The Witches

In the Grand High Witch’s room, the boy notices a bad smell. It’s the same smell as the ballroom—it stinks like a public bathroom at the local train station. The boy sees a jumping frog and hears his grandma telling him to hurry. He thinks of where the witch might hide the potion. It’s not under the mattress, but the boy feels something hard. With his teeth, the boy rips a hole in the mattress and gets a bottle—the formula.

While dragging the formula, three frogs appear. The boy thinks the frogs were once kids. He asks them to identify themselves. Before the frogs can answer, the Grand High Witch returns, and the boy hides behind a bedpost. The boy hears the witch tell the frogs she intends to throw them out the window tomorrow night and let the seagulls eat them.

The boy also hears his grandma’s voice. The witch goes to the balcony and asks why there’s knitting hanging from above. The grandma says she dropped it. She tells the witch her grandson has been reading in the bathroom for hours. She asks the witch if she has any kids. The witch replies rudely and slams the door to the balcony.