The Worst Witch to the Rescue
Encyclopedia
The Worst Witch to the Rescue is the sixth book in The Worst Witch
children's book series by Jill Murphy
. The book was published in 2007 and features Ethel Hallow's only friend, Drusilla Paddock in a largely increased role since her brief cameo in The Worst Witch All at Sea
.
forever. When helping Mildred out of the tree, Ethel lurches backwards and knocks Mildred's luggage out of the tree. While Mildred tries to get Tabby, who had scampered up the tree, Ethel scoops up Mildred's project folder and art bag and her 30 coloured pencils.
On the way there, Mildred finds her friends Maud Moonshine
and Enid Nightshade
. Mildred tells them about Ethel being nice for a change and Enid suggests she took a "niceness course" since she takes a lot of courses during the holidays. Maud and Enid soon become suspicious when they catch Mildred talking to someone or something in her cat basket, something which isn't Tabby.
The girls find that their new form mistress will be an art
teacher called Miss Mould, a teacher who is described as having a "soft and kindly" voice and "short mousy hair parted in the middle and pulled into a ponytail
at her neck". She is a great relief from the horrifically strict Miss Hardbroom and the extremely weird Miss Granite whom they had had the term before. Mildred sits next to Drusilla Paddock who swaps places with Ethel after Miss Mould tells Ethel her coils are too short. Minutes later, a maraca-like noise echoes through the classroom. Mildred peers under her desk but finds nothing. She looks up, only to find that her coils have turned into five rapidly-maximizing rattlesnakes. Springing into action, Miss Mould gets the whole class outside whilst Ethel stays inside and evaporates the rattlesnakes. Just as the snakes are gone, Miss Hardbroom appears and Miss Mould explains what happens. Thinking Mildred is responsible for the snake incident Miss Hardbroom sends Mildred to her room and bans Mildred from art lessons for the rest of the term. Mildred runs to her room where she figures out it must have been Ethel who turned her pot and coils into the snakes out of jealousy
.
The next day, in a potions lesson with Miss Hardbroom, the girls are presenting their projects to the class. Ethel goes first but her project is the same as Mildred's. Mildred jumps up and shouts to Miss Hardbroom that Ethel had stolen her project. Miss Hardbroom opens Mildred's project folder but finds not Mildred's project but lots of sheets of paper with smiley faces drawn on them in different colours. Miss Hardbroom "transfers" Mildred to her room.
Later, after Maud and Enid bring her a scone
/rock cake
, Mildred finds that the creature inside her cat basket, a tortoise
called Speedy whom she had used her spell on, can still speak. She renames him as Einstein and Einstein tells Mildred that he overheard the conversation between Mildred and Ethel inside the tree. After Mildred runs off to tell Maud and Enid the good news, Mildred accidentally leaves her bedroom door open and Einstein escapes. Whilst plodding along the corridor he is discovered by Drusilla Paddock who takes him to Ethel's room. Whilst Ethel and Drusilla talk, is revealed that Ethel did indeed take Mildred's project and replaced it with the smiley-faced papers (which she had drawn on herself) and had also "tried out" a snake spell on Mildred's pot and coils in art. Einstein overhears everything.
When they are taking Einstein back to Mildred, Ethel eavesdrops on a few words Mildred is telling Maud and Enid. After discovering that Einstein can still speak and overheard the conversation between Ethel and Mildred about the project, and that Einstein only has one more day before the spell wears off and he becomes mute forever, Ethel orders Drusilla to get dressed again and hide Einstein in the hollow pine tree outside the school gates for two days to be on the safe side. During this, Einstein is put into a cardboard box which also contains a small green frog
called Cyril, the animal whom Ethel had used in her demonstration. Cyril escapes from the box just before Drusilla heads off with it and hops off to Mildred's room where he is discovered by Mildred. Cyril tells Mildred that Drusilla hid Einstein in the hollow pine tree outside the school gates and that he overheard several conversations about stealing projects and turning pots into snakes.
After releasing Cyril into the woods, Mildred gets on her broomstick and, during a violent thunderstorm
, finds and rescues Einstein. When she lands she is confronted by Miss Hardbroom who takes Mildred and Einstein inside and, after hearing part of the incidents from Mildred, tells Mildred to have a bath and sets an interview with Mildred and Ethel the next morning.
The next morning, Mildred goes to Miss Cackle's office where Einstein, resting in Miss Cackle's overflowing in-tray, awakes and tells Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom that he overheard the conversation between Ethel and Mildred in the tree. He also says that he heard Ethel telling Drusilla that she had tried out a snake spell on Mildred's pot and coils and had taken Mildred's project, copied it out in her own writing, and then thrown it in the kitchen bins. Ethel sifts through the rubbish and eventually finds Mildred's tea-stained project. To punish Ethel, Miss Hardbroom makes Ethel apologise to Mildred in assembly in front of the whole year where Mildred does forgive her.
During a broomstick-flying lesson, Mildred reveals to Maud and Enid that Miss Cackle had provided Miss Mould's classroom with a proper kiln
and craft room and she also got to keep Einstein as a pet. Just as the clock strikes midday, Mildred sprints into her room and hears Einstein speak for the last time in his raspy little voice, ("I'm glad I belong to you") before munching on his carrot
and going silent forever.
in the episode "Art Wars". Though, Miss Mould was a permanent teacher, Miss Lamplighter was only there temporarily for Art Week. Ethel turned Mildred's pot into five rattlesnakes, in "Art Wars" Ethel turned Mildred herself into a statue
. Ethel also did try to sabotage Mildred's attempts by making some of her sketches blow away. Instead of getting an art classroom with a kiln, Mildred is given free extra art lessons with Miss Lamplighter.
The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch is a series of children's novels written and illustrated by Jill Murphy and published by Puffin Books. The first book was published in 1974. They have become some of the most outstandingly successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and have sold more than 4 million copies....
children's book series by Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy is a London-born English children's author, best known for The Worst Witch series and the Large Family picture books...
. The book was published in 2007 and features Ethel Hallow's only friend, Drusilla Paddock in a largely increased role since her brief cameo in The Worst Witch All at Sea
The Worst Witch All at Sea
The Worst Witch All at Sea is the fourth book in the Worst Witch children's book series by Jill Murphy. It is notable as the only novel that isn't set in Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, but by the sea instead. This book was published in 1993.- Plot :...
.
Plot
Ethel Hallow is returning to Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches for the Summer Term of her third year. Miss Hardbroom had previously set them a holiday project, but Ethel is doing exactly what Miss Hardbroom told them not to do: trying to think up a project five minutes flat on the way back to school. Ethel spots Mildred Hubble crash-landed in a tree and manages to help her steady herself. Mildred explains to Ethel her project: a spell that can make animals talk. A spell that can only work on animals that fit into 25 centimetres and a spell that only lasts for two weeks before the animal becomes muteMuteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
forever. When helping Mildred out of the tree, Ethel lurches backwards and knocks Mildred's luggage out of the tree. While Mildred tries to get Tabby, who had scampered up the tree, Ethel scoops up Mildred's project folder and art bag and her 30 coloured pencils.
On the way there, Mildred finds her friends Maud Moonshine
Maud Moonshine
Maud Moonshine is a fictional character in The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. She is best friends with Mildred Hubble and Enid Nightshade and has a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow and Drusilla Paddock.- In the books :...
and Enid Nightshade
Enid Nightshade
Enid Nightshade is a fictional character from The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. She is best known for being a wild practical joker and is best friends with Mildred Hubble and Maud Moonshine and, like Mildred and Maud, has a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow and Drusilla Paddock.- Enid Nightshade...
. Mildred tells them about Ethel being nice for a change and Enid suggests she took a "niceness course" since she takes a lot of courses during the holidays. Maud and Enid soon become suspicious when they catch Mildred talking to someone or something in her cat basket, something which isn't Tabby.
The girls find that their new form mistress will be an art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
teacher called Miss Mould, a teacher who is described as having a "soft and kindly" voice and "short mousy hair parted in the middle and pulled into a ponytail
Ponytail
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a...
at her neck". She is a great relief from the horrifically strict Miss Hardbroom and the extremely weird Miss Granite whom they had had the term before. Mildred sits next to Drusilla Paddock who swaps places with Ethel after Miss Mould tells Ethel her coils are too short. Minutes later, a maraca-like noise echoes through the classroom. Mildred peers under her desk but finds nothing. She looks up, only to find that her coils have turned into five rapidly-maximizing rattlesnakes. Springing into action, Miss Mould gets the whole class outside whilst Ethel stays inside and evaporates the rattlesnakes. Just as the snakes are gone, Miss Hardbroom appears and Miss Mould explains what happens. Thinking Mildred is responsible for the snake incident Miss Hardbroom sends Mildred to her room and bans Mildred from art lessons for the rest of the term. Mildred runs to her room where she figures out it must have been Ethel who turned her pot and coils into the snakes out of jealousy
Jealousy
Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
.
The next day, in a potions lesson with Miss Hardbroom, the girls are presenting their projects to the class. Ethel goes first but her project is the same as Mildred's. Mildred jumps up and shouts to Miss Hardbroom that Ethel had stolen her project. Miss Hardbroom opens Mildred's project folder but finds not Mildred's project but lots of sheets of paper with smiley faces drawn on them in different colours. Miss Hardbroom "transfers" Mildred to her room.
Later, after Maud and Enid bring her a scone
Scone
-Food:* Scone , a type of quick-bread, typically eaten with jam and cream.* Drop-scone, British word for a small pancake-People:*Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone , Labour member of the House of Lords...
/rock cake
Rock cake
A rock cake, also called a rock bun, is a small fruit cake with a rough surface resembling a rock.Rock cakes originated in Great Britain, where they are a traditional teatime treat, but are now popular in many parts of the world...
, Mildred finds that the creature inside her cat basket, a tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
called Speedy whom she had used her spell on, can still speak. She renames him as Einstein and Einstein tells Mildred that he overheard the conversation between Mildred and Ethel inside the tree. After Mildred runs off to tell Maud and Enid the good news, Mildred accidentally leaves her bedroom door open and Einstein escapes. Whilst plodding along the corridor he is discovered by Drusilla Paddock who takes him to Ethel's room. Whilst Ethel and Drusilla talk, is revealed that Ethel did indeed take Mildred's project and replaced it with the smiley-faced papers (which she had drawn on herself) and had also "tried out" a snake spell on Mildred's pot and coils in art. Einstein overhears everything.
When they are taking Einstein back to Mildred, Ethel eavesdrops on a few words Mildred is telling Maud and Enid. After discovering that Einstein can still speak and overheard the conversation between Ethel and Mildred about the project, and that Einstein only has one more day before the spell wears off and he becomes mute forever, Ethel orders Drusilla to get dressed again and hide Einstein in the hollow pine tree outside the school gates for two days to be on the safe side. During this, Einstein is put into a cardboard box which also contains a small green frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
called Cyril, the animal whom Ethel had used in her demonstration. Cyril escapes from the box just before Drusilla heads off with it and hops off to Mildred's room where he is discovered by Mildred. Cyril tells Mildred that Drusilla hid Einstein in the hollow pine tree outside the school gates and that he overheard several conversations about stealing projects and turning pots into snakes.
After releasing Cyril into the woods, Mildred gets on her broomstick and, during a violent thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
, finds and rescues Einstein. When she lands she is confronted by Miss Hardbroom who takes Mildred and Einstein inside and, after hearing part of the incidents from Mildred, tells Mildred to have a bath and sets an interview with Mildred and Ethel the next morning.
The next morning, Mildred goes to Miss Cackle's office where Einstein, resting in Miss Cackle's overflowing in-tray, awakes and tells Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom that he overheard the conversation between Ethel and Mildred in the tree. He also says that he heard Ethel telling Drusilla that she had tried out a snake spell on Mildred's pot and coils and had taken Mildred's project, copied it out in her own writing, and then thrown it in the kitchen bins. Ethel sifts through the rubbish and eventually finds Mildred's tea-stained project. To punish Ethel, Miss Hardbroom makes Ethel apologise to Mildred in assembly in front of the whole year where Mildred does forgive her.
During a broomstick-flying lesson, Mildred reveals to Maud and Enid that Miss Cackle had provided Miss Mould's classroom with a proper kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
and craft room and she also got to keep Einstein as a pet. Just as the clock strikes midday, Mildred sprints into her room and hears Einstein speak for the last time in his raspy little voice, ("I'm glad I belong to you") before munching on his carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
and going silent forever.
Television
A teacher similar to Miss Mould called Miss Lynne Lamplighter appears in The Worst Witch (TV series)The Worst Witch (TV series)
The Worst Witch is a British ITV television series about a group of young witches at a Magic Academy. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. It aired for a total of 3 series between 1998 and 2001 before being followed by...
in the episode "Art Wars". Though, Miss Mould was a permanent teacher, Miss Lamplighter was only there temporarily for Art Week. Ethel turned Mildred's pot into five rattlesnakes, in "Art Wars" Ethel turned Mildred herself into a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
. Ethel also did try to sabotage Mildred's attempts by making some of her sketches blow away. Instead of getting an art classroom with a kiln, Mildred is given free extra art lessons with Miss Lamplighter.