The Great Button Mystery

Ruth was staying in the witch's house one April for a short visit. The Witch had sent a special engraved invitation to Ruth's mother Mrs. Jones saying:

Miss Barbara J. Bucknall Ph.D. W.I.T.C.H.

Requests the pleasure of the company

of Miss Ruth Jones

for a week's visit

With her mother's permission

She had sent the invitation by way of Lilac, since Lilac, although rather grouchy, was a little less likely to go off on adventures than Blackberry. Ruth had come back with her.

The Witch had spent three days taking Ruth to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where they bought some Indian dolls, to Rodman Hall, where they looked at some nice pictures by Canadian artists and to Burgoyne Woods where they had a picnic. Then on the fourth day, they were just getting ready to go to an auction where a Victorian doll's house was being sold, when the Witch

discovered that all the buttons were missing off her jacket.

There wasn't time to look for the missing buttons, so although the Witch was very

annoyed, she had to go to the auction with her jacket unbuttoned. They got the doll's house all right which cheered the Witch up, since she liked children's toys as much as she had as a child.

The doll's house had two storeys, and was beautifully furnished with little model furniture. Ruth

liked it very much and started playing with it right away. She laid one doll on a bed and sat another one on a chair in the living room, and stood a third one up in the kitchen, where there was a stove that would really work if you were careful. There were pots and pans but no dishes.

The Witch said they would have to see if they could get them separately.

But, even though the Witch was very interested in the doll's house, she was still annoyed about her missing buttons. So she called Lilac and Blackberry to her and spoke to them very severely. She said "Someone has cut the buttons of my jacket. One of you must have done it. Or possibly both. I'm sure Ruth isn't naughty enough to play a trick like that. But I know the kinds of things you two get up to. Come on, out with it. Why did you cut my buttons off and what have you done with them? I'd make you sew them back on if I thought you could, but your paws are the wrong shape."

Blackberry and Lilac were very upset at being spoken to like that. They shook their heads, looking very innocent and said "No we never did any such thing. How could we?" asked Blackberry. "You keep your jacket shut up in a cupboard. How could we get in to cut the buttons off?" "That's just an excuse," said the Witch. "I know perfectly well that you glide through doors and into cupboards whenever you feel like it, and then once you're in a cupboard you sit there mewing and squawking pretending you can't get out until I have to come and open the door for you. No, an excuse like that won't do." "But we didn't do it all the same," said Lilac, and the

Witch had to give up.

Next morning, the fourth day, the buttons had been cut off Ruth's coat, and the same scene took place. Blackberry and Lilac where very offended and they went and sulked in the basement until night came and they went to put on their pyjamas. I don't know if you've ever heard that certain very special cats sometimes wear pyjamas, and their pyjamas are very special too. That's why some people, when they want to say that something is really fine, say "That's the cat's pyjamas." Blackberry and Lilac had especially fine pyjamas embroidered with flowers.

Lilacs pyjamas were of cream coloured silk, and Blackberry's were of silk too, only pale pink.

The buttons were mother of pearl. But when the kittens went to put their wonderful pyjamas on, they found the buttons where missing!

They came crying to the Witch. Actual tears were welling in Lilac's eyes, but that's because she'd caught a cold in the basement. But they both were really upset. "Now you see," said Lilac, "How unkind and unfair you are. We would never cut our own buttons off. Not off our beautiful pyjamas. Some other witch has got into the house and is cutting all our buttons off to spite us." "Some other witch," said the Witch, surprised and alarmed. "I think I would know if there was another Witch in the house. And I can't think of another Witch who would want to

spite me. But something, or someone, must be doing it, and I really think now that it wasn't you.

I'm sorry I blamed you unjustly. But we shall have to keep a sharp lookout and see if we can find

any clues."

The following day, the fifth day of Ruth visit, they found a clue. The Witch found hers and Ruth's buttons at the bottom of the refrigerator with bits of food sticking to them. And all the buttons had their buttonholes plugged up with grass. "Well," said the Witch, "That's a very

important clue. It means that someone very small has got into the house - someone small enough to use a button as a plate, but strong enough, or magic enough, to open the refrigerator. Did you bring a fairy with you from Ireland, Ruth?" "I don't think so," said Ruth. "I've stayed away from fairies ever since they tried to kidnap me!"

"Well, a fairy I think it is." said the Witch. "Although I've never heard of any around

here. And if it is a fairy, I think we should check the doll's house. It would be just the right size for a fairy to live in. But what puzzles me is, why she should have arrived here before we bought the doll's house. So they went to check the doll's house, and sure enough, one of the saucepans was dirty, the kittens' buttons were lying around dirty, and there was a puddle of soup on the kitchen floor. Upstairs lying on a bed was the fairy herself. "Oh how beautiful," whispered Ruth.

But although she said it softly, she awakened the fairy, and the fairy sat up and looked at them.

She didn't seem frightened in the least, although even the kittens were bigger than she was.