Part 3. A nice little meal
As he entered the cottage, the first thing Jack noticed was a
large figure to his left from behind the door. Suddenly something crashed
into the back of his head and he crumbled
to the floor unconscious. Claudia
screamed and screamed as she fell from Jack’s arms. She noticed a big brute of a fellow standing
over him with a big club in his hand.
“Catch her,” ordered the old woman.
Before Claudia could move the big brute scooped her up in one enormous
hand and held aloft with her feet kicking wildly in the air.
Claudia was terrified. The
man holding her was a giant with big hairy arms and a fat belly. His ugly head consisted of only one eye, a
scarred area of skin marking where his other one should have been. His bottom jaw jutted out making him look
really dumb and Claudia could smell his rotten breath. “Tie her to the chair,”
commanded the old woman with an imperious hand.
The big brute tossed her into a chair and easily tied her up with
sturdy rope. Claudia kicked, screamed
and bit, but to no avail. Soon she was
tied up good peering at her surroundings with frightened eyes.
Books and scrolls lined the shelves and filled the corners in
abundance. Strange tools and oddly
shaped glasses full of bumbling potions were on table in the corner of the
room. But what caused Claudia’s eye’s to
widen was the big black cauldron right in the center of the room. Then she heard the old woman cackling.
“Mihehehehe….Mihehehehe.
Scream my golden haired lovely, yes scream if you will, nobody will hear
you. Miiiihehehehe.” She shuffled over to Jack who was still
sprawled on the floor. “Igor, tie up
this one as well. He can go into the
cauldron.”
“Yeth my mithress,” said the big brute.
As he went about his business, the old woman approached Claudia. She
came so close that Claudia could smell the old hag's foul breath and see the warts all her skin. “Ah, my delicious lovelies, poor astray
children. You will make old Helgar very
happy indeed, oh yes you will.” Claudia recoiled
in horror as she stroked her hair. “You
are perfect my little sweet pea. You
will do just nicely.”
“I’m done mithress. Can I
pway with da liddle girly. Igor like do
pway.”
“No you stupid fool. This one
must stay unblemished. Do you remember the
last one I let you play with? She wasn’t
much good after that was she?” Igor
shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. “Well
now he’s in the pot. You better put some
firewood there and light it. He’ll be no
good uncooked. And don’t forget to cut
the vegetables. My teeth aren’t what
they used to be.”
“Yeth my mithress,” the big brute mumbled.
With Jack tied firmly in the pot and neck high in water, Igor
fetched some wood from outside and placed it neatly below the pot. With practiced care he managed to light the
wood with some flint and watched in eager delight as the flames grew. It was at this moment that Jack started to
stir. He groaned with pain and rolled
his eyes.
The old woman licked her lips.
“Mmmmm, I’m really hungry.”
Claudia whimpered with tears running down her face. “Yes, that’s right my little one, we’re going
to eat him. Yummy.”
“I want my mummy,” Claudia wailed.
“You’re mummy can’t help you here, oh no she can’t,” taunted the old
woman.
Igor started chopping vegetables on the table, humming as he did
so. “Dum de dum, yum yum. My mithress wike cabbages and onions and
turnips. Yum yum.”
“And don’t forget boiled little boys my dear Igor. Miiiiihihihihi.”
“Boiled liddle boythh..Ug Ug Ug Ug,” Igor kind of repeated.”
“Now throw those vegetables in and let me to my cooking. You watch her.”
So as the water started warming the old woman stirred the pot with a
wooden spoon. Every now and then she
tasted it and mumbled, “Not quite there, not quite there.”
When Jack had regained consciousness he started yelling for help and
muttering threats at the old woman.
“Well we can’t have that now my ferocious little tiger. Where do children learn their manners these
days. Here we are.” She brought forth a ruby red apple and when
Jack opened his mouth to hurl abuse she quickly placed it in his open mouth so
that he could only mumble. “Much
better. Igor, don’t you touch that
girl.”
Igor snatched his hand back as if he’d been burned and sat staring
at her, drool oozing out his mouth. “But
I’m hungwey mithress,” he complained.
“Lunch is nearly ready my faithful hound. A yummy little boy for hungry Igor’s tummy.”
“Ug ug ug ug.”
Claudia was rigid with shock.
She no longer cried but looked about her in disbelief. Then she heard the old woman sing a ghastly
song as she added her own special ingredients to the stew.
“Stir the pot and bring it to boil,
Over the cauldron the poor witch will toil,
Some cat’s hair here, a rat’s tail there,
For a hearty meal of boiled boy bare,
A shake of pepper, a pinch of salt,
A freshly cooked toad and a cup of malt,
Served with a freshly baked apple pie,
And a meaty young boy whose about to die.”
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