Tom was feeling very depressed. Other boys in the neighbourhood made fun of him because he was a bit short in height for his age. They also did not include him in their games. He often sulked in his room and avoided going out to play. One day he had an idea, so he took out a pencil and a paper, and started writing:

Dear Witch Green Eyes,Can you please give me a growing potion? I will be very grateful. Do you remember that I rescued your cat from a tree? You can give me the potion as a thank you gift.

Sincerely,TomTom read the letter twice and burnt it. That is how witches got their letters.

Witch Green Eyes was busy mixing up some magical potions when her cat entered to present Tom’s letter to her. With a startled yell, she dropped her brew. In a fit of anger, she accidentally grabbed a shrinking potion. She drew a chalk circle on the floor and placed the bottle in its centre. She clapped her hands twice and the bottle appeared on Tom’s desk.

Tom was really pleased that Witch Green Eyes had sent the potion so quickly. He drank it all in one gulp. Suddenly, he felt very odd. He had the queer feeling that he was shrinking rapidly. He looked down at himself and got a big shock. He was quite miniscule.

“I have shrunk! But I wanted to grow taller, not smaller! What am I going to do now? Oh, why did Witch Green Eyes give me wrong potion?” Tom cried in dismay. He then jumped down from the desk onto the soft chair cushion. Then he slid down the chair’s leg and landed on the carpet.

“I will have to go to her castle on top of Glass Hill and ask for her help personally. But how will I get there? I’ll probably have to take the bus,” Tom decided and walked to the door and easily crawled under it to the other side. He was really that tiny!

He went past the living room where his father was watching television. His dog, Snuffles sniffed hard and wagged his tail which made Tom topple over. He gave an agonised yell but even his voice had become so low that nobody heard him. He crawled through the space under the front door and was out in the street.

He ran towards the bus stop, which wasn’t very far from his house. But today the distance seemed a very long one because his legs were so tiny too! Two girls were waiting for the bus. Tom climbed onto the shoes of one of the girls and clung hard on her shoelaces. When the bus arrived, the girls got in. Tom jumped off the shoe and started walking towards the bus driver.

“Ugh!!” he heard one of the girls say. “I just saw a very ugly bug.”

“Who’s she calling ugly!” Tom scowled.

He climbed up the driver’s seat, went up the driver’s shirt and hopped onto his shoulder.

“Glass Hill,” he shouted into the driver’s ear so that the driver would hear him and think it was said by one of the passengers.

An hour later, the bus finally came to a stop near Glass Hill. Tom jumped off and looked around. A newspaper boy was climbing onto his bicycle. Tom jumped up the wheel and got into the boy’s coat pocket. When the boy reached Glass Hill, Tom bit him hard. The boy stopped with a jerk and this gave Tom enough time to jump off the bicycle. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the boy scratching himself. Tom wanted to say sorry but decided not to draw attention to himself.

Clutching onto the grass, he climbed the hill. When he reached the door of the Witch Green Eyes’ house, he wondered how she would notice him. He picked up a few leaves and decided to use them as flags.

He crawled through a mouse hole and reached the inside of the house. He was relieved to see Witch Green Eyes in a corner, muttering to herself as she bent over a bubbling cauldron.

Tom went over and tickled her feet with the leaves. Startled, she dropped her brew… again.

“That’s the second time you have made me drop my precious potion, sonny. It is a good thing that I am not a wicked witch or I would have turned you into a beetle.”

“But I am the size of a beetle, Witch Green Eyes,” said poor Tom. “You gave me the wrong potion.”

“So I see. Wait here,” said the witch.

She went to her cupboard and took out a glass bottle full of a bubbling red potion. She gently poured it down Tom’s throat. He felt himself being pulled and stretched from all sides till he was his original size once again.

“I am afraid I don’t have more potions to make you grow any taller. It is all used up. But if you wait three sunny days and four moonlit nights …”

“No, no,” said Tom. I like myself just the way I am. Thank you so much Witch Green Eyes. I should go home now so if you will just help me.”

“Of course,” said the kind witch.” She drew a chalk circle around Tom, muttered some magic words and clapped her hands twice.

Tom instantly found himself in his room. “What a relief to be back to my normal self. I am fine just the way I am!” said Tom with delight.