Meeting Witch Little.

Super duper Saturday had dawned. Jennifer Louise lived in a land far south of Witchelina. She came from the Blessing family, from a long line of strong women. Although Jennifer Louise was quite short, she was a local star at their Tae-Kwon Do classes, claiming many trophies and belts.

Her best friend was Darya. Together they had planned their weekend with a sleepover, and a day of fun. Near the Blessing family homestead there was an open meadow. Beyond that, there was an entrance to a magical world in a singing forest.

"No, Jennifer Louise, you are not walking through that forest!" her mum looked annoyed.

"But, mum, you just never understand. We're going bird watching."

"I haven't got time to take you today. It is my witch forum hour! Children who enter the singing forest disappear, completely!"

"Mum, I'll take my phone. Darya and I are trained in self-defense. We won't get lost, promise!"

"Well, you can take this ball of white string. Tie it to the first bridge, and follow it when you want to return. Take this first aid kit, and the insect spray. There's mini beasts in that forest. You should be starting your spiritual training, not doing martial arts."

"Oh, mum!" Jennifer Louise moaned, as her mother loaded up the backpack. Darya rolled her eyes, and tried not to giggle. Her mum was even worse, a real nervous Nellie.

But Saturday sunlight was beaming, soft breezes blew in their hair, as the two brave twelve year old girls set off. "This is a great idea," Darya said, as Jennifer Louise tied the white string to the first bridge. Unrolling the twine as they walked, Jennifer Louise and Darya started to cross the bridge.

"Bit of a swinging bridge," Jennifer Louise said, as the bridge swayed over the little stream below. The singing forest suddenly began to croon, "Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will ease your mind."

"No troubles for us today," Jennifer Louise remarked, "We'll cross these bridges with grace," she was from the Blessing family after all. The girls walked along a path winding deeper between the trees, growing taller. Soon, the giant trees blocked the pretty sunshine. But the birds were chirping in the branches. Jennifer Louise and Darya took photos with their digital camera and phones. They were trying to name as many kinds of birds as they could, for their science projects at school.

Then Jennifer Louise nearly tripped over. A creeper had wound itself around her feet. Darya was captured too. "Kick back!' she yelled. So the girls took up their martial arts stance, and kicked apart the tangles at their feet. They broke free, as the singing forest launched into a verse of "Mother knows best!' It was sort of funny, trees having a sense of humor.

Still unrolling the string, Jennifer Louise and Darya walked further into this magical world of enchantment. "Let's stop for our picnic," Darya suggested, as they came to a clearing. Here there was some grass to sit on, no creepers, and a beautiful bluebird sitting on a low branch above them nearby. "There'll be blue birds all over, the white cliffs of Dover...." It seemed the singing forest was into old time music.

The pair of little chicks giggled, as Jennifer Louise sketched the beautiful bluebird in her drawing book. They ate their picnic lunch of ham sandwiches, and some tuna salad, which Jennifer Louise's mum had prepared. The girls drank their juice, and sat back to nibble on cupcakes, enjoying sitting under the shady trees. But not for long.

"Yes, mother does know best!" the singing forest sang. A nasty swarm of wasps hovered over the girls, aiming to stings them. These were some of the mini beasts living in the forest, buzzing and dive bombing Jennifer Louise. Darya quickly used the insect spray, but the wasps became very hostile, angry even.

"Let's run for it!" The forest could not stop singing its tunes. "Wasps on the run." "Da do run run, da do run RUN!!" Jennifer Louise did not notice that she had dropped her string, as she and Darya went racing along the path ahead. The very cross wasps chased after them, making a dreadful noise, trying to land their stings.

The path through this magical singing forest wound on, the two girls were getting breathless, dodging and weaving, panting a bit. But at least they were both fit. Branches of the trees seemed to fold back to let them through. Would they ever escape the angry wasps, and how?

Jennifer Louise ran right up to a platform, high over a deep canyon. Far below were jagged rocks, and a silvery river, with a waterfall. Here there were some ropes to swing over, left there by other explorers.

"Quick, grab a rope!" Jennifer Louise told Darya, "Don't look back!" So the two girls shut their eyes and swung across the through the tree tops, leaving the very cross wasps behind them.

"How will we ever find our way back now?" Darya asked, landing on the other side. "Love will find a way!" the singing forest still had a tune every occasion. It was like a miracle. Ahead of them, the little chicks could see their bluebird of happiness, leading them hopefully home, as it flitted between tall tree in front of them.

So, Jennifer Louise and Darya followed this little blue blessing. They did not have a clue where they were now. "Listen!" Jennifer Louise said, "What's that noise?"

"Sounds like a kitten!" Darya answered, looking round the trees. Soon, the girls tracked down the mystery cat a hollow tree log. There sat a little jet black kitten, with gleaming blue eyes. "Oh...." Jennifer Louise was in love. "What's the matter, little one?" She started to pick up the tiny kitten, but it held up its paws, all scraped and red.

Jennifer Louise reached into the backpack and found the salve her mother made, using her charms she learnt on the witches' forum online. She was one of the Blessing family after all. The singing forest sang along. "Pussy cat, Pussy cat, I love you!" Darya smiled, as she found the kitten's collar, which said, "Witch Little."

"So cute and little," Jennifer Louise said, "I'm taking you home with me." She popped Witch Little into a space in the backpack. "But how do we get home?" Darya asked, getting a bit anxious. "We'll follow our blue bird, he's just over there," Jennifer told her.

"Okay, we left the string way back in the forest. What's your mum going to say about the kitten?"

Jennifer Louise was not worried about that. "She'll say we needed a companion for witch training. Look, if we head down that hill, there is the stream again. If we follow that, we shall be back at the first bridge."

'Well, you can say we did have fun, except for the wasps." Darya said, looking forward, not back.

The singing forest had to have the last chorus. "Girls just wanna have fun!"

Home at last, Jennifer Louise's mum loved Witch Little, soon feeding the kitten yet more tuna. "Witch Little is a sign that your spiritual training is about to commence. Here is some macaroni and cheese for your dinner. Tomorrow, you can both start on studying spells and charms. I've got my big pot ready. Darya can join in too."

"But I'm still going to do martial arts!"

"Yes," said Darya, "Girls just wanna have fun." The two little chicks laughed, they had enjoyed their trip and meeting Witch Little.