Storytelling Week 13: Zach and the Evil Witch

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.” 

(Evil Witch: Flickr)

            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.

(Princess and her groom: Flickr)

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.  

Bibliography:

Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885).