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CHAPTER 1 THE PEDLAR |
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The spring of 1634 arrives, |
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but in the prison of Lancaster Castle it stays cold. |
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The twenty women in the prison are dirty, |
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hungry and cold. |
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There are no beds or chairs and so they sleep on the cold floor. |
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There are no windows, |
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so it is always dark. |
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The women want to get out of the prison; |
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they want to go home. |
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Sometimes the guards open the big, |
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old door and put some bread and water on the floor. |
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Then they close the door again. |
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My name is Jennet Device, |
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and I am one of the twenty women in prison. |
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Day after day, |
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I sit on the cold floor and wait. |
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I want to feel warm again; |
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I want to see the sky again, |
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and Pendle Hill, |
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the beautiful hill near my home. |
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But I am in the dark prison of Lancaster Castle, |
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and I sit on the cold floor and wait. |
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One day, something happens. |
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The guards open the big, old door. |
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'Jennet Device!'a guard calls. |
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'Come here at once,witch!Somebody wants to see you.' |
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I get up slowly |
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because I'm very cold |
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and I walk across the dark room to the door. |
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Perhaps it' s someone from Read Hall! |
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Perhaps I'm going home! |
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'Jennet Device,be quick!'the guard calls again. |
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Someone is standing at the door with the guard. |
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'Jennet,'he says quietly. |
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I see him then: |
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a tall man with brown hair and tired blue eyes. |
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He is not from Read Hall. |
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It is Mr Webster,from the church at Kild wick. |
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My legs stop moving and suddenly I want to sit down. |
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'Come on, come on,' the guard says angrily. |
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He begins to close the door. |
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'Come out here for a minute, |
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Jennet,' Mr Webster says quietly. |
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'Sit down and eat something.' |
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I sit down at a little table near the door. |
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Mr Webster gives me some bread |
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and some meat and I begin to eat hungrily. |
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'Ten minutes,'the guard says. |
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'After ten minutes,she goes in again. |
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'Thank you,'Mr Webster says. |
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'How is everyone at Read Hall?' |
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I ask at last. |
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Mr Webster smiles. |
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'Everyone is well. |
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I was there yesterday.' |
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I close my eyes for a minute. |
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' Mr Webster, it' s not true. |
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I'm not a witch, you know.' |
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'I know,Jennet,'Mr Webster says. |
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'Last week, I brought Edmund Robinson |
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and his father into my church, |
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and asked them about the boy's story. |
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Many people believed Edmund' s story, |
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but some people didn' t. |
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Edmund Robinson is going to London tomorrow with his father, |
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and a judge is going to question them.' |
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The guard comes back and begins to open the door. |
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' Time!' he says. |
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Mr Webster stands up. |
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'God is here with you,Jennet. |
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Never forget that. |
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You can be happy,when God is with you.' |
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I stand up too, and take the bread from the table. |
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' Yes, Mr Webster. God is with me; |
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I believe that.' But happy?How can I be happy? |
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I go back into the dark prison, |
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and the guard closes the door behind me. |
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The women run to me. |
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'Bread!Give us bread!'they cry. |
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Quickly, I put the bread in my shirt. |
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I don't want to lose it. |
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I walk across the room and sit down on the floor. |
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I am crying,but I feel a little better. |
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Edmund Robinson, of Newchurch, |
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is only ten years old. |
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Edmund told lies about me and about many women: |
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he saw us at a witches' meeting at a house called Hoarstones. |
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It's not true,but many people believed him. |
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What is he going to say in London? |
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The truth? Or more lies. |
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But now, in the prison of Lancaster Castle, |
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I want to tell my story. |
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It is a story about rich men and angry villagers; |
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about old women and hungry children. |
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It is a true story, and it happened to me. |
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I was born in 1603. |
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My family was always very poor, |
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and after my father died, we were poorer. |
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In winter, I was often ill and I was always cold and hungry. |
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In summer, |
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I was sometimes ill and I was often cold and hungry. |
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We lived some miles from the village of New church, |
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in an old house called Malkin Tower. |
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It was dirty and cold. |
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The rain came in through the windows and there were no doors. |
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To the west, was the big hill called Pendle. |
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Pendle Hill was beautiful. |
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I loved Pendle Hill because it sat quietly all year and watched me. |
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My story begins on the eighteenth day of March in the year 1612. |
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I was nine years old, |
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and my life began to change on that day. |
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My mother and my grandmother were ill and they sat on the floor, |
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with their dogs,near the little fire. |
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My sister Alizon wanted to go out. |
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'I'm going to look for bread,'she said. |
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My brother James sat near the fire, |
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his mouth open.'Go and look for bread, |
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'he said.'Go and look for bread. |
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'James often said things again and again. |
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Alizon ran out of the house and I followed her. |
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'Go and look for bread!'James called. |
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Alizon began to go east, |
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up the hill and past the big trees behind Malkin Tower. |
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Alizon walked fast. |
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She was eighteen years old and she was tall with long, |
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dirty brown hair and a white,hungry face. |
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It was cold, but there was no rain. |
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Alizon wore a coat and some shoes, |
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but I had no coat and no shoes. |
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' Please wait a minute!' I called to. |
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my sister.' I want to come with you.' |
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'No!'Alizon cried. |
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'Go back, I don't want you.' |
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Suddenly, a dog ran in front of Alizon. |
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' Good dog, good dog!' Alizon called. |
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The dog ran to her and she put her hand on its head. |
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It was my sister' s dog and it liked her. |
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It was a big dog with big teeth |
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and I didn' t like it because it was always hungry. |
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I followed Alizon and her dog along the river to Colne. |
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But before we arrived at Colne, we met John Law. |
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John Law was a big fat man, about fifty years old. |
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'Can I have some money, please? |
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'Alizon called.'I'm hungry· |
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John Law didn' t answer. |
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He walked slowly because he was fat |
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and because he carried a big bag on his back. |
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In his bag were a lot of beautiful things. |
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He was a pedlar and he walked across the hills and visited all the villages. |
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'Can I have some money?' |
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Alizon called again.'I'm very hungry!' |
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John Law stopped.' Stop following me,' |
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he said.' I'm not going to give you money.' |
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'Give me money!'Alizon said. |
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'I don' t want to give you money,' |
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the pedlar said. He took his hat off. |
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There was not much hair on his head. |
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'I don't like you and I don' t like your family. |
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A lot of bad women, you are, |
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and your father was a bad man, too.' |
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Alizon was angry. |
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'Don't talk about my father-he' s dead now! |
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Give me some money, old man!' |
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John Law' s face was red.' No!' he cried. |
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He began to walk up the hill to the village. |
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'Go back to your dirty family!' |
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Alizon began to laugh angrily. |
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'A dead man!A dead man!'she called. |
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'Dead before dark,John Law!' |
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She looked down at her dog and put her hand on its head. |
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'Go after him,dog,'she said. |
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'Go after him and get him!' |
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The big dog began to run after the pedlar. |
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John Law stopped. |
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He looked afraid and his face was very red. |
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'Call your dog back,you bad girl!'he shouted. |
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Suddenly,his mouth opened and his face went white. |
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Slowly,he began to fall, |
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and his big body hit the road. |
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The dog came up to him, |
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but the pedlar did not move. |
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Alizon watched John Law for a minute. |
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Then she said to me, |
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'Go and call someone from the village.' |
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I felt afraid,but I ran alog the road very quickly. |
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'Help!Help!'I called to the villagers. |
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'The pedlar is ill' |
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The villagers came out of their houses |
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and followed me down the hill. |
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A young man looked at John Law carefully. |
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'He's not dead,'he said, |
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'but he' s very ill. |
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Let' s move him to the nearest house. |
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Someone must go and call his son.' |
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Just then, John Law began to talk very slowly. |
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'I can' t move!' he said. |
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' I 'm alive, but I can' t move!' |
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I went back to stand near Alizon. |
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The dog sat at her feet. |
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'That Device girl…' |
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John Law said slowly,'she-she cursed me! |
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She wanted me to die! |
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And her dog came to get me. |
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All the villagers looked at Alizon. |
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'I 'm sorry,'Alizon said quickly. |
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'I'm very hungry and I wanted some money,that's all.' |
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'Go away!' the villagers cried. |
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'You' re a witch, |
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and we don' t want you in our village.' |
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Alizon began to run away down the hill and her dog followed. |
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I watched the villagers. |
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They carried John Law slowly up the hill to the nearest house. |
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And then I followed my sister down the hill. |
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I was hungry and tired |
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and Malkin Tower was many miles away. |
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I was nine years old and I was angry. |
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I was angry because the pedlar was ill. |
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I was angry because the villagers didn' t like me . |
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And I was angry because my sister was a witch. |