Tonight, my family started reading Newbery Award Winner *The Witch of Blackbird Pond*. Set in 1687 New England, the passengers of a rowboat are astounded when Kit, a hot-tempered young girl, dives into the water to retrieve a lost doll. As the chapter unfolds, it becomes apparent that at least one shipmate believes her to be a witch because of her ability to swim. Nat, the son of the ships captain, informs Kit of the correlation between swimming and witchery. Of the infamous water trial, says, [t]is a sure test. Ive seen it myself. A true witch will always float. The innocent ones just sink like a stone. I read this portion to my children, and Isaac, my ten year old, started chuckling. What is it? I asked. Thats some kind of test. If you swim youre a witch and are done in. If you sink like a stone, you arent a witch, but you drown. Either way, you die. Its just a pretty crummy test; thats all. Good point, kid. Good point. In related news, Im glad Im not a teenage girl circa 1687. In related related news, this entire exchange reminds me of the following clip: https://youtube/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:24:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015