Speaker 1: Hey, parents, The Curse of Botley's Hedge is a fun
and spooky story created for kids ages six and up,
but we know every child has different comfort levels, so
we recommend checking the episode description for any potential scare factors.
You know your kid's best, so use.
Speaker 2: Your best judgment and now onto the story.
Speaker 3: Sarah knew she shouldn't be in that dark, creepy, creaky house.
Not only was she uninvited and technically an intruder, but
the house belonged to Goodie Black Botley Hedge's very own witch.
Determined to leave before Goodie Black cat her. Sarah turned
around and took a step toward the door when she
ran smack into something big and solid and smelling like
sage and sulfur.
Speaker 4: Was it me you were looking for? Child?
Speaker 5: M oh oh, no, ma'am. I mean yes, ma'am. I
mean I'm ever so sorry. I'm just trying to live
you this bread from the good Reverend Brown. And the
door opened and it was ever so windy, and oh,
please don't eat me.
Speaker 3: Sarah threw her hands up over her head forgetting she
was still holding the basket of bread and iced buns
that her mother had packed for Goodie Black. The baked
goods fell out of the basket and onto her head,
then rolled onto the floor, where Sarah tripped over them
as she attempted to back away from Goodie Black. Falling
squarely on top of the easty pile, Sarah braced herself
for some kind of spell or hex.
Speaker 4: Eat you, my dear, well, you have managed to spoil
quite a lot of bread, But I'm not hungry enough
to eat anyone at the moment.
Speaker 5: What are you going to do to me?
Speaker 4: I'll help you up if you'll take my hand.
Speaker 3: Goody Black reached out for Sarah. Even in the darkness
of the room with its heavy black drapes and dying fire,
Sarah could see that Goody Black's hands were gnarled with
age and arthritis. Admittedly, she didn't know much about such matters,
but she had a feeling that touching a witch's hand
was a bad IDEA.
Speaker 5: Oh, I don't need help, thank you.
Speaker 3: Sarah scrambled to her feet. She thought about making a
run for it, but Coody Black was still between her
and the door.
Speaker 4: My ma, you certainly have made a mess of Reverend
Brown's kind gesture, and your mother sent buns as well,
such a kind woman, she knows they are my favorite.
Speaker 3: Sarah looked at the spot where she had fallen. All
of the bread and buns had been squashed flat under
her weight.
Speaker 5: No how kind she'll be when she hears about this.
Speaker 4: Well, some things are better left in the dark, don't
you think.
Speaker 5: Uh, I'm not sure what you mean.
Speaker 4: I won't tell her if you don't.
Speaker 3: Sarah watched his couldy black stoop to clean up her mess.
She looked about one hundred years old in this dim
light and seemed to be having trouble bending down.
Speaker 5: Ooh, here, let me.
Speaker 3: Sarah scooped the mess back into her basket, assessing the
damage she had done.
Speaker 5: The ice buns don't look too bad, I reckon, they
could just about be saved. I'll set them on the
table for you.
Speaker 3: Sarah gently pushed some of the bottles back to make
space for the buns.
Speaker 4: Thank you, child.
Speaker 5: What is all this stuff anyway? Oh?
Speaker 4: This stuff is my life's work. Chickery, Saint John's wart, saffron, turmeric.
Speaker 3: Sarah had heard of most of those things. Her mother
grew chickery in her garden. This didn't sound very witchy.
Speaker 4: What about these, ah, lizard? Skins, wild nut meats, rattlesnake livers,
rattlesnake livers.
Speaker 6: What do you use those for?
Speaker 4: Well, to cure a rattlesnake bite, of course.
Speaker 5: So these are all to help people.
Speaker 4: Oh yes, I have cures here for just about anything
that ails you. In fact, I promised the good Reverend
Brown i'd send him a tonic to aligne his humors.
Perhaps you could take this with you to give it
to him. Save an old woman the journey.
Speaker 3: Goody Black handed Sarah a small bottle. Sarah held it
up to the dying light from the fire, but all
she could see was a shimmery, dark liquid.
Speaker 4: What's in this? I'll tell you what. Come back and
see me again, and I'll teach you how to make
that and anything else you're curious about.
Speaker 3: Sarah looked at Goody Black. Her eyes had mostly adjusted
to the dark now, and she could see Goody smiling
at her. It didn't look as scary or menacing as
Sarah would have thought. If she didn't know better, she'd
have said Goody Black was being kind and maybe it
was just the dimness of the light. But she didn't
actually see any warts on Goody's nose.
Speaker 4: At all.
Speaker 5: Thank you, I'll think about it.
Speaker 3: Sarah tucked the bottle into her basket along with the
remains of the bread, and stepped toward the door. Goody
Black opened it for her, and suddenly the room was
filled with blinding daylight.
Speaker 4: Fairy Well, Sarah Alder, I'll be seeing you soon.
Speaker 3: Sarah hurried out the door, relieved to be finally free
from the Black house. She took three deep breaths before
she realized she wasn't really all that scared when she
thought about it. Goody Black hadn't tried to hurt or
curse her. Maybe she was just a kind old woman
who liked to put her in her garden. By the
time Sarah emerged from the tunnel of oak trees, passed
by the Norse farm and walked up to the church gate,
she had made up her mind to go back to
Goodie Black's house the next day and ask her some
more questions about those rattlesnake livers?
Speaker 5: Does she catch them herself? What does she do with
the rest of the snake when she's taken out its liver?
Speaker 6: Sarah Older, back from your task, How did you find
Goodie Black in good health and spirits?
Speaker 1: I hope.
Speaker 5: Oh yes, sir, well I think so. She asked me
to give you this for your humors.
Speaker 6: Ah, very kind, very kind. Tell me what do you
think about Farmer Norris's story? Now still believe that Goody
Black killed her husband after her love potion wore off.
Speaker 5: I'm sure I don't know, sir, but it doesn't seem
very likely.
Speaker 3: The good Reverend Brown nodded at Sarah, smiling gently. He
was a kind man and a good pastor, and Sarah
thought that if he approved of Goody Black, maybe she
should too. The next morning, Sarah rose earlier than usual
and went to see her best friend Rachel.
Speaker 5: Rachel, get up, I'm going to see Goodie Black. You
should come with me. You're going back? Are you mad?
You barely escaped through your life the first time? Honestly,
I don't think I was in any danger. Goody Black
seems like a harmless old lady. And anyway, the Reverend
approves of her. The Reverend likes everybody. He has to.
Speaker 4: He's the reverend.
Speaker 5: Oh, just come with me, she promised, she'd teach me
how to make whatever I want. We can learn how
to make that love potion. I don't need a love potion.
Bad enough to spend an afternoon at Goody Black's, and
if you had any sense, you'd stay home too.
Speaker 3: Sarah thought about what Rachel said during her long walk
to Goody Black's house. Was she mad for wanting to
go back to the Black Farm? No, she didn't think so.
Rachel wasn't there yesterday. She didn't see Goody Black up
close like Sarah did. She was so old and stooped
she couldn't hurt anyone, let alone chase them down and
cook them for her dinner. Sarah stepped out of the
tunnel of oak trees and took a few steps toward
Black Farm before she heard the voices.
Speaker 7: Come now, Goody Black, be reasonable. I've made you a
fair offer on your land, and you won't get a
better one for holding out.
Speaker 4: As I've told you, Farmer, Norris Black, Farmer is not
for sale, not now, not ever.
Speaker 1: Oh, you stubborn old witch.
Speaker 7: If you'd rather let the land fall fallow and die
a pauper, it makes no difference to me. I'll buy
it from the courthouse after your death for a fraction
of what I'm offering you now.
Speaker 3: Sarah watched as Goody Black drew herself up straighter, and
a strange glint came into her eyes. That swirling wind
kicked up around her, blowing her white hair like a tempest.
She suddenly looked formidable, and even Farmer Norse took half
a step back.
Speaker 8: You will never get your hands on this land, do
you hear me, Farmer Norse, No, nor any of your folk.
If any Norse should attempt to purchase this land, the
soil shall all black and depleted, so that nothing will thrive,
including its owners, who shall be cursed to an untimely
and painful death.
Speaker 3: Turning on her heels, Sarah ran as fast as she
could back through the tunnel of oak trees, past the
sunny Norse farm, down.
Speaker 4: The lane, and through town until she was safely.
Speaker 3: Back in her family home, where she slammed the door
behind her, breathing almost as fast as her heart was beating.
Speaker 4: Sarah, are you quite well?
Speaker 5: Yes, mother, quite well.
Speaker 3: I'm glad to hear it, though I'm afraid I do
have some unsettling news. It's about Reverend Brown.
Speaker 4: Oh, Reverend Brown.
Speaker 5: I have to warn him he can't drink that.
Speaker 3: Tonic, Sarah, I'm afraid the good Reverend Brown is.
Speaker 4: Dead.
Speaker 5: Thanks for listening to the Curse of Botley's Hedge or
releasing new episodes every Tuesday in October, to be sure
to come back next week to find out what happened
to the good Reverend Brown. Remember if you liked the story,
tell a friend. Until then, stay spooky.
Speaker 2: The Curse of Botley's Hedge was written, produced, and performed
by the Warren Family. Sound effects and music provided by
Epidemic Sound. The main title theme was written by Arthur Benson.
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