The Wizard's Crumpled Black Hat Spell

The wizard didn't much care for ironing and in fact, only got the ironing board out every Halloween, when he needed to look tidy for the witches' Halloween ball. When he did, the pockets were usually full of worms and it was covered in dusty cobwebs. Worse still, this year, the wizard's cat had been upto his usual mischief ... it sat on his black hat and scratched the thread stitches loose. Soon, the seams in his cloak came undone and the buttons had all dropped off. Before long, the seams of the wizard's cloak had become unravelled and torn. There was a hole in the sleeve where the fabric had become worn - "That naughty cat !", the wizard cried, trying to stitch back the cloak's hood inside. Quickly, the wizard magicked a spell to plug in the iron and make the sewing machine work all by itself ... the magic iron worked so magically - it ironed every book on the bookshelf. The magic iron ironed a magazine or two including an article on page six about a trip to the zoo. The wizard was so mad about his squashed hat that he muddled up the words to the spell ... and before he knew it, it was hard to tell the spell at all ... he'd forgotten the tune and the words were hard to recall. His magic worked wonders, of course, as wizards' spells often do ... but because of his mixed up mumbo - jumbo, he'd cast five spells instead of two. Soon, the iron started pressing everything in the house ... it ironed the rug, the curtains and even ironed the mouse ! The wizard looked for his black hat - he had to search hard to find it again, in the wardrobe and underneath the bed. When he found his hat, it was so crumpled, it hardly fit on his head ... Before long, all the clothes in the wizard's wardrobe were soon as flat as a pancake - all because of the wizard's spell and the mixed up magic he decided to make. The wizard's wizardry then magically ironed the garden ... it pressed the blades of grass in the lawn so well, that soon the lawn looked as if it had had a haircut as well as a magical ne'er - do - well spell. The iron ironed the flowers and almost completely squashed the garden shed, never mind just ironing the black hat, that should have been on the wizard's head instead ! The wizard's wizardry iron ironed the chimney pot as well as the tiles on the roof ... it even magicked the television aerial with a magical wizardry "POOF !". In the kitchen, the magic iron made the cupboards deflate, it ironed the wizard's cauldron so well, it looked more like a plate ... no more bubbling or boiling witch's stew ... all because the wizard, his spell and his magic iron, too. The wizard's iron ironed the stairs, it ironed the table and ironed the chairs. Soon, the wizard had nothing left at all, that measured over two inches tall !

Comprehension Activity How much did you understand the story ?

The wizard didn't much care for what ?

When did she get the ironing board out ?

Why did she want to look tidy ?

What was usually in her pockets ?

Worse still, this year, the wizard's cat had been upto his usual mischief ... what had he done ?

What happened to his cloak ?

Quickly, the wizard magicked a spell to do what ?

What accidentally happened next ?

Because of his mixed up mumbo - jumbo, he'd cast how many spells instead of two ?

When the wizard's wizardry iron ironed the house - what happened ?

Soon, the wizard had nothing left at all, that measured how high ?

© Jacqueline Richards 2007