Whenever its cold and dark outside,
Whenever the storm clouds fly,
Whenever the lightning flashes bright,
The wicked witch flies by.
Tom sees her shape; her hat, her nose,
Tom sees her cloak and broom.
Tom cannot move, he cannot scream,
She stares into his room.
His sisters sleep on peacefully,
His mother’s unaware,
His teddy’s nowhere to be found,
No-one seems to care.
At last its morning; sun shines bright,
Mum flings the curtains wide.
“Wake up, good morning, quick come see,
A lovely day outside!”
“What’s this Tom? Here on the sill?
Is that your favourite hat?
We thought you’d lost it months ago,
Look Tom, how great is that?!
At school when Tom was eating lunch,
His wobbly tooth was sore.
And then it came out in his hand,
And it was sore no more!
“Oh, lucky you,” said Toms friend Jack,
Tonight, you’ll get a penny.
Keep it safe, and take it home,
Or you will not get any.
That night when Tom was going to bed,
He looked in his safe place.
It was not there; his tooth was gone!
Hot tears slid down his face.
Mum hugged him tight and wiped his tears,
“We’ll find your tooth, don’t worry.
I bet it’s in your desk at school,
Get into bed now hurry.”
Tom lay awake, he couldn’t sleep,
A storm whipped up outside,
Again, he saw the wicked witch,
And tried his best to hide.
Next morning when Tom woke for school
The sun was shining bright,
And there upon the window sill,
His tooth shone in the light.
And in a flash a tiny thought,
Just popped into his head.
She brought my tooth; it was the witch!
He bounded out of bed.
“Mum, my tooth, I have my tooth!
The witch was here last night.
She brought my tooth, look there it is!”
Mum laughed and hugged him tight.
The next night when a storm swirled up,
New thoughts filled up Toms mind.
Could this wicked witch be good?
Could his witch be kind?
He saw his witch beside the sea,
Sand squelching through her toes,
A floppy hat upon her head,
And ice cream on her nose.
He saw her at the local park
Swinging, shouting, “Wheee!”
A sudden tumble…a witchy mumble [Illustration note: Abracadabra!]
A plaster for a knee!
He saw his witch outside the school [Illustration note: she’s the lollipop lady]
The drivers stop and stare,
The children safely cross the road,
A witch? – they didn’t care.
These images inside his head,
Made Tom relax and smile,
He wasn’t scared, he felt quite calm,
He pondered for a while.
Then out of bed he leapt at once,
And pulled the curtains wide,
And there he saw it on her broom.
His teddy by her side!
He looked into the witches’ eyes
She gave her wand a wave.
As teddy fell into his arms,
He was glad that he’d been brave.
Whenever it’s cold and dark outside,
Whenever the storm clouds fly,
Whenever the lightning flashes bright,
Tom hopes his witch flies by.
Carol Jones' Stories 