Long ago in a land time has now forgotten, lived an old selfish witch. So selfish was she that no other of the witches would even talk to her and so it came to be that the old witch moved far away to live alone.

Searching for a perfect place to live and to hide her treasures she came upon a small house made of large white shining stones. It sat between two giant rocks overlooking the sea. No one else lived anywhere around and she felt this would be the best place for her to hide all the silver and gold she had stolen. I don't need anyone to talk to, she thought to herself as she looked all around the house. This is perfect for no one can find me or take away my treasures. Quickly she began sweeping the dust that had accumulated in the abandoned cottage. All the while the oceans waves beat against the rocks sending plumes of water high into the summer sky.

Spending the day cleaning and hiding the gold she suddenly became aware there was nothing at all for her to eat. All the work cleaning had caused her to have an enormous appetite. Her black eyes scoured around the huge cliffs but not one single green plant grew there. I'm no fisherman, she thought to herself, placing her long bony fingers upon her hips. What am I to do? She thought and thought. At last her eyes grew big and a sinister smile crept across her wrinkled lips.

Throwing her long black cloak around her thin shoulders, she made her way back over all the wet rocks and onto a seldom traveled road. I'll just hide here among these rocks and when I see someone coming up the road I can swoop down upon them before they know it. I will steal all of their food and leave them naked and penniless. With that thought in mind, she found a nice hiding place and waited to spring her plan into action.

It was late afternoon when the rickety rackety noise of a carriage woke her from her nap. Waiting until the exact moment, she flew down upon her helpless victims. As luck would have it, she had so many boxes; it took her days to carry it all back to the white stone cottage. The frightened man and woman gladly gave up all of their possessions for fear the witch would turn them into some god forsaken creatures of the sea.

It didn't take very long for the news to spread far and wide about the selfish witch and how she was taking all the possessions from the innocent passersby. It also didn't take very long for all the people to stop going down the road where the witch lay in wait. This made her very angry. She was more determined than ever to take whatever she could. It never crossed her mind to go into town and purchase her own food with the gold and silver she had stolen. Her selfish spirit was becoming more and more greedy day by day.

Being so greedy and acting so wicked, the witch had become very careless. She was So busy stealing from others she had not noticed a mother eagle building a nest for her young just between the stone cottage and the jagged rocks over head. For days the father and the mother eagles brought things to build the nest for their baby birds.

So sharp were the eagle's eyes that they had seen all the places the witch had hidden her stolen treasures. So day by day they helped themselves to the shiny gold and silver coins. Day after day they filled their huge nest with soft bedding for their young ones .The selfish witch so steeped in her own pride and busy with her schemes had unwisely lost track of the things she had stolen. Her mind was so filled with laughter and foolish cackles she had forgotten to keep a list of all of the items she had stolen. Day by day the stolen treasures were taken away.


One sunny day the witch was awakened from her slumber to the sound of hundreds of birds squawking and crying to the tops of their voices. Throwing off the beautiful silk blanket she had stolen, she rushed to the window to see what was happening above her cottage roof. "My Lord, all I need now is a bunch of squawking birds over my head giving away my hiding spot!" she huffed angrily. "I'll make up a potion and put it in the chimney's fire. Those nasty birds will be my dinner!" She snapped as she gathered up her fixings. Out of the cabinets she began to take bottle after bottle of this and that. Into the black pot she mixed up a colorful brew. Then with a click of her heels and a swish of the wooden spoon, the brew began to bubble.

"I suppose I might as well have a taste for myself" she snorted, sipping a big sip from the wooden spoon. "Holy Shenanigans! This is a fine witch's brew for the birds in the sky. Mystic potion do your do and let those birds fall into my stew!" she cackled. Whirling around in circles on the floor she suddenly became quite dizzy. Fearing she might fall, she flung herself onto her bed. "Boy! That was some powerful brew. I got so dizzy I actually thought I felt the floor move beneath my feet!" She sang, making her words into a rhyme and a musical tune of sorts.

Indeed the brew was very strong and the more she sipped the more sleepy she became.

It was only a short time until the witches snores could be heard echoing from cove to cove and bouncing off rocks along the oceans shore. Little did the witch know for her greed had taken her wisdom, that indeed the cottage floor HAD moved. Had she been more thoughtful she might have checked to see just why the cottage was empty. I her haste, she had overlooked her own personal safety.

The cottage floor was resting on two giant rocks whose foundation was being swept away little by little by the crashing waves of water. It was actually causing the cottage

to fall as the rocks gave away to the rushing force of the sea waves. She had failed to look beneath the cottage for if she had looked she would have seen the real reason why no one lived there. No one wanted to risk their lives on the rocks beneath. They knew the power of the ocean and they were no match for it.

The rain fell and the winds blew. Lightning danced across the ocean blue. Thunder rolled across the sky shaking the rocks beneath the cottage floor. The witch did not hear because she had finished a bottle of her own brew and a heavy sleep have over taken her. She continued to sleep and the violent storm shook while the sea swallowed everything in sight.

The eagle's cries greeted the morning sun on a fresh new day. The sea had taken the stone cottage and the witch had been washed away as well.

The eagles continue to drop the gold and silver as they fly across the sky. People are still finding treasures in the most unexpected places all around the town. So, if you find a coin or a precious treasure lying on the ground please remember the selfish witch. Don't let greed make treasures you have found stick to your hands. Do as the eagles and share what you have found with others.

About Author / Additional Info:
This short story for children is written by Sybil Shearin and copyrighted. Please take the time to read this to your children and to visit my poetry websites should you enjoy poetry. Find them at http://www.RosePetalspoetry.tripod.com and http://www.Petalsofpoetry.com
Look for more stories soon.