The Peasant and the Witch

Once upon a time, there was a modest country village. This village was largely independent, with a community of villagers who were poor but hardworking and content. In this village lived a woman named Fidele. She was beloved because of her cleverness and diligence. They often sought her out to consult her on difficult problems. Fidele, who was usually happy to help, recently found herself tired and overworked with the village's latest issue.

A group of vacationing nobles would often terrorize the poor folk. They would travel from their villas to routinely harass women, invade houses, steal valuables, and destroy their hard-earned crops. Fidele advised everyone to hide their prized crops and valuables in ditches underground when the nobles visited. This year though, for whatever reason, the nobles were even more aggressive and arrived earlier than before. The latest attack decimated many of their crops just before the harsh winter season. The villagers didn’t have enough food to last through the winter months or time to grow more. Hopelessness was quickly spreading throughout the townsfolk.

Even poor Fidele, who often prided herself as the village optimist, was disheartened and angry at the nobles. Sadly, the villagers didn’t have enough resources to journey to the nobles' villas to demand their valuables and compensation. So, Fidele brought up the possibility of eating the prized sheep, a few cows, and a donkey during the worst of winter. The shepherdess, who loved her herd more than anything, spoke up first.

“I would sooner die of starvation!” she cried.

The farmer, who loved cows milk more than his children, spoke up next.

“I would also sooner starve than go without milk!” he hollered.

Lastly, the lone merchant, who needed the donkey to travel to other neighboring villages for trade, spoke up.

“Without Bartholomew, we won’t be able to get ale from Romsey Village next spring…”

At this revelation, the entire village grew silent and all went back to the comfort of their homes to despair over their futures.

After a few weeks, the village was visited by one single carriage of nobles, an older noble couple, and their young daughter. All three of them had tears in their eyes. Fidele and a few other villagers cautiously went to ask the nobles why they traveled to their home. The old nobleman was the first to speak.

He told of how, when he and his wife were traveling to secure a marriage for their daughter, they came across the stone castle that rested on a hill just north of the village. The couple were so tired from their journey, they wandered into the estate. They were greatly disturbed by the wild animals and vegetation around the castle but disregarded it to sleep. When they awoke, they found tools moving by themselves. As they ran to their carriage, the noblewoman passed a flower garden. She thought the roses were so enchanting that she just reached out and plucked one. Then a crow swooped down and shrieked loudly. ‘You brutes! First, you entered my home uninvited, slept in my room without asking, and when I had the mercy to let you go on your way, you plucked and killed one of my precious roses! So now I must take a life for a life!’ At this point in the story, the nobleman started to choke up and this was where the wife took over. She told of how they cried and begged for their lives, telling the creature about their daughter who would be so heartbroken by their demise. So the creature offered to take their daughter as a captive instead. They hastily agreed to the creature's demands to have the daughter return to the castle within the week and ran home.

“And now we are here.” the noblewoman said, a weary smile on her lips.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here. I’m sorry about your situation but we can’t do anything for you. Frankly, it is common sense around the area to avoid that castle so it’s your fault…My lady.” Fidele replied.

At this, the young noblegirl began to sob. She fell to Fidele’s feet and pleaded.

“Oh please, humble madam, please allow someone to take my place. I am young, beautiful, and soon to be married. I know this may be hard for you to relate but, It would simply be too tragic for me to be contained in such a way.”

Just as Fidele was about to refuse once again, the nobleman struck a deal. He heard about the problems the nobles had caused the village. So he promised to give them as many crops as they needed to get by in the winter if a villager took his daughters' place. He assured them the deception would work as the creature had no idea what their daughter looked like.

Fidele hesitated for a moment but, as she looked from the daughter's tear-stricken face to the faces of her fellow villagers, she offered to be the false prisoner. At first, the nobleman protested because Fidele was older than his daughter and not nearly as attractive. Fidele brushed his worries aside. The creature was looking for a prisoner, not a bride. The couple was older, so having a daughter her age wouldn’t be unheard of. She simply requested to switch clothes with the daughter to superficially fool the creature of the castle. To this, the nobleman obliged and after switching clothes, the noble family sped away back to their villa.

Once they left, the villagers crowded around Fidele, begging her not to go. Many of the young girls volunteered to take her place but she rejected them. She told them she was content with her choice as she had no family who were depending on her and that the villagers would now be able to survive, especially with one less mouth to feed. She also reminded them to hold the noble family true to their promise. With that, she bade them all farewell, mounted a ram gifted by the shepherdess, and headed to the stone castle.

It was dark by the time Fidele made it to her destination. The first thing she noticed was how the castle was brilliantly illuminated by lanterns hanging all around the premises. The gates were wide open as if welcoming her inside. As she made her way through the courtyard, she noticed a stable where many other animals resided, obviously very well cared for. Fidele left the ram in the stable and entered the castle. It surprised her to see green ivy crawling up the walls and into doorways and grass covering the floor. She found the noble girl's shoes to be painful and quickly took them off to walk barefoot in the soft grass.

Fidele wondered aloud where the dining room was because she was starving. Just then, a crow, black with clear golden eyes, flew down from the rafters and landed right in front of her. At first, Fidele was afraid because this was the same bird from the nobleman’s story. Then the crow spoke.

“Don’t be afraid, honored guest. I implore you to feel at home here. Anything your heart desires, I will provide. Now I will show you to the dining room if you please.”

So Fidele followed the crow to the dining room, her mind full of questions but her empty stomach being her greater concern. A magnificent twenty-foot-long dining table stood in front of her, filled with all kinds of foreign foods on beautiful plates. Above them was a stunning chandelier with hundreds of candles and many jewels to create colorful light streaks all over the room.

The crow invited her to sit at one end of the table and sat next to her. She wondered how the food would be served when the plates suddenly seemed to come to life and skip around the table. They moved so that Fidele was able to sample something from every plate. If she called for wine, the bottle would float to her. If she finished a dish, it would hop from the table and off towards the kitchen. Fidele was amazed by the magic before her eyes. Then she remembered the crow and looked to where it should have been sitting. Instead, there was a fox, also black with golden eyes, sitting in its place. Fidele, convinced she’d had too much wine, began to laugh.

“I don’t believe it. The crow turned into a fox. Now I know I’m either drunk or dreaming.”

“No. You’re right, honored guest. I am both a crow and a fox and much more. I will explain after I lead you to your room.”

With that, Fidele and the fox left the dining room and entered a hallway made out of crystals, with only the floor still being covered in grass. The fox led her to the first room which held an armoire that was filled with all manners of clothes both suited for men and women, all in Fidele’s size. The vanity had all kinds of perfumes and jewelry. Lastly, there was a bed large enough for four people and covered with beautiful red velvet linens. Fidele began to tear up at the thought that all this was for her. Then, bitterly, she remembered how, in reality, this was for the young noblewoman she was impersonating. Once the fox was assured Fidele liked her room, it spoke about itself.

“I am Isolede the witch. I am the master of this castle and again you are a treasured guest here. I have a habit of shapeshifting often and don’t wish to alarm you. I simply long for a companion to talk to. You are free to go and do whatever you wish. I only ask that you respect the flora and fauna that live here as well.”

Fidele readily agreed to Isolede’s conditions and after talking through the night about magic and witchcraft, the two fell asleep in Fidele’s room.

After that, Fidele took her time to explore the castle grounds. She observed every room in every wing on every floor of the estate. She took inventory of all the food in the pantry. She even climbed down the laundry shoot just to see where it went. Because the castle ran itself thanks to Isolede’s magic, Fidele found herself idle for once in her life. She read all the books she wanted, bathed for as long as she wanted, and even taught herself how to dance.

She and Isolede often talked over dinner about a variety of topics. Fidele marveled at how many creatures Isolede could turn into. One day she would be talking to a mongoose and the next a butterfly. Isolede often pranked Fidele by tricking her into talking to wild animals. Fidele once asked Isolede why she didn’t shift into a human form, as she wanted to dance together. Isolede simply replied that after observing humans for so long, she had no desire to be one. The two grew a deep bond and spent so much time together that it was even hard to tell whose room was whose.

Fidele, as the winter months came in, thought of her village. Her guilt, for both living well and deceiving Isolede, grew. One night, over dinner, Fidele decided to confess her true identity to her companion.

“Isolede, I have something to say. I have been dishonest with you. I am not a noblewoman, I am not even a wealthy woman. I am a poor woman from a lovely village just below the hill. My village was starving and I traded places with the noble’s daughter for a reward. I am so sorry for deceiving you. If you must kill me, I wish to be buried in my village…if you please.”

Isolede, who was a snake that night, was silent for a moment. Then a large grin spread over her face and she laughed heartily.

“My dear Fidele, I knew you weren’t that noble couple’s daughter the minute you arrived. After all, what kind of noble would ride a ram and walk around barefoot? I am not angry about being deceived by the couple. They will surely face their consequences sooner or later.”

Isolede had Fidele peer into an enchanted bowl of water to see how the village was faring. She soon saw images of gaunt and depressed faces, the village's food supplies nearly empty. Fidele asked Isolede to supply the villagers with some food from the pantry and she agreed. Fidele at once loaded up a cart of food and Isolede transformed into a mare. Together, they traveled to the village at lightning speed.

The villagers were so delighted to see Fidele again they hardly even noticed the food she brought with her. When she showed them, everyone rejoiced. As they unloaded the cart, Fidele told the villagers about her time at the castle and introduced them to Isolede. Before the villagers began discussing erecting a temple in honor of Isolede, Fidele asked after the food the noble family promised. The village grew quiet and the merchant handed her an invitation to the noble girl's wedding ball that was scheduled for three days from then. He explained how instead of the promised food, the nobles handed that invite to them a month ago and never returned. This news made Fidele’s blood boil and she began to plan.

She rode Isolede back to their home and asked her for something fit for a ball. Isolede then led her to the flower field and when she tapped her hoof on a flower bud, it opened to reveal a beautiful black ball gown adorned with crystals that made her shine like the night sky. From another flower bloomed weapons of all kinds. With these weapons, the pair traveled back to the village and supplied them with the tools and the villagers loaded up into the cart.

Finally, they made their way to the ball. Once they made it, Isolede transformed into a dove and perched on Fidele’s shoulder. Fidele then instructed the villagers to stay outside until they heard screams. Once everything was prepared, Fidele stepped into the ball. As soon as she entered, all eyes were on her. She knew how lovely she looked and raised her head high. Once the music began, noblemen and women alike swarmed her, begging her for a dance. Fidele spurned all their advances, quietly laughing with Isolede about how these foolish nobles were so shallow. Because of her beautiful disguise, they didn’t even recognize one of the peasants they tormented.

Then the clock struck midnight and Fidele let out a sharp whistle. Isolede then left her shoulder and transformed into a great wolf. The entire room immediately erupted into chaos, with nobles scrambling over one another to escape. All Isolede had to do was bare her fangs and howl for them to cower in fear. The villagers ran in at once, demanding the nobles return their food and valuables at once. The frightened nobles relinquished their food, the valuables, and even the villa which was now empty of nobles.

Fidele was about to rejoice with her fellow villagers when she saw Isolede thrashing around and growling at nearby villagers. When she approached Isolede, she didn’t speak but instead showed her teeth. Fidele feared for her dear companion, who had now lost her humanity entirely. But she refused to give up. She asked the villagers to help hold Isolede still as she spoke these words.

“Be calm, my dear. I do sometimes wish you would have human arms to hold, human feet to dance with, and human lips to kiss. But as long as you can regain your senses, I will gladly live all my life with you, no matter the form you take.”

Then, very carefully, Fidele softly kissed Isolede. Isolede at once regained her senses and gazed into Fidele’s eyes for a long moment. Then she transformed once again. This time, instead of an animal, she took the form of a woman. Tall and beautiful, with black hair and golden eyes, she took Fidele in her arms.

“I’m sorry Fidele. I lost myself for a moment. Nothing has ever made me desire the human form before, but all those things you mentioned before were very enticing. For now, would you please permit me a dance?”

With Isolede enchanting the instruments, everyone danced, sang, and made merry all night long. The next morning, with hangovers and sore feet, they returned to the village and their castle and lived happily since that day.