Fractured Nursery Rhymes

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Four little witches walked through a dark forest. The trees towered over their forms. They all had different heights and figures, but all wore the same brown dress and hat. The only difference in their outfits were the color of their frilly bow ties. They were silent as they walked through the woods; not a single footstep was audible.

A faint whimper rang out through the trees, The witches smiled evilly at each other and headed toward the sound.

They parted the bushes and found a tiger thrashing, a thick, magic rope wrapped around one of its toes. The witches grinned and snapped their fingers. The tiger and the ladies disappeared in a plume of green smoke.

As soon as they reached their lair, the silent witches broke into noise.

"Hee, hee, hee!" Miny laughed. "I can't believe we caught him!"

"That blasted creature's been causing us trouble for months," Eeny grumbled.

"But what are we going to do with him?" Moe asked the older three.

"Eh," Meeny shrugged. "We'll find a use for him sometime."

Moe looked over at the cage the tiger had appeared in. It whimpered and slouched, looking much more pathetic than a creature such as a tiger should be. Especially one that had made life so difficult for the four witches. The beast messed up their traps, which slowed and ruined their spells from lack of supplies, but now they had caught him.

Eeny, Meeny, and Miny left for the kitchen to whip up a celebratory dinner.

"Hey," Eeny called to Moe, who was taking the first shift watching the tiger. "If he hollers, let him go," the eldest instructed.

"What? Why?" Moe wondered out loud. They'd worked so hard to catch the tiger; why would they let him loose if he so much as yelled? She turned toward Eeny, but she had already left.

Moe knew she should trust Eeny. She was the oldest; she had to know what she was doing. But even if Moe did argue, it'd be pointless. Eeny never changed her mind based on what others said. But this just seemed . . . odd.

She turned back toward the tiger and took a seat on a stool near the fire pit in the center of the dark, domed room. The fire's light flickered across the walls, just like the flames of Moe's doubt.