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Olivia Roberts

Alstot

Child Literature

23 January 2020

Aquila and the Witch

Once upon a time in ​ancient Rome​, there lived a wealthy lord who owned many acres

of land that produced an abundance of wheat crops during every harvest season. He lived in an

expensive manor with his three children : two sons as well as his ten year old daughter, Aquila.

Her name means “eagle” in Latin, and it was a symbol for great bravery in Rome. Unfortunately

Aquila’s father was unkind to his children and cared more about his wealth.

One day, Aquila’s father was traveling to deliver bread to the king. He had decided to

follow the road into the woods, since he had thought it would’ve been faster. However, he had

gotten lost along the way. After wandering about for a few hours, he came across a cobblestone

house that had been surrounded by the biggest garden that he had ever seen. “Whoever lives here

must make a fortune with all of these crops,” Aquila’s father thought to himself. He scanned the

house for a while, and noticed some long, bright green grapevines growing in front of the walls

of the house. The vines had produced the largest and most juicy looking grapes he had ever seen.

Aquila’s father thought about all of the money he would make if he could make wine for

the king with those giant grapes. Suddenly his awe turned into envy, and he decided to steal

some of the grapes to himself. He quietly crept up to the house, trying not to make noise or

trample any food in the garden. As quickly as he could, he began to pick the grapes. “What are

you doing in my garden?” a sharp voice screeched from behind him.

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Aquila’s father jumped and dropped the grapes he had picked. With much fear, he turned

around to see a horrifyingly hideous woman. She had a wrinkly face covered in big fat warts and

her skin was sickly pale. She had a yellow snaggletooth and her gray hair was all greasy. “You

horrible witch!” he screamed, “Please have mercy!”

“I’ll spare your life on one condition. You must give up one of your children to me, and

you must bring them by midnight,” the witch said. Without hesitation, Aquila’s father agreed to

the witch’s terms. Leaving his things behind, he scurried out of the woods and back home. Out of

his three children, he decided that Aquila would be the best option to give up to the witch since

there were no profitable jobs for women anyways.

When the father returned home, he told Aquila the dire news. “You must go with the

witch by midnight or I will die. We have to leave immediately.”

Hearing the news, Aquila began to sob. “Why did you have to be such a fool, father?

Why am I the one who has to pay for your crimes?”

“Your my child and I can do as I please with you,” her father scolded. “Hurry up! We

have to leave now.”

Aquila cried and cried throughout the entire trip to the witch’s house. No matter how

much she sobbed her father wouldn’t change his mind about anything. Once they arrived there

were no goodbyes exchanged, Aquila’s father turned back as quickly as he could, leaving her all

alone with the witch.

With much anguish, Aquila walked towards the house. She wanted to knock on the door,

but she was too paralyzed with fear. Even though she didn’t knock, the witch opened the door.

Aquila wanted to scream when she saw her hideous face, though she did not want to be rude. The
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witch smiled, though Aquila thought it made her look even uglier. “I know you’re scared child,

but I promise to take care of you,” the witch reassured. “Come, I’ve made supper.” ​Aquila

sensed that there was something about the witch that she didn’t yet know about, so she

made it her goal to try and get to know who she really was.

Aquila didn’t trust the witch at all, but she knew nothing would be achieved by fighting

her. She followed the witch to the dining room. On the table was a bowl of soup with some

freshly baked biscuits. Aquila thought that the witch had poisoned the food, but when she bit into

it, she changed her tune. It was the most delicious meal she had ever tasted. Aquila began to trust

the witch a little bit more, and the two actually managed to have a somewhat pleasant

conversation, though Aquila was still wary of her.

After dinner, the witch invited Aquila to spend time with her in front of the fireplace.

Aquila, convinced that she could trust the witch, accepted her offer. The witch took a book out of

her robe and began to read. “You know how to read?” Aquila asked the witch.

“And you don’t?” she asked in response.

Aquila shook her head. “My father told me it’s unnatural for a lady to read,” she said.

“Though, to be honest I’ve always wanted to learn how to,” she shyly whispered.

“Come here child,” the witch said as she patted on a chair next to her, “come and I’ll

teach you.” Aquila agreed, though she knew that most other people would shame her for reading,

especially her father. The witch had taught Aquila how to sound out letters and read a few basic

words. For a moment Aquila was able to look past the witch’s horrifying appearance and saw her

as a kind and intelligent woman.

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After a few hours of reading lessons, the witch closed the book and faced Aquila. “Child,

do you accept me as a mother? If you do, then something incredible will happen, though I cannot

tell you what it is,” the witch said.

Aquila avoided eye contact with her. “Your a nice lady, but you aren’t my mother. My

real mother died many years ago. I’m sorry,” Aquila said. The witch nodded, though she seemed

disappointed. “I think I need some sleep.” Aquila said as she started heading towards her room.

Aquila couldn’t sleep at all, as she kept wondering what would happen to the witch if she

accepted her as her mother. All of the sudden, Aquila smelled a vague scent of smoke from

outside. She ran outside to find her father, who was holding a torch and was burning the witch’s

garden. “Father! What are you doing!” Aquila screeched.

“It was a mistake to have given you up. A wealthy nobleman has asked for your hand in

marriage, and if you go through with it then I’ll be richer than ever,” Aquila’s father said as he

walked up to her and grabbed her arm. Aquila screamed for help, and to her relief the witch came

running outside. ​The witch tried to use her magic to put out the fire, but the flames were just

to powerful​. “Don’t question it Aquila. Every witch must burn eventually,” her father sneered.

Aquila’s father reveled in the sight of the flames creeping towards the witch as she was

choking on the thick smoke. As the father was distracted, his grip on Aquila became weaker.

Aquila ripped herself free and pushed her father into the fire that he had started. While coughing

on the smoke, she ran towards the witch and hugged her. “My father never cared for me like you

have. You’ve been the real parent to me,” Aquila cried.

All of a sudden, the fire and the smoke began to vanish into thin air. Aquila turned

to look at the witch and watched as her ugliness began to melt away. She turned into a
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beautiful woman with perfect features, pinky skin, and radiant gold hair. “Thank you

child,” the witch said. “You looked past my ugliness and now my curse has been lifted.”

Aquila’s father was dead, but to her it hardly mattered since she had found a true

parent. Her and the witch lived together as mother and daughter and they lived happily

ever after.