恶毒女巫戴着黑色的帽子，她的鼻子特别尖，绿色的脸上长满疣，每次人们见了她都会尖叫着跑开。她非常擅长制定邪恶计划，也因此赢得了“恶毒女巫”这个名号，但是她的长相经常会暴露她的身份，许多计划也因此告吹。如何才能接近人们呢？她为此大伤脑筋。一天，恶毒女巫收到一封信，信里有一张招募演员的传单。原来村子在近期将排演话剧《汉赛尔与格莱特》，其中就有女巫的角色。这真是送上门来的好机会！她可以本色出演，而且不会引起怀疑。在首演的当晚，村民聚齐时，她就可以将她的计划付诸实践啦。那么她的计划最终得逞了吗？

THE VERY WICKED Witch sat at her gnarled breakfast table and chuckled. At least, she made a sound that she thought was a chuckle. To you or me it would have sounded like sandpaper scraping on a rock.

But the Very Wicked Witch had not earned her status as the wickedest witch in all of England by worrying about how her chuckle sounded. She had earned it by devising wicked plans. Very wicked plans. And she had a new one.

The Very Wicked Witch had a problem. Every time she went out, people ran away screaming. It was her black hat, pointy nose, and warty green face. They gave her away. It made her plans very hard to put into practice.

One day, the Very Wicked Witch got a leaflet in the mail. It read:

CALLING ALL ACTORS!

The Village Players are putting on

Hansel and Gretel

Casting Friday, 10 AM,

Village Hall

She could barely believe her luck. Hansel and Gretel had a witch in it! A wicked witch. She could go on stage looking like her usual self and no one would notice. And then, on opening night when all the village was assembled, she could put her wicked plan—and it was a very wicked plan—into action.

The Very Wicked Witch went to Village Hall and watched the other witches try out. They were pathetic. Velvet hats covered in cute little stars, cackles that sounded friendly, fake plastic warts. Absolutely terrible.

Unlike her. She did a splendid job. She stomped around, growling and cackling, her face a hideous grimace. Several children waiting to audition ran off, never to return.

Afterwards, everyone left. Everyone except Molly, the girl playing Gretel, who was hiding behind the curtain. She watched the Very Wicked Witch take a newt from her robe.

The witch spoke to the newt.

The newt spoke back.

“Hmm,” Molly thought. “Interesting.”

On the day of the first show, the cast had their final rehearsal. At lunch break, Molly spoke to Hector, the boy playing Hansel.

“I think,” Molly said, “she’s a real witch, and she’s up to no good. I’m going to find out. Want to help?”

He did. Keeping a safe distance, Molly and Hector followed the Very Wicked Witch home from Village Hall. She walked through a dense forest to a small cottage covered in ivy.

Molly tiptoed to the window and put her nose to the glass. Through the grime she could just make out the Very Wicked Witch standing in her living room, facing a row of dolls.

“I need to practice,” the witch muttered. A witch’s mutter is like thunder, so Molly and Hector heard clearly. “This is a new spell for me.”

She cleared her throat.

“People!” she cackled. “I’m not just playing a witch. I am the Very Wicked Witch! And I’m going to turn you all into newts!”

She lifted her wand. It fizzed and buzzed. Sparks flew.

The dolls were gone. Where they had been was a gaggle of newts.

“Oh no!” Molly whispered. “That’s her plan!”

The Very Wicked Witch turned to the window. Like all witches, she had exceptional hearing.

“You!” she snarled.

Molly shoved Hector out of sight. “Yes. And I’m going to stop you!”

“Riiiight,” the Very Wicked Witch said. “Of course you are.”

She pointed her wand and spoke. Brambles twisted around Molly’s ankles. The thorns bit into her legs.

“Ow!” Molly said. “That hurts!”

“It’s supposed to,” the Very Wicked Witch said. “I have to go. I’ll deal with you later.”

And off she went.

Molly thought of her friends. Her mum and dad. Her little brother. All about to be newts. It was unbearable. Apart from her brother. He deserved it. In fact, newt was probably too good for him. The witch should turn him into a worm.

Then Hector appeared, holding some garden shears. “Found these in her shed,” he said. “And two bikes.”

Molly and Hector pedaled furiously. There were only minutes until the play started. When they arrived at Village Hall they rode straight through the double doors.

“Stop!” Molly shouted. “Everybody out of here, now!”

Molly’s mum stood up. “Molly!” she said. “What on earth is going on?”

“The witch is real, and she’s going to turn you all into newts!”

Onstage, a tall figure with a green face and a pointy nose stepped out of the shadows.

The Very Wicked Witch waved her wand and the doors swung shut. “You will make good newts,” she cackled.

“You can’t turn us into newts!” Molly said, remembering the words the witch had muttered when facing her dolls. “You need more practice!”

“Maybe,” the witch said. “I should practice on you.”

It was exactly what Molly was hoping for. “Try it,” she said. “I dare you.”

The Very Wicked Witch pointed her wand at Molly. It fizzed, and a bright blue spell shot across the room. Molly leaped out of the way and the spell cracked into her bike. The witch tried again. This time she hit Hector’s bike.

Molly gasped. The bikes were changing shape, getting longer and lower. They were turning into giant newts, except with wheels instead of legs. The giant newts scuttled towards the stage and bumped up the stairs. Each newt grabbed one of the Very Wicked Witch’s boots in its mouth.

“No!” the Very Wicked Witch shouted. “No! Don’t eat me! Not now! My wicked plan was working!”

The newts ignored her. They continued to munch on her toes.

The Very Wicked Witch pointed her wand at herself and shouted a spell. Sparks flew all around her. When they faded, she was gone.

Fluttering above the stage was a giant crow. It flew around the room once, twice, and then fixed its glittering eyes on Molly. With a caw, it vanished through a window.

The next day all was peaceful in the village.

But on a branch, watching the village go about its business, was a giant crow. It did not look happy. It looked like it was making plans. Wicked plans.

But that is a story for another day.