Earwig was very good at making herself look unlovable. It was something that she did quite quietly, on the inside of her face, and she always did it, because she was quite happy to stay at St. Morwalds.
She made herself look unlovable now. She thought these two people were the most awful she had
ever seen. They stared at her grimly.
Erica has been with us since she was a baby, Mrs. Briggs said brightly, seeing the way they were looking. She did not say, because she always thought it was so peculiar, that Earwig had been left on the doorstep of St. Morwalds early one morning with a note pinned to her shawl. The note said:
The Matron and the Assistant Matron scratched their heads over this. The Assistant Matron said, If this mothers one of thirteen, she must be a witch who has annoyed the rest of her coven.
Nonsense! said the Matron.
But, said the Assistant Matron, this means that the baby could be a witch as well.
Matron said Nonsense! again. There are no such things as witches.
Mrs. Briggs had never told Earwig about the note, nor that her name really was Earwig. She thought it was probably a bad joke. Earwig was not a real name. Mrs. Briggs had written Erica Wigg
firmly on Earwigs birth certificate and kept her mouth shut about the rest.
Meanwhile, Earwig was making herself look as unlovable as she could. Custard was edging away
from her and even Mrs. Briggs was thinking what a pity it was that Earwigs charming nature never seemed to show when it mattered. And the strange couple was looking as if they thought Earwig was quite hateful.
The woman turned to the nine-foot man and looked up at him from under her red hat.
Well? she said. What does the Mandrake think?
I think probably, he answered in a deep, angry voice.
The woman turned to Mrs. Briggs. Well take this one, she said, just as if Earwig were a melon
or a joint of meat on the market.
Mrs. Briggs was so surprised that she rocked back on her feet. Before she could recover, Earwig
said, No she wont. I want to stay here.
Dont be silly, dear, said Mrs. Briggs. You know how much everyone here wants to see you
living with a real family, just like other children.
I dont want to, said Earwig. I want to stay with Custard.
Now, dear, said Mrs. Briggs. These kind people live quite near, in Lime Avenue. Im sure
theyll let you come back to see your friends whenever you want to, and when school starts again
youll be able to see Custard every day.
After that, there seemed nothing Earwig could do but go and help one of the trainee girls pack her things in a bag, while Mrs. Briggs took the strange couple to her office to sign forms. Then she had to say good-bye to Custard and hurry after the woman in the red hat and the nine-foot man. The things on his head were horns, Earwig was sure. She was surprised nobody else noticed. But mostly she was angry and amazed that, for the first time in her life, somebody was making her do something she didnt want to do. She could not understand it.
I suppose Id better think of it as a challenge, she said to herself as they turned in to Lime Avenue.
Earwig was not at all surprised to find that the house in Lime Avenue was Number Thirteen. It fitted these people, even if it was only a perfectly ordinary bungalow. The nine-foot man opened the gate and went through a neat garden with diamond-shaped rose beds in the exact center of each lawn. The windows of the bungalow were all nice and low, Earwig noticed. They would be easy to climb out of if the challenge got too much for her and she decided to run away.
The man went through the front door first and walked away down the hall, saying, I got you what
you wanted. Now I dont want to be disturbed anymore.
Earwig did not see where he went then, because
the woman opened the nearest door on the right
and slung Earwigs bag inside it. Youll be sleeping in there, she said. Earwig had just a glimpse of a small bare bedroom before the woman shut the door and took her big red hat off. As she hung it
carefully on a peg, she said, Now lets get a few things straight. My name is Bella Yaga and I am a witch. Ive brought you here because I need another pair of hands. If you work hard and do what
youre told like a good girl, I shant do anything to hurt you. If
Earwig saw that this was going to be a very big challenge indeed, far bigger than any she had faced at St. Morwalds. That was all right. She liked a challenge. And somewhere at the back of her mind, Earwig had always hoped that perhaps one day she might find a person who could teach her some
magic. Thats all right, she interrupted. If you want to make somebody do what you want, it is very important to start with them in the right way. Earwig knew all about that. Its all right, she said. I didnt think you looked like a foster mother. So its settled, then. You agree to teach me magic and I agree to stay here and be your assistant.
She could tell Bella Yaga had expected to have to bully and threaten her. Well, thats settled,