Heidi Heckelbeck Casts a Spell Read online

  By Wanda Coven

  Illustrated by Priscilla Burris

  Showtime!

  Thanks to meanie Melanie Maplethorpe, Heidi is cast as a scary tree in the school play, The Wizard of Oz. Heidi decides to get even with Melanie by casting a spell on her. The result of the spell? Melanie—who has the lead role as Dorothy—will forget her lines. As the day of the play nears, Heidi carefully collects all the ingredients she needs. But when she casts her spell, will Heidi’s revenge be as sweet as she thinks?

  With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

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  LITTLE SIMON

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Cover design by Aviva Shur

  Ages 5–7

  HeidiHeckelbeckBooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2012 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Coven, Wanda.

  Heidi Heckelbeck casts a spell / by Wanda Coven ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Second-grade witch Heidi Heckelbeck wants revenge against

  Melanie, the meanest girl in school, so she decides to cast a forgetting spell on her right before the start of the school play.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-3567-4 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-4088-3 (hardcover)

  [etc.]

  [1. Witches—Fiction. 2. Conduct of life—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction.]

  I. Burris, Priscilla, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.C83392Hc 2012

  [Fic]—dc23

  2011014336

  ISBN 978-1-4424-3568-1 (eBook)

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: A SPELL FOR SMELL-A-NIE

  Chapter 2: CRUNCHY, SALTY WAFFLES

  Chapter 3: BRUCE

  Chapter 4: TOADS AND MICE

  Chapter 5: TIM-BER!

  Chapter 6: FRANKIE

  Chapter 7: SHOWTIME!

  Chapter 8: THE SPELL IS ON!

  Chapter 9: A STAR IS BORN

  A SPELL FOR

  SMELL-A-NIE

  Abracadabra!

  Alakazam!

  Presto change-o!

  Heidi Heckelbeck flipped open her Book of Spells. The book had been a gift from her grandmother, who was a witch. Heidi’s mother was also a witch, as well as her Aunt Trudy and, of course, Heidi. Heidi’s dad and little brother, Henry, were just regular people.

  The book’s worn pages crinkled as she thumbed through them.

  “Bingo!” Heidi said to herself.

  She had found the spell:

  Heidi had discovered it last night. Tucked inside the page was a piece of paper. Heidi unfolded it. It was a list of all the rotten things Melanie Maplethorpe had done to Heidi on her first day of school yesterday.

  Mean Things Melanie Did to Me

  1. She called me smelly.

  2. She gave me five dirty looks for no reason!

  3. She put a jack-o’-lantern face on my self-portrait.

  4. She made me get cast as a scary apple tree in the class play.

  “I’m going to teach Princess Smell-a-nie a lesson once and for all,” said Heidi.

  In three weeks Heidi’s second-grade class would be performing The Wizard of Oz. Heidi planned to cast the spell on opening night.

  Imagine how meanie Melanie will feel when she forgets all her lines, thought Heidi. She could hardly wait.

  Heidi studied the list of ingredients she would need for the spell.

  1 eye of a gingerbread man

  1 black plastic spider

  1 piece of straw

  1 teaspoon of salt

  3 cornflakes

  2 sour gummy worms

  1 puppy tooth

  1 tablespoon of catnip

  3 splashes of water

  Wow, thought Heidi. Where am I going to find all this stuff? It would be a treasure hunt, that was for sure. She copied the ingredients onto a piece of paper and stuck it in her pocket. Then she read the directions carefully.

  Mix ingredients together in a red sand pail. Close your eyes and place one hand over the pail. Hold your Witches of Westwick medallion in your other hand. Chant the following words:

  I’d better get started, thought Heidi.

  CRUNCHY, SALTY WAFFLES

  Heidi stashed the Book of Spells in her keepsake box and shoved it under the bed. Then she found a silver drawstring pouch that would hold her spell ingredients. The pouch had been a gift from Aunt Trudy. She tied it to her belt loop and dashed downstairs to the kitchen, where mom and Henry were waiting.

  Mom had made waffles for breakfast. She placed a waffle and orange slices in front of Heidi.

  “You know what I’m in the mood for?” asked Heidi.

  “Let me guess,” said Mom. “Not waffles.”

  “Cornflakes,” said Heidi.

  Heidi’s mother raised an eyebrow.

  “Haven’t you heard?” asked Mom. “You hate cornflakes.”

  “I know,” said Heidi, “but I’m craving crunchy waffles.”

  “Me too!” said Henry.

  Heidi rolled her eyes.

  “Do you even know what ‘crave’ means?” asked Heidi.

  “Yup,” said Henry. “It means you absolutely have to have something or else you’ll go bananas.”

  “Wow, you’re smarter than I thought,” said Heidi.

  Mom set a box of cornflakes on the table.

  Heidi sprinkled some on her waffles.

  Then she snuck a few into her pouch.

  Now she needed salt. But first she had to distract Henry.

  “Cool-o!” said Heidi. “There’s a maze on the back of the cereal box!”

  “Let me see!” said Henry.

  Heidi slid the cereal box to Henry.

  He studied the maze while he ate.

  Heidi grabbed the saltshaker. She unscrewed the top and poured some into her pouch. Then she put the saltshaker back on the table.

  Henry looked up. “Hey, Mom,” he said. “Heidi just put salt on her crunchy waffles!”

  “So?” said Heidi.

  “So that’s gross,” said Henry.

  Then Dad walked into the kitchen.

  “I like salt on my waffles too,” said Dad. “And ketchup and bacon.”

  Heidi and Henry groaned.

  “Okay, okay,” said Mom. “Hop to it, kiddos, or you’ll miss the bus!”

  BRUCE

  Heidi looked for some of the spell ingredients on the way to the bus stop. She didn’t see a piece of straw or a single puppy tooth along the way. How am I supposed to find a puppy tooth, anyway? she wondered. Heidi had never seen one lying around before. Did puppies even lose their teeth? Hei
di had no idea, but she absolutely had to have one to complete her spell.

  “Woo-hoo!” a voice called. “Heidi! Henry!”

  Aunt Trudy waved from her porch. Her cottage looked like a gingerbread house with pink and green trim. She had on a bathrobe and held a cup of tea in her hand. Her red hair was the same color as Heidi’s, only Aunt Trudy wore hers in a braid. Heidi loved Aunt Trudy. She learned all kinds of cool witchy stuff from her—stuff that her mother would not share.

  “Come visit me after school!” Aunt Trudy sang.

  “Sure thing!” said Heidi, waving back.

  Henry waved too.

  The school bus pulled to the curb a few houses up. Heidi and Henry ran like crazy to catch it.

  Henry hopped on board and sat next to his new friend Dudley. Henry had only taken the bus once, but he acted like an old pro. This was Heidi’s first time, since her mom had given her a ride yesterday. Heidi looked around for her friend Lucy Lancaster. Lucy had been nice to Heidi on her first day of school, but there was no sign of Lucy on the bus. Then she noticed Lucy’s friend Bruce Bickerson. Bruce had short brown hair and wore tortoiseshell glasses. The seat beside him was empty. Heidi tried to act cool as she walked up the aisle. Then she sat down next to Bruce.

  “Hey,” said Bruce.

  “Hey,” said Heidi.

  The bus groaned as it began to move.

  “So why’d you leave your old school, anyway?” asked Bruce.

  “I didn’t have an old school,” said Heidi. “My mom homeschooled my brother and me.”

  “That’s so cool!” said Bruce. “Did you watch TV and play games whenever you felt like it?”

  “No way,” said Heidi. “We had a strict schedule, but sometimes we got to have school in our pajamas.”

  “Sounds comfy,” said Bruce. “So, are you excited about the school play?”

  “Not really,” said Heidi.

  “Me neither,” said Bruce. “I’d rather be working on my sticker tracker.”

  “What’s a sticker tracker?” asked Heidi.

  “It’s a special sticker I invented,” said Bruce. “You can stick it on letters, people—even pets. Then you can track the object on a webcam. I call it the Bicker Sticker.”

  “That’s neat,” said Heidi. “Have you tested it?”

  “Yeah, I tested it on my puppy,” said Bruce. “I saw him dig up my mom’s tulip bulbs from my laboratory.”

  “You have a puppy?” asked Heidi. “And a laboratory?”

  “Yup,” said Bruce. “He’s a white lab named Benjamin Franklin, but we call him Frankie for short. My laboratory is in the basement.”

  “Has Frankie lost any teeth?” asked Heidi eagerly.

  “Not yet,” said Bruce.

  “Can I have one if he does?” asked Heidi.

  “I guess so,” said Bruce.

  “I’ll trade you a shark tooth for a puppy tooth,” said Heidi.

  “Deal!” said Bruce.

  “Will you promise to check his puppy bed every day?” asked Heidi.

  “Promise,” said Bruce. “I’ll track him with a Bicker Sticker too!”

  They shook on it.

  Heidi felt pretty good for a change, but the feeling only lasted for about a second because soon she heard a . . .

  WHACK!

  A backpack smacked Bruce in the back of the head.

  “Owee!” yelped Bruce.

  His eyeglasses sailed across two seats and landed in the aisle.

  Heidi gasped.

  Who would do such a rotten thing? she wondered.

  It must’ve been meanie Melanie. She whipped around to get a good look.

  TOADS

  AND MICE

  When Heidi turned around, she came face-to-face with a squinty-eyed boy with a pug nose and freckles. He gave Heidi the evil eye. Heidi turned right back around. Her friend Bruce had his arms out like a zombie and was grasping the air. Poor Bruce! He couldn’t see a thing without his glasses.

  “Bickerson’s blind!” said the bully as he laughed.

  Heidi spotted Bruce’s glasses on the floor. She dove down and grabbed them. As she crawled back to her seat Heidi noticed the bully’s sneakers. She gently tugged the laces and untied them. Then she jumped to her feet and handed the glasses to Bruce.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” said Heidi.

  Kids began to file off the bus. The bully shoved his way down the aisle. But before he could get to the stairs, he tripped over his shoelaces and stumbled to the ground.

  Everyone clapped and laughed.

  “Did you have something to do with that?” asked Bruce.

  “Maybe,” said Heidi.

  Bruce held up his right hand and Heidi slapped him five.

  “Who was that, anyway?” asked Heidi as they made their way off the bus.

  “Travis Templeton,” said Bruce. “He’s a fifth grader and the biggest bully in the whole school.”

  Wow, thought Heidi. School was much easier at home.

  The morning seemed to whiz by. Melanie held her nose whenever she saw Heidi, but nothing else bad happened.

  Heidi had lunch with Bruce and Lucy. Next she yawned her way through drama class. When school was finally over, she was able to visit Aunt Trudy.

  Heidi ran from the bus stop to Aunt Trudy’s and rang the bell. Aunt Trudy’s parrots squawked in the kitchen. She opened the door and gave Heidi a squeeze. Heidi got a whiff of flowers, tea, and spice. Aunt Trudy ran a mail-order perfume business from home. She made all her perfumes and witch’s brews in her kitchen.

  “Come on in!” sang Aunt Trudy. “I made apple cider.”

  Heidi brushed through the beaded curtains that led into the living room. She took off her coat and sat down on the couch. Aunt Trudy’s cats, Agnes and Hilda, jumped onto her lap.

  Aunt Trudy sat down on a soft, mushroom-shaped stool. She gave Heidi some gingersnaps and apple cider.

  “So, how’s school going?” asked Aunt Trudy.

  “Not so great,” said Heidi.

  “I know it’s hard being new,” said Aunt Trudy. “Tell me about it.”

  Heidi told Aunt Trudy about meanie Melanie and how she had gotten Heidi cast as a scary tree in the class play. She also told her about the bully on the school bus.

  “Give Melanie time,” said Aunt Trudy. “She’s not used to having a new girl in class. As for the bully, just ignore him. I bet if you do, he’ll stop bothering you.”

  “I wish I could cast a spell on both of them,” said Heidi. “By the way, do you have a black plastic spider?”

  Aunt Trudy laughed at first. She knew exactly what Heidi was up to. But then she sighed and looked at Heidi with a raised eyebrow.

  “You must be careful with your powers,” said Aunt Trudy. “You can’t turn people into toads and mice—or make them forget—just because they make you mad.”

  “I just want to scare Melanie,” said Heidi. “I would reverse the spell after the play.”

  “Witches have to solve their problems without magic first,” said Aunt Trudy. “That’s why they go to school.”

  “Have you ever practiced magic on your customers?” asked Heidi.

  “Never,” said Aunt Trudy. “And you must promise me you’ll never use magic at school.”

  Maybe her aunt was right. Maybe Heidi should just learn how to get along with others.

  “Okay,” agreed Heidi, but she was careful not to promise.

  After their snack, Aunt Trudy had to get back to work. She gave Heidi a hug and asked her to take out the trash before she left. Heidi carried the paper bag of trash to the barrel. On the way she noticed a cat toy on the top of the trash. She pulled it out and felt it with her fingers. It felt like it was stuffed with pine needles. Then she sniffed it.

  Catnip! thought Heidi. That’s one of the spell ingredients. She decided to take the cat toy with her, just in case. She stuffed it in her pouch and dumped the paper bag into the barrel.

  Then she ran down the side
walk for home.

  TIM-BER!

  Heidi stopped thinking about casting spells and worked on getting along with others. When Melanie made fun of her clothes, Heidi ignored her. When Travis gave her the evil eye, she pretended not to notice. And when Lucy wanted to be first on the monkey bars, Heidi let her go first. Heidi was a good citizen for three whole weeks! But then everything went bonkers at dress rehearsal.

  Heidi rubbed brown face paint on her face and hands to look like tree bark. Then she helped Lucy stuff her curly dark hair into an old-lady wig.

  “Hello, Auntie Em!” said Heidi.

  Lucy laughed.

  “You should see my Munchkin wig,” said Lucy.

  She pulled another wig from her backpack. It had orange curlicue hair with a rubber bald patch in front.

  “Scary, right?” said Lucy.

  Heidi laughed so hard she snorted.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Bruce.

  Heidi and Lucy turned around. Bruce had on silver face paint, silver clothes, and a kitchen funnel on top of his head. He held a plastic ax in his hand. The girls laughed even harder.

  “I’m the Tin Man,” said Bruce. “So what?”

  “So you look like you belong in a junkyard!” said Lucy.

  “Well, you look like you belong in an old folk’s home!” said Bruce.

  “And Heidi looks like she belongs in a pigsty,” said Melanie.

  Melanie was wearing her Dorothy costume, but she acted like the Wicked Witch.

  Mrs. Noddywonks, their drama teacher, clapped her hands.