Whizardy Witch and The Flying Castle Whizardy Witch is always whizz- ing around. She is the fastest witch in the Land of Magic. “Zoomedy zoom, let’s go broom,” she squeals, making her broom- stick go faster. Whiz, and off she whizzes. One day, Whizardy Witch was happily chasing a flock of birds across a blustery, sunny sky. The wind, at her back, sped the birds along at a fast rate, just how she liked it. The birds squawked and chattered in bird talk. Whiz laughed and squealed, swooping and turning to make the most of her flying. Far below, the land of magic changed from the forest to the mountains. Ahead, Whiz could see a tall castle perched on the edge of the mountainside. This confused her because it was not there yesterday. “Where did you come from?” she wondered, wav- ing goodbye to the birds and zooming down to investigate. Whiz briefly glanced behind to watch the flock of birds disap- pearing around the side of the mountain, when she turned back again, she slammed to a stop in surprise. The castle was gone! “What!” she exclaimed. “Where did you go to?” Whiz hunted quickly but found nothing. Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted the strangest sight ever. The castle had sprouted enormous wings and was flying off above the clouds towards the North. “That is amazing,” she giggled. “Come on broom, let’s zoom.” Whiz powered after the flying castle. Magically, the castle real- ised it was being followed and flapped its wings faster and faster to outpace the witch be- hind it. Whiz didn’t believe her eyes; the flying castle was even faster than her. With every beat of its great wings it flew further away. “I am the fastest witch in the Land of Magic,” she declared. “You are not beating me.” Whiz pulled a large handful of leaves from her satchel, thought hard for a moment for a very powerful speeding spell, then sang the magic words, “Bombs go boom, and rockets can zoom, break every record, now onwards broom.” The leaves exploded in the brightest flash of multi-coloured fireworks showering her broom- stick in magical glitter dust. Whiz fell backwards, nearly fall- ing off. Her screams turned to laughter as she regained her bal- ance. The enchanted broomstick blasted off towards the castle in a flash of red smoke. In seconds, Whiz flew up along- side the speeding castle and landed easily on the top. “Go away,” screamed a deep voiced from somewhere inside an open oak door ahead. Whiz dusted herself off as she was covered in red smoke and magical speckles from her leaves. The door rudely slammed shut just as she looked at it. “Keep out!” a muffled voice warned unpleasantly. Whiz was curious why the castle was angry at her. She tried to open the door, but it stayed firmly closed. “I need a door opening spell,” she muttered. Whiz searched in her satchel but realised she had used most of her leaves chasing after this castle. All she had left was one wrinkled old brown leaf and half of a blue leaf. “I will never get the door open with those,” she grumbled. After several moments of thinking, Whiz devised a plan that didn’t involve a magic spell. “Hello,” she said pleasantly. “Please let me come and talk. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just love going fast because I am the fastest witch in the land of magic. And you are really the fastest castle I have ever seen.” The castle quivered under her feet. Whiz continued, “I really would like to be friends and just wanted to know why you were flying away so quickly. Do you not like witches?” The door ahead creaked cau- tiously, opening a tiny gap. Whiz put her hand on the door handle and said, “I’ll not put a spell on you, I promise.” Slowly the gap in the door widened allowing Whiz to step inside. “I’m coming in,” said Whizardy Witch gingerly. A winding stone staircase led down into the tower. The stair- case had magical lights that followed Whiz as she descended into a great chamber. “Hello,” called Whiz nervously. Inside, the walls were covered with huge tapestries. Everywhere statues of kings and queens stood proudly. “Are you there,” she stuttered. Overhead, flags and banners fluttered magically without any wind moving them. There were no people anywhere to be seen. “Why are you here?” a deep booming voice called out from the far end of the hall. “Um! I just wanted to chat with you?” Whiz spluttered. A gigantic face appeared, out of solid stone, in the wall at the end. “Who are you?” said Whiz grasp- ing her broom ready to zoom off. “I am called Fortress, the Flying Castle. And you are Whizardy Witch, the Fastest Witch in the Land of Magic.” “You know me?” Whiz sounded surprised. “I know of you, young Witch. The Great Skyler has spoken of you.” The face of Fortress grinned ap- provingly at the mention of the powerful Wizard, “He is my friend and visits occasionally.” “My dad works in the King’s castle and I have met The Great Skyler. He is a bit scary to me,” shivered Whiz at the thought of the Great Wizard. “That is no castle,” Fortress laughed. “It can’t even fly!” “Other castles don’t fly,” puzzled Whiz. “Not anymore,” said Fortress grumpily. “All given up their magic they have. Lost their wings and put down deep roots in the ground. Never get them back you know. I’m the last of my kind. That’s why I fly so fast, to stop the sleeping spell catching me.” “Is that why The Great Skyler likes to visit you, because you are the last Flying Castle?” Whiz asked sympathetically. “Yes, and to refresh my magic to keep me moving so quickly. He is very kind you know, underneath that harsh exterior,” Fortress giggled as he spoke and the whole castle wobbled, like an earthquake, at his amusement. “A bit like you really, I think,” agreed Whiz. “I hope you do not get caught by the sleeping spell. I like you just the way you are.” She smiled at the great face, then realised the time, “Oh! I have to be going, mum will be wondering where I am.” Fortress nodded, “Don’t fret Whizardy Witch, I have flown right over your house. If you leave now, you will be home in a jiffy.” He opened a great door ahead that led outside. Whiz thanked the Flying Castle and zoomed though the arched doorway and down to the ground next to where she lived. The castle was already a tiny dot fly- ing off in the distance. “I wonder if we will meet again,” said Whizardy Witch sadly, head- ing indoors. *** And that is the story of Whizardy Witch and the Flying Castle.