The Horned Women by Joseph Jacobs
There was a woman who lived in a cottage. She lived with her family and her staff. One night, after they had all gone to bed she stayed up preparing wool. It was a quiet night until she heard a knock.
"Who is there?" she asked.
"I am the Witch of One Horn" she answered.
Assuming it was one of her neighbors in need of help, she answered the door. To her dismay, it was not a neighbor. A woman with a horn on her forehead entered the room.
"Where are the others?" she grumbled "They always take so long".
The homeowner was very confused. The witch had made herself at home. It was not long until she heard another knock on the door. Reluctantly she answered it. Standing outside was a woman with two horns on her forehead. The witch charged in to join her sister. Within the hour, ten more arrived. The last having twelve horns on her forehead. They had made a large circle in the room. They were spinning a thread on their wheels. Round and round it went. She tried to flee. She tried to yell for help. But, she couldn't. Whatever they were weaving was spelling her to stay put.
"Woman! Go and make us a cake" they ordered.
Seeing her chance, she ran to the kitchen to get a bowl. She could only find one with holes, but she had to try. She ran to the well and wept. She could not get the water to stay. If she didn't return, they would harm her family. Out of ideas and hope, she got up to leave. That is when she heard a voice.
"Return home and go to the north side of your house. Once there cry aloud three times and say, 'The mountain of the Fenian women and the sky over it is all on fire".
She ran home immediately. At the sound of the chant, the witches fled. As she watched them flee, she remembered the enchantments the voice at the well told her. She prepared her house for their return.
This is a picture of the bowl she attempted to use at the well! Source: Flickr
Author's Note: the story goes on to tell of how well the enchantments worked. She was able to guard her house from the return of the witches.
Hi Brynlee! I enjoyed reading your story. I definitely was not expecting a horned woman to come in to their cottage--let alone twelve of them! That would be petrifying. It would be especially terrible knowing that your family was in the house with them. I can see how she would have been extremely stressed out. She was fortunate to hear that voice! Was that voice a friendly witch? It told her just the right thing to say! Great story!
ReplyDeleteHi Brynlee! This is a very interesting story. The horned women seem very mysterious. I would love to read more on their background. Are they all sisters? What exactly were they doing at the homeowner's house? I was also curious on the background of the Fenian women. I'm not sure if the original story goes into detail about those characters' background but if they do I think it would be worth mentioning in the author's note.
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