"Let us make a witch—a kind of Guy!"
So they ran off to the house to see if they could find anything out of which to make it.
Jane good-naturedly gave them an old hat and veil of hers, and Nellie an old petticoat. Then they went to a barn in the yard and got a sack, and Edmund, who was the leader, ordered them to stuff it with straw. The little girls laughed with delight when this sack was dressed in the petticoat and hat and veil. They tied a rope round her middle, and dragged her along to the bonfire.
"We've got a witch," they shouted, "and we've brought her to be burnt!"
Trimmer stuck his pitchfork into her, and hoisted her upon the burning pile.
Dreamikins watched her with clasped hands and eager eyes. It really almost looked like a woman burning; the hat hung down and the petticoat waved about in the wind. Then the flames licked round it and blazed up, the sack burst, and with a loud cry Dreamikins flung herself down on the ground, covering her face with her hands.
"Take me away!" she cried. "I've sawed enough. It's a horrible sight. It's a real witch burning. I know it is!"
Freda pulled her up from the ground, but tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"Let's get away," she sobbed. "I hate the old bonfire!"
Edmund looked at her with a superior smile.