Zach and the Evil Witch
Once upon a time lived a poor
widowed woman who had three sons. Her
youngest son had a heart of gold and a brave soul. The other two brothers were too prideful and
selfish to have any love for their younger brother. The mother loved all of her sons and wanted
to give them everything they wanted. One
month out of the year, the mother had to travel to a nearby village to sell her
handmade baskets, clothes, and pottery.
She earned the most money of the year during this month and asked the
three boys if there were any presents they would want her to bring back. The oldest son, Robert asked for a coat. The next son, Michael asked for a watch. Finally the youngest son, Zach simply asked
for a stone.
The woman
headed out on her trip and spent the next month selling her items. She purchased the coat and the watch as gifts
for Robert and Michael. However, it
reached the end of the month and the woman still had not come across a stone
that was smooth, shiny, and strong enough for her beloved Zach. On the journey home, the woman came across an
enchanted forest that had a trail of stones leading into the trees. Excited about her find, she began to wander
into the forest where there was no sign of any person. Looking down, she spotted the most perfect
stone fit for her Zach. As she reached
down and picked up the stone, she heard the loudest and most terrible noise
coming from the forest. A giant witch
emerged from the trees screaming, “What have you done, woman? You have touched my stones and now you must
die.” Trembling with fear, the woman
began to plead her case in hopes the evil witch would spare her life. The witch gave the woman an ultimatum. “You must die or bring me the person who
asked for the stone.”
Arriving
home, the woman approached her three sons in fear. All three sons could see something had
bothered her. After telling them about
her encounter, the oldest sons began to protest. “Zach must be taken to the evil witch, he was
the one who asked for the stone!”
Bravely, Zach volunteered himself to go back to the evil witch in place
of his mother.
Zach headed
to see the evil witch. As he arrived to the enchanted
forest, the evil witch made her appearance with a murderous screech. Startled, Zach began to shake in her
presence. The witch told Zach he must be
her servant for the rest of his life or marry her and have all the great riches
that the enchanted forest had to offer.
Weeks passed as Zach refused to marry the evil witch. Growing frustrated, the witch decided to give
Zach an ultimatum. “You must marry me or
your mother who has fallen ill will die without ever seeing you.” Zach agreed upon marrying the evil witch and
was able to visit his dying mother before the wedding. The mother passed shortly after in peace with
her three sons by her side.
The day of
the wedding soon came and as the vows were said, the witch immediately
turned into a beautiful young woman. In
awe of the transformation, Zach listened as the evil witch told him she was a
princess who had been cursed by another evil witch. She was stuck in a witch’s body until a young
handsome man would say wedding vows to her.
Zach kissed the new charming face of his bride and they lived happily
ever after.
Author's Note:
The original story is,
Zelinda and the Monster, from the
Italian Fairy Tales unit. In the original story a poor man lived with his three daughters. The youngest daughter must be returned to a monster that the father encountered. She eventually agrees to marry the monster and when she agrees, the monster turns into a handsome young king. I used the same story line but just switched the roles of the characters. I really liked the original story and did not want to change it much. I thought switching the roles would give it a fun and unique twist.
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