The Rat and Mouse Chronicles: Chapter Five In Which Friendly Helps a Witch

Chapter Five: Friendly Helps a Witch

Lightning flashed over the hills surrounding the town of Orflea while Sergeant Gallagher sipped coffee at his desk. His thoughts were concerned with how peculiar the weather had been ever since that evening in early summer when he and Sergeant Smith had to run the strange man in the long black cloak out of town. He smiled to himself as his thoughts strayed to his friends Rat and Mouse, and how happy they were with the new home Beaver had found for them. He was a little puzzled by their strange pale new friend. Friendly, they called her, and she certainly seemed that way.

The ringing of the phone snapped the good sergeant back to the present. The voice on the other end, Farmer Buckstone, was very agitated.

“You’ve got to come quickly,” he yelled, “before the entire forest is blasted to smithereens!”

Gallagher finally got the man calmed down enough to tell his story. In the forest behind his farmhouse, Farmer Buckstone, had earlier seen bright flashes, accompanied by loud crashes. When he went to investigate, he discovered that his neighbour, Hazel Grimly, who lived in a beautiful little rustic cottage in the wood, was in a vicious battle with a strange man in black.

“They are just standing there, throwing fireballs and bolts of lightning at each other,” explained the excited farmer. “I’ve never seen anything like it in all my born days! You’ve got to do something quickly. They’re scaring my cows.”

Sergeant Gallagher reassured the farmer that he and Sergeant Smith would get onto it immediately. Putting down the phone, he dialled his partner and quickly outlined the situation. Both of the sergeants knew from previous experience that when anything weird happened, Rat and Mouse were almost always able to resolve the problem.

Mouse answered the phone on the first ring, and explained that Friendly had just been saying that she felt something strange was going to happen. He promised that the trio would meet the policemen at the Buckstone farm as soon as possible.

On their way to the farm, Rat, Mouse, and Friendly Ghost could see the strange blue lights flashing in the distance. As they pulled into the farmyard and got out of the car, they could hear loud crashes in the near distance. The police had just arrived, and soon the five of them were hurrying through the dark forest towards Hazel Grimly’s cottage.

The sight that met their eyes was reminded Mouse a little of the sequence in Disney’s “Fantasia” called “A Night on Bald Mountain.” A tall man with flowing black robes stood at the edge of the clearing hurling great blue fireballs at the beautiful tall woman who stood near the cottage door. Hazel would hold up her hand, as if to catch the fireballs, and they would burst into brilliant blue fireworks before reaching her. She, in turn, would wave her hand, point at the man in black, and release a brilliant white lightning bolt, which the man blocked with a wave of a wand he held in his hand.

She smiled tensely as she saw the approaching group, and asked them--very politely, considering the circumstances--if they would please stand back out of the way. As she was saying this, the man in black let loose the most vivid fireball yet. Although Hazel tried to block it, the bolt sizzled by her and demolished her beautiful little cottage in an explosion of blue light and thunder.

A piece of wood from the explosion hit Hazel on the shoulder and knocked her to the ground. She lay dazed, while the man in black gathered his cloak around him and started chanting in a strange language. With every word, the night got blacker, and above the man’s head a ball of fierce blue energy grew larger and larger.

Rat and Mouse, forgetting their fear and very concerned for the fallen woman, rushed to her side. Friendly, however, was growling deep in her throat, looking toward the man in black. It seemed to the startled policemen that she was growing larger and paler before their eyes. Suddenly she leapt into the air, changing into a screaming skeleton head as she flew towards the man at the edge of the wood.

The man looked up at the screaming apparition that was rapidly approaching him, and stumbled backwards. As the man fell to the ground, Hazel pulled herself to her feet with the assistance of Rat and Mouse, and pointed her finger in the man’s direction. A bolt of white fire flashed briefly as it hit the man, causing an explosion of glowing white smoke.

When the smoke had cleared, Friendly, now back in her normal form, was unable to find any trace of the man. He had completely disappeared!

Shortly after, when all of them except Farmer Buckstone (who had excused himself saying that he didn’t want to hear about any of these weird goings-on!) were seated in the farmer’s kitchen drinking hot tea, Hazel recounted her strange story.

“As you may have guessed, I am a witch,” she said. “Not a bad witch, but a white witch, who does only good magic. I have been working on a special project for the Queen Witch, who lives far to the north. The Queen has suspected for quite some time now that the forces of evil are gathering for a great assault on the forces of good. I have been using my special powers to try to discover anything that I can about the leader of the dark forces.”

“This evening,” she continued, “just as I thought I was approaching the truth, my crystal ball was shattered by a bolt of blue fire that came through the open window. When I got to the door I saw the man in black at the edge of the forest. I recognized him from long ago. His name is Lazarul, and when he was a good white wizard he was called Lazarul the White. That was long ago however, and it now appears that he has been corrupted by a force much stronger than he.”

“But Hazel,” interrupted Mouse, “isn’t he gone now? Didn’t you vaporize him?”

“I’m afraid not, Mouse,” replied the good witch. “It would take a power much stronger than mine to remove such scum from this level of existence. If it was not for the bravery and quick thinking of Friendly Ghost here, I am afraid that I might have fared much worse in the contest. I suspect that Lazarul has returned to his master.”

“Just now,” she continued, “I am more concerned with resting for a few days to regain my strength. I must then report to the Queen Witch with news of this event, and then continue in my attempts to foresee the evil that is gathering.”

“Officer,” she said, turning to Sergeant Smith, “could you recommend a good hotel in Orflea where one very tired witch could rest for a few days?”

Before Sergeant Smith could answer, Rat, after a quick look at both Rat and Friendly Ghost in which much was said, but not aloud, stood to his feet, bowed graciously and said, “fair lady, my friends and I would be most pleased if you would stay with us at Waterfall Cave for as long as you may wish.”

Hazel, visibly moved by this offer, bend down and kissed Rat on his forehead.

“It has been many long years,” Hazel stated, “since I have received such a welcome offer, and never one so graciously put. I accept with very great pleasure.”

“Well then,” replied Rat, with a nod to his friends, “shall we go home? I believe that the exciting events of this evening can only be put into the proper perspective by the drinking of at least two cups of cappuccino and, perhaps, a small slice of Mouse’s most excellent cake.”

This then, was how the good Witch Hazel (as she came to be called) took up residence at Waterfall Cave.