The WitchesThe Witches is a book for children by Roald Dahl. The book's witches are a well-connected organisation with one goal: the elimination of as many children as possible, ideally all of them. Tired of the witches' habit of concocting elaborate schemes resulting in the removal of perhaps one child at a time, the Grand High Witch comes up with a new plan: to infiltrate England's confectionery retailers and giving away chocolate made with a magic potion that will turn the children into mice exactly at 9 o'clock in the following morning, when they are at school. The teachers, she hopes, will panic and kill the mice. Unfortunately for her, an old witch expert and her grandson Luke are staying at the hotel where the congregation of witches at which she makes the announcement takes place (cleverly disguised as a "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" convention). By chance, Luke also happens to be hiding in the convention hall at the time, and having received a thorough education about witches from his grandmother he quickly realizes what is going on. The Grand High Witch turns a fat child named Bruno Jenkins (lured there by the promise of chocolate) into a mouse as a demonstration of the method; and the witches soon sense Luke's presence (to them, children have an inherent unpleasant smell) - resulting in another mouse with a human mind. Luke manages to reach his grandmother's room safely (bringing Bruno along because he'd most likely get himself killed on his own), and they turn the witches' potion against them by adding it to the soup reserved for the kind ladies from the RSPCC. The hotel staff panics, as the Grand High Witch predicted, and rid England of most of its witches. A film based on the book was made in 1990, starring Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, Mai Zetterling as the grandmother and Jasen Fisher as Luke. (Internet Movie Database entry)ISBN numbers
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"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) |
