Nancy first and last

by Amy Ella Blanchard

The old lady nodded. "Like my old granny. She was a rare one. Lived to be ninety-eight and walked to town to the last."

"Was she the one who told you about the witches?"

"The very same. She see Pharisees, too, see 'em as plain as I see you, and they was dancin' as purty, an' makin' the grass green in circles. No doubt, miss, you've seen the Pharisees rings all about." She turned to Anita, who looked a little puzzled and turned to Lillian for explanation.

"I showed you a fairy ring the other day, you remember," said Lillian with a smile.

Anita acknowledged that she had seen the rings purported to have been made by the fairies.

"An' my granny knew a man who was cussed by the Pharisees because he spied 'em out. She did that, but she knew better than to let 'em see her that night she come upon 'em dancin' so purty, and so she slips away as secret as she could. They was liddle teenty folkses not more'n a foot high."

"But what about the witches?"

"It was only one witch, a witch woman that lived in the neighborhood. It was like this, miss: My mother was churning one day when in comes this Mother Dibbs. She asked my mother for a sup of buttermilk. 'I've none,' said my mother, 'for I've but just begun to churn.' The witch woman sat awhile and then went out. My mother churned and churned but the butter did never come, so she went and het a penny and dropped it in the churn. She churned and churned but never would the butter come. Then my mother het a horseshoe and dropped that in the churn but never did the butter come. She churned and churned but the butter came never at all surely, and my granny said that there were those that saw a print of a horseshoe on Mother Dibbses' arm that very day."

"Was your grandmother there?" asked Lillian.

"She was, miss; it was afore my mother was married and she was doin' the churnin'. Another time Mother Dibbs came in and asked my granny for milk, but knowin' her as one that had the evil eye, my granny refused. Mother Dibbs set and looked through the door where the milk was settin' on the pantry shelves but she said not a word, and after a bit she goes out. When my granny came to get some milk every pan was maggotty, and so it be for three days. Yes, miss, there be witches. My granny was a truthly woman, and I beant tellin' you what isn't true. My mother died when I was a wee bit o' a thing and my granny brought me up. Ah, there's many a tale I could tell you."