"The April Witch" is a 1952

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

Plot summary

Cecy Elliott is a 17-year-old girl born into a magical family. She has the ability to assimilate with other living plants or animals. Purely benevolent and innocent in nature, Cecy tells her parents that she wishes to feel love, despite their warning that she will lose her magical abilities if she marries a human. She does not heed their warning and merges her essence with a young woman named Ann. She forces Ann to attend a dance with Tom, a 22-year-old man who has been interested in her for a while. However, Ann has no interest in Tom. Tom is aware of Ann's inconsistent behaviour during the dance. The story ends with Cecy becoming attracted to Tom and trying to arrange a meeting with Tom and her human form through Ann.

Reception

Boucher and McComas described the story as one of Bradbury's "reassuringly lovely flights of fancy"."Recommended Reading", ''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'', June 1953, p.70

Publication history

The story was included in several of Bradbury's short story collections: * ''

The Golden Apples of the Sun ''The Golden Apples of the Sun'' is an anthology of 22 short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury. It was published by Doubleday & Company in 1953. The book's title is also the title of the final story in the collection. The words "the go ...

'', 1953 * '' Twice 22'', 1966 * '' The Stories of Ray Bradbury'', 1980 * '' Ray Bradbury Collected Short Stories'', 2001 This story was later assimilated into Bradbury's 2003

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...

novel '' From the Dust Returned''.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

* 1952 short stories Short stories by Ray Bradbury Fantasy short stories Short stories about witches and witchcraft Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post {{1950s-fantasy-story-stub