The Mystery of the Witch's Broomstick
A Tale from Old Turtle

The witch's broomstick is missing!! Who stole it?

 

The witch of Sleepy Hollow liked to fly low on her broom, but she was having a problem because the power steering wasn't working properly.

 

She had been flying low over the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival checking out the pumpkins for a Jack-o-lantern, when she felt the broom wobbling so badly she almost crashed into a boy riding a surf board, but she banked and swerved and spread her cape and finally brought her broomstick under control.

She looked around, quickly, for a garage to get the power steering repaired.All she could find was an open service station and the man said they couldn't fix it until Monday because they were busy with the pumpkin festival.She helped to fill out the work order for the broom repair, signing her name, Hildegarde Orange, on the bottom of the work order, then she hitched a ride back to Sleepy Hollow. Hildegarde hated to leave her broom because it was a customized model. She'd had it made in Massachusetts. There wasn't another broom like it in the world and she prized it highly.

Riding back to Sleepy Hollow Hildegarde was a sight to see with her long, red hair flying in the breeze, her tall black hat, and her long black cape lined with orange silk billowing in the breeze. She attracted lots of attention, because, you see, she did not look like other witches. She was very pretty. She'd found a plastic surgeon in Hollywood who had made her look like a movie star. This came in handy when she was casting spells, because without her cape and hat, no one suspected she was a witch.

Hildegarde rode safely home and on Monday one of her witch neighbors gave her a lift on her two seater broom. The ride was bumpy as Hildegarde was used to her deluxe model broomstick. When Hildy arrived in half Moon Bay she found some one had ripped off her lovely broom!!! Who stole it?

Hildy was cursing and pacing, when she suddenly remembered someone very interested in her lovely broom — the moped rider!! He'd looked it over carefully, asking many questions about its custom features. He was a seedy looking man with curly black hair and a braided beard and wearing a purple jumpsuit. She'd never forget him with his long skinny legs and black boots. He'd said he could fix anything that flew.

So Hildy and her friend set out to find the foul fellow who'd stolen her broom. It didn't take long to spot him riding on the freeway on a moped with modified wheels and there was her broom strapped to his back. Hildy and her friend flew very low until they were just above the thief. Hildy's cape covered the thief's head and she grabbed her broom and they flew to a field nearby. Hildy took her broom and was soon airborne and her broom flew perfectly. He could fix anything that flew!!! As Hildy flew back over the freeway, she cast a spell and squared the wheels of the thief's moped. So the thief in the purple jumpsuit riding on his square wheeled moped will think twice before stealing another witch's broom. Hildy flew smoothly back to Sleepy Hollow and got busy on her Halloween preparations.

Now, as the thief sat on his squared-wheeled modified moped, he scratched his braided beard. An idea popped into his mind. He bowed his head and closed his eyes and said, “Great Spirit, I’m really sorry and I promise I will never steal again.” Sitting there by the freeway he felt a thump and when he looked the wheels of his moped were round again. So he rolled along the freeway and he looked up and shouted, “Thank you, Spirit,” and down the freeway he rode to find his next adventure.

 

Heal the inner child laugh, play, wonder, be free.

 

 

HO!

Old Turtle
10/31/81
10/07/05

For another Halloween story by Old Turtle, click here

 

 

Bunny Hollow