There once was a beautiful young witch named See-All. From a very early age, she would see flashes of things to come, sometimes in still pools of water, or in the leaves left when tea was finished. The people of her town greatly admired her talent, and she usually had a companion, so that she might them tell the things she saw.
One day, the king rode through her town. She was walking with the oldest and wisest townswoman, and the king found himself behind them on the path.
"Look," said See-All to the woman, pointing to a still pool. "There will be a set of twins born soon."
The king asked the old woman what See-All was talking about.
"Oh, she just saw a pregnant fish." Said the old woman, and hurried See-All away.
It so happened that the next day, the king rode through the town, and this day rode past See-All and the old woman on the street.
"Look," said See-All to the old woman, pointing to the clouds. "Someone is going to die, soon."
The king again asked the old woman what See-All was saying.
"Just a bird in the sky," said the old woman, and again she ushered See-All away.
On the third day, See-All walked alone. Her mother had given birth to twins, and the old woman had passed away in her sleep. The king was riding through her town again, and saw her sitting on a stone, holding a teacup in her hands.
She looked up to him from the cup.
"Someone is going to leave this town forever," she said sadly.
He had heard about her predictions, and this was the nail in the proverbial coffin. He whisked her up on his horse, and took her to his castle.
The next day, he called her to his throne room. There was a bowl of clear water waiting.
"Seer," he said, "tell me. Should I wage war to the south?"
She looked in the bowl, but she did not what he wanted her to see.
"Someone very dear to you is going to take ill," she said. "Make sure the doctor is close at hand."
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and out of spite, sent the doctors away. That night, his only son took ill, and without the aid of the doctors, died.
The next day, he summoned her again, and bid her look out the window.
"Tell me, Seer," he said, "should I wage war to the West?"
She looked to the clouds, but did not see what he wanted her to see.
"My lord," she said, "there will be a devastating fire."
He sent her away again, angrier than before. He ordered his most treasured possessions be loaded into his royal carriages, pulled by his fastest and most beautiful horses. That same night, lightning struck the stables and all his horses perished, and his most treasured possessions were lost.
The next day, she was again ordered to the throne room. The king seized her by her hair, and pushed an empty teacup into her hands.
"Tell me, diviner," he said. "Do the tea leaves tell you anything about a war to the East?"
She looked in the cup, and saw.
"I see a great battle to the East. One side will be triumphant and victorious, and one will suffer a great loss."
The king released her and ordered the army be mustered. She began to cry, for she knew that the foolish king would not be victorious. She caught her tears in her hands, and saw in the water a vision of flames, growing larger and larger. The water in her hands grew hot, and she opened them in surprise, and the vision vanished.
The king raised an army, and in the east a greater and more powerful army met them, and the army of the east destroyed the western one.
The king returned, and seized See-All by the throat.
"Tell me what you have seen," he snarled.
"Flames," she said, terrified. "Fire growing by the minute."
"That will be your funeral pyre, upon which you will be thrown alive!" the king said, and she was thrown in the dungeon to await her fate.
The next day, she was publicly brought out in chains. A huge pile of wood stood for to burn her alive, upon which many people had thrown their own possessions: chairs, brooms, even spinning wheels.
The king saw her gazing up at the sky.
"What do you see now?" he smirked.
"Only a bird, flying away, and nothing more," she replied sadly, staring up at the clouds.
"People," yelled the king. "This woman has made the most horrible plights befall our kingdom. We'll burn her, as to put an end to her heinous witchcraft."
And so she was thrown upon the pile, and the pile lit.
The twisted and writhed, the wood beneath her growing hotter by the second. The smoke obscured her for a minute, and the jeering crowd cheered her death.
Suddenly, something shot out of the smoke. It was See-All, astride an old broom, a rowan wand in her hand. She merely waved, and flew away, and was never seen again in the kingdom.
See-All is a strange tale relating to out Muggle brethren. First, she lives peacefully among them, but later they try to exploit her magical gifts and abuse her. It follows the archetypal view of witches and wizards by Muggles: first, an attempt to enslave and use to their own benefit, and afterwards persecution. This was often true in the middle ages, where Muggles would go to witches and wizards for curative help, but would turn on them afterwards. However, the story features a curiously progressive view of Muggles early on in the story, one where they are aware of each other, and living peacefully. While still idyllic by today's standards, it is a pleasant change from the norm. The moral for young children seems to be "Let your gifts be used, but not abused."
