didn’t really have a face, it had a snout—with flaring nostrils and large pointed teeth. Its black wings were skin, not feathers, with pronounced veins and tendons. Smoke roiled from its mouth, and something was waving behind its back.

I didn’t do anything to you.

Doesn’t matter. You know that I exist—you die. But I’m not a wild beast. If you prefer, I can drown you. And although it makes perfect sense to eat you, I can leave you to rot in the ground or the pond if you wish.

You—you can’t do that, you’ll be arrested.

The skin around its mouth curled up, exposing more pointy teeth. We’ve been able to hide from you for two millennia; I doubt the police would know where to look.

Two millennia? But you just came out of the landfill. Do you live there?

Look, Terry is it? I wish you’d quit asking questions so we could just get on with this. One bite and it’s pretty well over. But, since you asked, you’d almost exterminated us when we discovered the garbage dumps you humans were piling up next to your cities and towns. You’ve been providing us with food and hiding places ever since.

And you can eat garbage?

We swallow all kinds of plant and animal material whole and cook it into energy—grass, wood, rats, mixed garbage, it doesn’t matter; we’re better omnivores than you are. The digestion generates as much heat and light as one of your furnaces.

But what are you?

Ah. You used to call us dragons and spend a considerable amount of time hunting us down and killing us. Once we’d been hiding in the trash heaps for a century or two you switched to killing other things.

The dragon tightened his hold on Terry’s shoulder, talon points pushing through his skin. I can just bite your head off if you wish. It’s messy, but quick.

Terry’s thoughts had been churning, but it was like trying to stir cold oatmeal. "Wait, ah, what should I call you?’

Hrraushtu. The sound is like clearing spit from the back of your throat.

Hrraushtu, there must be things that you want but can’t always get living in a garbage pile.

Hrraushtu threw Terry back down onto the reed bed and stared at him. Of course. Fresh fruit, we so rarely get fresh fruit. And chocolates. We almost never find chocolates that aren’t all dried out and rocky. He flapped his wings, talons curling in the process. But no point wanting what you can’t have. Sit still, little one, while I open you up.

No, no, you don’t understand. I can bring you these things—chocolates and fresh fruit and meat.

Hrraushtu paused and slithered a narrow, split-ended tongue over the points of its teeth. Apples and pears and maybe even a pineapple. But how could you do this?

I can buy these things and leave them here for you. You could come out after dark and pick them up, but don’t let the deer get to the fruit, they like it, too.

And, of course, you would want to stay alive to do this.

Yes, please. And I could bring you even more things if you could bring me something in return.

What would I have that you want?

Terry reached in his pocket and pulled out a quarter. We use these round bits of metal to buy things. Do you find them as you burrow through the garbage?

All the time. They’re not digestible, so we just spit them out or excrete them.

Bring some to me—I can use them to buy you even more things.

And so, despite his better instincts, Hrraushtu let Terry jump back from tussock to tussock until he reached his yard. Terry wanted to tell his mother and father about the dragon, but he felt he’d made a deal. And anyway, who would believe him?

The next day, Terry emptied out his piggy bank. Bruce wasn’t on the bus, so Terry was able to make it home unpunched and walk to the corner store. He bought two bags of apples and mangos and oranges, and carried the bags of fruit out to his little island. The dragon waited until dusk had overshadowed the landfill and flew over.

Wow, Terry said, "That was something. With your wings spread out and your belly lit up