The Magic Circle

This story was set during the middle ages, in a small village and a forest.

The main character of this book was an old women called the Ugly One. The Ugly One was a healer for a small town, she had a daughter named Asa. She made it her goal to give her daughter the riches and beauty she never had.

The book began in a small village. The Ugly one, a mid wife, had just assisted a birthing, in payment she received a silk ribbon for her daughters hair. An old woman named Bala walked in to her house, and informed her of a desperate nobel whose son was dying. At first the Ugly One refused, for she was not a sorceress. Finally, Bala convinced her try to save the boy.

That evening the Ugly One went into the woods; there she drew a magic circle to ward off demons. Then she spoke the unspeakable word, a word which only a true sorcerer or sorceress could pronounce. She used the word to summon a demon to tell her the name of the demon who was possessing the noble’s son. After getting the demons name she went to the nobles house and exorcised the demon. The boy was well again, and soon the Ugly One’s reputation spread throughout the lands and she became known as the Ugly Sorceress.

The Ugly Sorceress continued to exorcise demons throughout the land. She soon became rich, but she hid most of her fortune away as a dowry for her daughter. As reputation grew, so did her ego, and she soon became careless. Once when she was supposed to exorcise Baal the three headed demon who made a lord’s baby grow a second thumb. But the lord arrived too late in the day for the exorcism to work so the Ugly sorceress drew the circle and simply bit the extra thumb off. She hushed the baby but got distracted by a ring on the ground, she accidentally stepped out of he...

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... let the girl go but she would have to eat the boy. She put Hansel in a cage and made Gretel heat the oven. Hansel kept giving her a bone instead his finger, so Ugly Witch kept saying that he was not fat enough. She hoped that if she kept avoiding the inevitable the demons would give up. The demons were angry, and they told her she had to eat Hansel that day or they would make her eat Gretel as well. The Ugly Witch made Gretel super heat the oven, then she leaned in to see if it was hot enough, as she leaned in she “accidentally” fell. Gretel screamed and tried to pull her out, for despite the Ugly Witch’s recent behavior Gretel still loved her. The Ugly Witch died.

I liked that this book told the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel from the witch’s point of view. I liked how the author gave insight into the witch’s past which helped to justify the witch’s actions.