The Witch's Egg

Once upon a time Sneaky the elf peeped into Witch Upadee's kitchen and saw her working a spell. First she took a small chocolate Easter egg and put it on a plate. Sneaky knew the kind. He sat himself on the windowsill and watched to see what happened next. Witch Upadee took a peacock's feather and stroked the tiny egg. Then she blew on it hard and chanted, "Grow,grow. Quick and slow. Make yourself sweet for witches to eat. Grow,grow. Quick and slow!" And, to Sneaky's enormous astonishment, that tiny chocolate egg began to grow big on the plate! how it grew! How it swelled up! My goodness, Sneaky did feel hungry when he saw that great egg of chocolate, all ready to be eaten, growing bigger and bigger! He nearly fell off the windowsill in surprise - and then, what a shock he got! Witch Upadee saw him and gave a shout of rage. She picked up her broom and swept him right off her windowsill! "You nasty little thing, always peeping and prying! Go away! You shan't see my spells!" But Sneaky had enough. He ran home grinning and rubbing his hands. He would make a chocolate egg grow like that, too - and my, what a lot of money he would make by selling it! He bought a chocolate egg and took it home. He set it on a plate and then went to borrow a peacock's feather from his friend next door. He stroked the egg with it, and then blew on it hard, feeling tremendously excited. Then he chanted loudly a magic song, "Grow,grow. Quick and slow. Make yourself sweet for fairies to eat. Grow,grow. Quick and slow!" The chocolate egg began to grow. How it grew! You should have seen it. It was a most marvellous sight. First it was as big as a hen's egg. Then as big as a goose's. Then as big as a swan's. Then as big as an ostrich's Then as big as a coal-scuttle - and it went on growing. Sneaky was delighted. He danced round in joy, watching the egg grow. It grew and it grew. Crack! It broke the plate with it's weight. But Sneaky didn't mind. He could buy lots of new plates with his money for that lovely egg! That the egg grew bigger then the table - and crack! One of the legs gave away, and then went the table and the egg, too. But still it went on growing! When it was as big as a large wheel-barrow, Sneaky thought it was big enough. After all, he had to get it out of the door and take it to the market - it wouldn't do for it too big! So he shouted to it. "Stop! Don't grow anymore, egg!" But the egg didn't take a bit of notice, no, not a bit. It just went on growing - and however much Sneaky begged it to stop it simply wouldn't. Sneaky didn't know the right words to say, you see! Well, it grew - and it grew - and it grew - and at last it can't grow anymore, because it was as big as the room itself - and poor Sneaky was squashed flat on one corner. And then in pressing itself against the ceiling, the egg broke! Out came a stream of sticky cream - all over poor Sneaky! After that the egg stopped growing, for the spell was broken. But do you know - the only way Sneaky could get out of the room was by eating his way through the egg! It took him 2 days - and oh, the mess he was in! And now, if you meet a small elf who says he simply can't BEAR Easter eggs, just ask him his name. It's sure to be Sneaky!