Chapter Seven - The Witch among Thorns!

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Disclaimer - I do not own the story featured in this chapter and am not using it for any
profit.

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A/N - Hi, thanks for the lovely reviews. It's nice to get some feedback now and again.
I've got a really horrible case of writer's block, I'm afraid, so this chapters a little of the
wall story that Jareth tells Caradoc While Hilarity and Trin are desperately trying to
find a way out of this mess. Enjoy!

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"Dad? Can you tell me a story?" said a little voice from somewhere around Jareth's
knee. He was too distracted to notice however due to the loud "YOU DID
WHAT!?!?!" that boomed from the next room.

"DAD!" said Caradoc angrily.

"Sorry. What?"

"Can you tell me a story?" the little crazy-haired boy repeated.

"Ask your mother."

"She went out."

"Oh...OK then." said Jareth with a shrug. "Which story?"

"Make one up." Caradoc commanded. The Goblin King sighed. His son was turning
into a right little... He really should have paid more attention the 'do as I say, not as I
do' side of parenting.

"Er...right. OK. Once upon a time there lived a...servant called...er...Stan! And he
worked very hard for three whole years. Until one day his master said "I don't like you
anymore so go away."

"But you haven't paid me anything yet!" said Stan.

"Oh right." said his master and gave him three bits of fluff and kicked him out of the
door.

Now Stan didn't know very much about money. So he thought that three bits of fluff
was a good thing and said to himself. "Wow! Three whole bits of fluff. I must be a
millionaire!" and he skipped away on his travels.

He had walked for a little while until he met a little elf sitting under a tree.

"Hello little elf! What's happening with you today?" said Stan.

"Er! Nothing." said the elf "Just sitting under this tree....What's happening with you?"

"Well, I'm off on my travels. I've got three years wages in my purse."

"Three years wages? Wow, how much is that? You must be a millionaire."

"Even better!" said Stan proudly. "I've got three bits of *da dala la da da DA* Fluff!"

The little elf's eyes widened with wonderment. "Oh! I dreamed of having only one bit
of fluff, but, three bits of fluff! Wow! What could I do with that? I could make a little
fluffy hat...and a little pair of fluffy slippers. Woohoo! Set me a treat for the winter
that would!"

Now Stan had a very kind heart. And he gave all his fluff to the little elf.

"Oh bless ya heart, young man." said the elf (Jareth suddenly realised his funny elf
voice had switched from a Liverpudlian accent to an Irish one, but Caradoc didn't
seem to mind.) "Never have I had such an act of kindness bestowed upon me. And as
a reward, I shall grant ya three wishes. One for every piece of fluff."

"All Right!!" cried Stan happily. "Fantastic! Well for my first wish, I wish for...er...a
fiddle...that whenever I play it everyone is forced to get up and dance. And next I want
a....Oh this is so exiting isn't it...a bow and arrow, and whenever I shoot it *twang* it
will always hit what I aim at. And thirdly...thirdly...Come on, Stan! This is
important!....yeah!...I wish that whenever I ask a person a favour, he'll have to do what
I ask."

"All that, you shall have." said the elf. *ding* And Stan found himself carrying a
fiddle, a bow and arrow and a piece of paper that said : "Do what Stan says or the
elves will come and getcha!" Then the elf disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

"Well thank...eh!...Oh! He's gone." said Stan and looked at his new acquirements "Not
bad. They're not as good as three bits of fluff but, they'll do me!" he said and skipped
off happier than a fly on a piece of crap. And that's the end of the first bit." said Jareth,
his throat was hurting.

"But I want to hear the rest now!" complained Caradoc.

"No. Perhaps some other time. When the author can't be arsed to write properly." said
the Goblin King and looked up to discover that Hilarity and Trin had finally come out
from the dinning room...