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Once upon a time, there was a girl named Katie. Katie was seven years old, and she lived in a lovely house with her mom, dad, and a dog named Muffin. Everything was quite normal – except for one thing: they were all witches. Well, everyone except Muffin, who was an “addy witch,” which means a dog who could use magic.
Being a witch wasn’t so bad. Mom could snap her fingers and the whole house would be spotless. Dad waved his wand and the lawn mowed itself. Muffin stomped his paws, and dog treats would rain from the sky. They even taught Katie a bit of magic. She knew how to make her homework do itself and how to clean her room just by tapping her ear.
But there was one thing Katie really didn’t like – Halloween.
Once a year, when the leaves fell from the trees and the nights grew longer, all the kids at her school and along her street got terribly excited about Halloween. They made costumes that looked awful, with long crooked noses, ugly black hats, and broomsticks.
Katie told her friends, “Witches don’t actually look like that! My mom is really quite sweet!” But when the other girls heard what Katie said, they burst into laughter.
“Katie thinks she’s a witch!” they giggled. “She’s ugly and horrible, just like a witch!”
Katie went home in tears. When her mom asked what was wrong, she sobbed, “Everybody hates witches – and especially on Halloween!”
Her mom tried to explain that even if some people didn’t like witches, being one could be useful sometimes. But Katie was still sad.
On Halloween night, the girls from her school went trick-or-treating down the street, but Katie didn’t want to join them. Still, her mom insisted she go – because a witch simply can’t stay home on Halloween. Then she whispered something in Katie’s ear. It was a special spell.
Katie walked over to the other girls. Some of them laughed when they saw her.
“Katie doesn’t even need a costume – she already looks like a witch!” they teased. Katie felt embarrassed and stayed quiet.
At the first house, they each got a huge pack of chocolate cookies. At the second, a giant bag of candy. At the third, loads and loads of chips.
But at the fourth house lived a man named Mr. Bones. He didn’t like kids. He definitely didn’t understand why he should give them candy.
“Go away, you silly children!” he snapped when they knocked on his door.
“Trick or treat?” the girls shouted.
“Well, I guess I’ll choose trick,” said Mr. Bones, with a wicked grin curling across his face.
“But one of us is a real witch,” said Amelia, the tallest girl.
“Yeah, yeah! Katie’s a real witch,” the others laughed.
Mr. Bones chuckled. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Go on, Katie! Show us you’re really a witch!” Amelia dared.
Katie stepped forward. She remembered the special magic her mother had whispered to her. She said the magic words and twisted her ear.
All the girls gasped in amazement.
Suddenly, Mr. Bones was no longer Mr. Bones – he was a little brown hamster. He was inside a cage, running around in a wheel.
The girls burst into laughter.
Katie leaned over the cage. “Is it fun being a hamster?”
The tiny hamster squeaked and shook his head. Katie spun the wheel faster and faster.
Then she said the magic words again, and Mr. Bones turned back into a man.
“I’ll give you some candy, girls!” he said quickly and nervously.
He came back with piles of chocolate bars, soda, cookies – and even a new Barbie DVD for each girl.
“Please come back next year,” he begged. “I promise I’ll have even better treats for you!”
He went back inside, looking very nervous indeed.
As they walked down the street, word spread fast that a real witch had caused some trouble that night. All the houses gave out more candy, chips, and even toys.
Katie became popular in her class.
“Being a witch isn’t so bad after all,” she said when she got home.
“And I think I’m going to enjoy Halloween from now on.”
