Little Witch Emily Took Her Grandmother's Advice

 Little Witch Emily loved her old grandmother so very much. She knew that her grandmother didn't want to retire, but maybe she would if her home was in a very special place. A place where she could have her cats and her library of spell books. It had to be a place where she could cook outdoors over an open fire. She could no longer cast spells like she used to, but she could cook and read and take long walks in the woods. She could count spiders' legs and toad stools and remember the good times. She just knew that she could find a home for her that would be just right. It had to have several bedrooms though, because she knew that her grandmother would want overnight guests. The house would have to have room enough for all the crystal balls that she had used over the years. If she could just remember the name of the woman that was in the real estate business.  Oh dear, oh dear, why is my memory so bad? I'm still young. What's it going to be like when I'm as old as Grandmother? Crystal balls! Of course, that's the answer. I need to find my grandmother's favorite crystal ball. Then I could see into the future or maybe even ask it a question.

It seemed like forever, but she found it at the edge of the forest. She got her spell book and started to chant. "Crystal ball, please find my grandmother the perfect place to live. I know that she has to retire, but she needs a place where we can all visit and stay overnight sometimes. Crystal ball please help me help my grandmother."

Little Witch Emily kept her chanting quiet, but steady. Over and over she asked for the perfect place for her grandmother to live when she retired. Suddenly the crystal ball started to get cloudy. Huge black spiders and bats with huge teeth and little swirls of green slime started to fill the ball. "Oh no! What did I do now? I have to get this right! All of a sudden an owl's screech filled the forest and the crystal ball cleared and there appeared her grandmother's face along with her best friend! Her grandmother started to speak to her.

"Emily, Emily! You are trying too hard. Calm down and think. You are a nervous wreck. All you have to do is relax. Just relax and it will come to you. Just close your eyes. There now little one. All is well. As soon as you wake up you will see that you have done a good job. Remember always that I love you and I always will. Happy Halloween, sweet Emily."

Sweet Emily's grandmother grinned at her best friend and said, "Not bad for a retirement spell. What do you think, will she make a good witch sometime in the near future?" Her friend grinned up at her and said, "I think so. Just like her old hag grandmother."

All the sounds in the forest were of laughter and chanting and chirping of birds and of Jimmy packing his walnuts in his cheeks to begin his journey to a farm just seven miles away. His stop here at the forest was just for a day of rest and to help little witch Emily. He knew he now had to go back to work.  His job was going to be long and hard. It was winter in Iowa and he soon would be a prisoner of not only the ice and snow but of a cage made of metal with no other shelter from the stinging snow and raging winds. 

The year could have been about 1949 Cherokee, Iowa

The Little Witch Won't Ask For Help

 Little Witch Emily could see the fear and disappointment in her grandmother's eyes. She couldn't blame her. She was stuck on the back of the tree with only Little Liz to look at. Liz wasn't afraid, she was down right angry and would have cast a spell on her friend, Emily, but she was also stuck to the tree.

"Get me down from here, Emily, or if you don't I will make you into a mouse and send my cat to eat you! Now get me down from here right now!"

On another day, Little Witch Emily would have giggled and let her friend down and played a game of hide and seek in the forest, but today was different. Today her grandmother needed help and she didn't know what to do.

Her grandmother's voice was so low she could hardly hear her, but she thought she said, "Send for Liam the warlock. He will help you."

"No, grandmother, I sent Jimmy, the squirrel, to Marlee to get you the youth brew that she makes. Then you will be young and won't have to retire."

From the edge of the forest the head mistress of the witch school that Emily attended was calling for her.

"What have you done now, Emily? At this rate you will never graduate to the intermediate witch class with your friends. Where is your cat? Without your cat you will never succeed as a witch. For that matter where is your broom? Have you lost it again? I guess I will have no other option that to put you to the back of the class unless you get your act together. I will give you until the the moon is full for you to cast a spell that actually works. Your grandmother needs to retire. She is of the age of retirement. She will enjoy it if she just gives it a chance. Now get your friend and your grandmother off of that tree. You call the Warlock, and right now!"

Emily felt like crying. She wanted to be a good witch and do good things with her powers. What was she going to do? She had forgotten to feed her cat before she left her home. He had probably run away. She loved little Blackie. He had some problems just like her. She smiled when she thought about his bent ear and tail that was also bent. "He's a super hero in my book. He is my friend and I must find him."

Marlee wasn't sending any of her youth brew back with Jimmy. Could she really believe that Liam would help her? Did she have a choice?

Once again Little Witch Emily looked at her spell book. She read each and every page that had something to do with grandmothers. "Oh my, look at this. River Witches! Oh there is a river not far from here. I wonder how to get ahold of them. Maybe if I told them about my grandmother they would help me. The moon will be showing soon. It is getting dusk. I have to hurry.!"

Emily gave her friend and her grandmother a hug around their legs and promised them that they soon would be free. She held her hands over her ears so she couldn't hear them yell at her. She had an idea, but she needed to find her broom and her cat just like the headmistress said.

Little Witch Emily Is Sad

 Emily was sad. She had heard her Grandmother, Hag Sabrena, was being retired by the other witches because she was three hundred years old. It was mandatory that in her family, witches would be retired and forced to live in a forest where only other retired witches lived. There would be no more practical jokes on regular humans or animals. She would have to live out her days being bored. She would not be able to cast spells any longer. Emily couldn't imagine life without having a little fun.

Emily was just an apprentice witch because she was only fifty six years old. She was still making mistakes on the spells she cast on animals. She would be so happy to graduate and be a full fledged witch. 
She was tired of turning rabbits  into skunks and skunks into porcupines. She was getting better and better, but so far could not get one hundred per cent on her weekly tests by the head of the hag school she had to attend before she could be on her own. She felt really bad about her friend's dog. She had tried to make him into a puppy again and it had resulted into turning him orange. She was having trouble concentrating because of his growling at her. She told him to shush and be patient. Soon he would be back to normal if all went well. In her mind she thought, "Poor, Oscar. I'll try to hurry to get you back to normal."

As Emily sat in the quiet forest studying her spell book she could  hear the croaking of her old Hag. Surely she wasn't crying. She had never heard her grandmother cry. She just had to find a spell that would give her old grandmother a shot of youth. She had an idea. She had a friend, Marlee, that had already graduated into the intermediate class. She would get in touch with her and tell her that she needed her help. She knew at this time of day she would be soaking in a tub of cold water to rejuvenate her lightning fast speed in her specialty of zapping spiders for her special brew of highly specialized memory tonic.. Maybe that would be the answer. She smiled. She thought that a glass of Marlee's special brew would make Hag Sabrena's spells be better. She sent one of her favorite squirrels to give Marlee the message. Jimmy was a good squirrel and was always ready for her to experiment on him.

All of a sudden Emily heard a terrible screech and a splat just on the edge of the forest. It looked like it was close to the humans that lived nearby. "Oh no! Poor Liz. "Sorry, Liz. I didn't mean to do that. Just a minute. I'll start over. I'll hurry, now you just have to wait a bit." She quickly turned the pages of her Spell Book and for the life of her she couldn't find a spell to get her friend, Liz, free from the tree.

The little witch ran over to the tree and much to her surprise there was her grandmother's face also fastened onto the back of the tree. "Oh dear, oh dear. What can I do? What can I do? At this rate I will never graduate and my dear grandmother will not live in her  forest with her witch friends. Maybe this Spell Book is out of date. Dear Hag Sabrena what shall I do? Please tell me. Cast a spell of what? You have got to be kidding me. I don't need a man to help me. Marlee is trying to stir up a brew to make you younger, and I am rereading my book. Surely we don't need a warlock to solve this problem.

The longer she sat looking through her worn out Spell Book the more worried she got. She thought she could hear her grandmother's witch friends coming through the forest looking for her. They were coming to carry her away to the retirement forest where she would never be able to cast another spell. Oh dear, oh dear. Their chanting is getting closer and closer. What shall I do?  She would surely die of loneliness and boredom in that retirement place. She just couldn't let that happen.

Jimmy Wanted To Hear His Story Over And Over

The little squirrel cuddled up to his mama and shivered. "Oh, Mama. Why can't we hibernate like some of the other animals do? I'm so cold. Why do we have to go out in the snow to search for the nuts you hid last year? How come my fur is brown and some of the other squirrels fur is black and red? Mama, can we move to some place warm? I sure don't like the cold. Mama, can you tell me a story? I love it when you tell me stories. Why can't you tell me a story, huh? Please? And why do you call me Jimmy. None of my brothers and sisters have names, why do I have a name? Mama!"

"Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. You are such a chatterbox, do you know that? I have told you your story over and over again. Sometimes I wish you didn't have a name, but you do. You are stuck with it. Someday when you grow up you will name your son Jimmy and you can tell him your story. He then will tell his children the story. Hopefully your story will be told for generations just like I seem to tell you repeatedly. I will tell you your story one more time if you promise not to beg for it again at least not for a day or two. We need to find the tree where I hid the nuts for us to eat this winter. If you look carefully the lady that lives in that house has sunflower seeds for us to eat. I'll quickly tell you your story then we must go before our neighbors eat all of the seeds. "

Jimmy agreed that he would only ask this one time for his favorite story then he would help his mama find the tree and go get a treat of some sunflower seeds before bedtime.

"Well, Jimmy once upon a time many many years ago long before even I was born there was a man that lived in a big big house far far away called the White House. From what I've been told he was very important. They called him a president. He loved all kinds of animals. He liked big animals like horses and he even had  a camel and a one legged rooster! He loved dogs and cats and wild birds and even snakes. He had a flying squirrel at his house too. No you can't fly! Jimmy don't jump out and try to fly. Now come back here and listen to your story or I will not finish it and you will go to bed without getting any sunflower seeds. Now are you going to be a good boy?"

Jimmy snuggled up close to his mother and promised he would be good. "I'm sorry, Mama. I'll be good, but why can't I fly? I want to fly like the birds in the trees do. Why, Mama, Why?"

"Jimmy, you promised. Now you sit here and be quiet or I will stop right now."

"Now where was I? Oh, alright, now that very important man had gone to a cold cold place called Canada. It's a big country, but it's really cold in the winter time. Sometimes it's even colder than where we live. Well, one time when he was visiting there he happened to see some black squirrels. He had never seen a black squirrel before so he had some brought to his big white house. That's where it all began. As far as I know we were all brown or gray here, however sometimes there are some naughty red squirrels that chase us. Now you can take a peek out to see the squirrel eating those sunflower seeds. Now you hush and I'll finish the story. Hopefully he will share with us."

"But Mama, tell me about how I got my name? I love the story about the man that you called my many times grandfather, Jimmy. His name was the same as mine! Tell me that story please!"

"Jimmy, you know that story by heart. Your ancestors formed a scurry* and helped a very sick man reach his son's house. He had traveled in the winter time from a place called Ohio with just a team of oxen and a cow and of course, his wagon. Your ancestors crawled up in the wagon and kept the man warm long enough to reach the farm which was not far from here. Only about seven miles, but if we ran really fast it would take us only a short while, but the man traveled very slowly and took almost two days to get there."

"So did that son have a name? Do all humans have a name? Why do people have names? What good are they?"

"Jimmy, you were named after many others that had your name. Jimmy in some places means forceful. Sometimes forceful animals are mean. I don't want you to be mean. And the other reason is because you are my seventh son and the number seven is a good number for a squirrel whose name is Jimmy." 

"Your questions about humans all having names is because there are so many of them they have to keep track of them somehow. I keep track of you children just when you are young then you move away. But those humans seem to stick together for some reason. Although some move away,  a lot of human children stay close to where they were born. The human that named your many times great grandfather Jimmy stayed close by and so did his children and children's children for many many years. I've heard many stories about them and the squirrels that made their homes with them. No not now! Now we are going out there to get something to eat and meet the neighbor. Come quickly!"

Note: A scurry is a group of squirrels that do gather together for many reasons. In this story it was to save a human's life.

President Theodore Roosevelt has been said over and over to have had the most fun in the White House with his many many animals. The children had fun there and have many stories about the animals including a Shetland pony that got to ride the elevator to see one of the sick children. I'm sure the pony made his life easier while having either the measles or chicken pox.

He Called Him Jimmy

 The winters in Iowa were so cold that the small squirrel was worried that there wouldn't be enough food to eat. The snow was so very deep and the travelers seldom came by this way anymore. It seemed like the old wagon had been there for years. He scurried among the trees in the timber and finally found a walnut that had been hidden by another in a knot of an old oak tree. He thought he should eat it slowly to make it last as long as he could. The wind was howling and blowing snow into the fur on his tail until it seemed to freeze in place.

He had looked and looked for some shelter, but had found none that was his size. Some squirrels scolded him and blocked the opening of a tree that he thought he could fit into. They said their family was too big to feed as it was so he was told to go on about his business, whatever that was. He finished his small meal under the old wagon trying to decide where he could find shelter if that was at all possible. The snow was swirling around him. It was so hard to see. 

As he looked about he thought for sure he was hearing things. Could that be the sound of human voices? Surely not in this weather. The wagon trains waited until the spring floods were over before moving west. No, he heard the mooing of a cow, he knew he did.

Jimmy was sitting in the timber watching the lost and almost frozen squirrel. He had watched the head of the neighborhood squirrel family turn him away. He also had been turned away from their door. They said he looked different than they did so he couldn't come in and share their nuts. They had slammed the door on him as well, but the squirrel that was taking shelter under the long forgotten wagon was the same color as the the neighborhood squirrels. "I guess they just are kind of selfish or maybe afraid that they too will someday be homeless with no food. I have a few sunflower seeds left from the last wagon that went by. I watched the old guy hammer this wooden feeder to my tree and put some seeds in it the day before they left." He made a noise in his throat remembering the man's wife scolding him for being wasteful of the seeds. She wanted to plant them in the spring. She said they were happy flowers and made folks smile even when they didn't want to. I can remember him calling me Jimmy as he threw me some seeds. I liked that name so I kept it. I had never had a name before."

He didn't know what a smile was, but he loved the taste of these seeds and was grateful to the man that left them. He had just a few left, but decided that he would share with the stranger if he needed to.

His ears perked up and he quit nibbling on his seeds and listened and watched as did the squirrel under the wagon. He heard a cow mooing. Surely there weren't travelers coming through this way in the dead of winter. They might freeze but on the other hand, they might have food. The other travelers did and they built fires to cook their food. He quickly turned towards the sound of the wagon. It was a cow that's for sure and a wagon and one man. He was traveling all by himself! He looked a bit familiar like he had seen him before. This man didn't look too healthy. He seemed to have trouble walking.

"Oh no. This is not good. He will need help for sure. I don't want to, but I'm going to jump down from my perch and go get the strange colored squirrel. We need to follow the wagon. Together we might be able to keep the man warm if he doesn't have a fire."

A man named Nathan Banister may have passed by these two hungry and forgotten squirrels on his way to see his son, George, W. Banister Cherokee, Iowa. The year may have been 1859.