The horrible curse

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Howl finds out that the spell is actually Neil’s homework from his teacher, Miss Angorian. Neil says that she has the Howl’s spell, so Howl decides to go and see Miss Angorian with Sophie and Michael. Miss Angorian is young and very beautiful. Howl asks her about his spell, so she returns it to him: it is a spell for making things bigger. He also asks her about the spell that Miss Angorian gives Neil as homework. She says that the spell is a famous poetry by John Donne’s Song and reads out the second verse.
It is the following:

    If thou beest born to strange sights,
         Things invisible to see,
    Ride ten thousand days and nights,
        Till age snow white hairs on thee.
    Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me
       All strange wonders that befell thee,
            And swear
            Nowhere
    Lives a woman true, and fair.
   (John Donne, Song)

Howl turns deathly pale because he finds that the poetry is a horrible curse which is sent to him by the Witch of the Waste.

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A strange country: Wales

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Michael shows Howl the spell that he is having so much trouble with. Michael says that he tried to catch a falling star, but it did not succeed and the star died. Howl is confused because it is not the spell that he left for Michael. Howl guesses that when Sophie opened the black door, this paper came through. Howl gets angry with that Sophie and Michael tried to catch a falling star because it is a very dangerous thing. Howl makes Michael promise that he will never try to catch another falling star. When Calcifer mutters that Howl has caught a falling star before, Howl glares at him. Howl decides to go to the black door with Sophie and Michael to look the second verse which is more important than the first one.

Once Howl, Sophie and Michael pass thought the black door, they find themselves in a rainy neighborhood of new houses. After they walk for a few minutes, they arrive at a yellow brick house called Rivendell. A little girl comes out of the house, calling Howl “Uncle Howell.” Howl introduces Sophie and Michael to his sister Megan and his niece Mari. Howl asks Megan that his nephew Neil may lose his homework recently. Megan agrees that, so Howl goes to Neil’s room. 

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Go and catch a falling star

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One day, while Sophie and Calcifer are talking, Michael is having trouble with the spell that Howl has given him to learn. He asks Sophie to help with his homework. Sophie takes a look at the spell.
It is the following:

    Go and catch a falling star,
       Get with child a mandrake root,
    Tell me where all past years are,
       Or who cleft the Devil’s foot,
    Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
       Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
           And find
           And wind
    Serves to advance an honest mind.
    (John Donne, Song)

    Decide what this is about, write a second verse yourself.

Sophie cannot make out what it is all about. Sophie and Michael discuss the spell for a long time. Finally they decide that they should do what the spell says, and do the first line “Go and catch a falling star.” Calcifer tells them he does not want them to go, but they leave. Sophie and Michael arrive at the marsh and wait for the falling star. Suddenly stars start to fall, Michael is going to catch a star. However, the star looks frightened of Michael and Sophie and does not want tem to catch. Thus, the star chooses to die rather than be caught, and falls into the marsh and disappears. Sophie and Michael go home sadly.

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Sophie's sister Lettie

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Michael comes home and starts to talk happily about the truth that his girlfriend “Lettie” is the different person that Howl loves. Sophie is glad to hear that because Michael is around the right age for Martha and he is a steady boy. However, she gets worried about the real Lettie. Howl comes home and is worried about the job offered by the King. The job is finding the King’s brother, Prince Justin who goes to the Waste to look for the Wizard Sulliman. Howl does not want to accept the job because he really does not want to fight the Witch of the Waste. Howl comes up with a wonderful idea. He asks Sophie to go to see the King pretending to be his mother and speak ill of Howl.

The next day, Howl goes out with his guitar to see Lettie. Sophie tries to follow him, but her walk is very slow and cannot catch up with Howl. Michael has a bright idea: there is a pair of seven-league boots inside. By using the boots, they can arrive at Mrs. Fairfax’s house. Michael introduces Sophie as Lettie’s great-aunt. When they enter into Mrs. Fairfax’s house, her dog suddenly runs out of the house. Michael manages to catch the dog, but Sophie and he see a scene that Howl is sitting across from Lettie, and she is looking at him adoringly. Mrs. Fairfax knows who Howl is because he is a student of Mrs. Penstemmon who is also Mrs. Fairfax’s teacher. She also knows about Lettie well, not Martha.

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Green slime and the Scarecrow

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One day, when Sophie cooks, Howl comes screaming out of the bathroom and shouts angrily at her because with her all cleaning, she ruins his spell. As a result, his blond hair turns to red. Howl is very shocked and his magic starts to evoke loud moans of despair. Sophie and Michael leave the castle to escape from Howl’s magic and wait for his magic to calm down. When they return the castle, they find Howl covered in green slime. They take him to the bathroom and wash his body. Howl tells Sophie about a girl that Howl loves. The girl has told him that there is someone else. When he says the girl’s name Lettie, Sophie is surprised and gets worried about her sister Martha.

The next day, Sophie is worried over Martha and debates weather she should see Martha or not. She decides to leave the castle to see Martha, but suddenly she hears a knock on the door and opens it. It is the scarecrow that she helped on the road. The scarecrow is alive and trying to enter into the castle, so Sophie is scared and asks Calcifer to speed up so that they can get rid of the freaky scarecrow. Eventually, the scarecrow disappears out of sight, so Sophie feels relieved. 

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Howl's new cleaning lady

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When Sophie wakes up, she is almost convinced that she dreamed the entire thing. However, Sophie feels a pain and discovers that she is in Howl’s moving castle, and that she has truly made a deal with the fire demon, and that she has been spelled old. When Michael wakes up, he offers Sophie some bread and cheese for breakfast. Sophie wants to eat bacon and eggs, but Michael explains that Calcifer, the fire demon, only bend his head for Howl, and so no one else uses fire. Sophie makes Calcifer bend his head and starts to cook on him. When Howl arrives, he asks Sophie who she is. Sophie says that she is there as Howl’s new cleaning lady. Howl is surprised a little, but he accepts.

As soon as Sophie starts to clean the castle, Michael and Calcifer complain. However she cannot stand dirty room anymore, so she continues to clean. Howl comes out of the bathroom and warns Sophie not kill any of house spiders, then he leaves. As she cleans, Sophie looks for a sign of Calcifer’s contract with Howl, but she cannot find. Instead, She finds some love letters in Michael’s room and she thinks he has a girlfriend. Sophie is going to clean Howl’s dirty room, but Howl wants his room dirty, so he rejects.

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Sophie enters into a Castle

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Martha, the third sister of three sister, does not want to be a great success— what she just wants to get married and have ten children. On the other hand, Lettie is beautiful, smart, and ambitious, and she wants to learn magic. Thus, Martha searches the magic to change their appearance, and Lettie and she switches places.

Sophie is bored everyday. One day, a rich woman visits the hats shop. She is the Witch of the Waste. The witch casts a horrible spell upon Sophie that transfers her into an old lady. Sophie encourages herself and decides to leave the hat shop. On the way to somewhere, Sophie finds a scarecrow in a hedge and prays for its lack. Finally, she arrives Howl’s moving castle. Sophie has trouble with entering into the castle, but she finds a small back door and manages to get in. There is a boy called Michael who is Howl’s apprentice. Michael obviously wants Sophie to leave, but she insists on sitting by fire and waiting until Howl gets back. Sophie is very tired, so she falls asleep. In the middle of night, she jerks herself awake because of her own snoring. Sophie looks into the fire which seems to have a blue face. Suddenly the fire demon talks to Sophie and tells her that Sophie is casted two horrible spells. The fire demon suggests a deal: he will break her spells if Sophie figures out a way to break the fire demon’s contract with Howl. Sophie agrees the deal.

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Sophie talks to Hats

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After Mr. Hatter’s funeral, Fanny, three sisters’ mother, starts to explain the situation to the girls that they do not have enough money and the girls all have to leave the school. Fanny also tells them that she has arranged for Lettie to be apprenticed to Cesari’s, the pastry cook in Market Square and Martha to be apprenticed to a witch named Annabel Fairfax. And, Fanny has decided to take Sophie on as apprentice herself, to give Sophie a chance to learn the trade. 

When Sophie makes hats, she talks to them. She hears rumors that the King has argued with his brother named Price Justin, who has disappeared. On the May Day, she decides to go out to see Lettie. Then, Sophie notices that Lettie is not actually Lettie and she is Martha! 

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Howl's Moving Castle

Hi everyone :) During this fall semester, I decided to read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. As you know, the book was made into a film by Studio Ghibli in 2004. I love the movie, so I try to read the original.

In the land of Ingary, where such things as a seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exsist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortune.

Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three sisters. She is not even child of a poor woodcutter, which might have given her some chance of success. Her parents are well to do and kept a ladies’ hat shop in the prosperous town of Market Chipping. Sophie has two sisters: Lettie and Martha. While Lettie is the middle sister and is the one everyone said was most beautiful, Martha who is the third sister is bound to be the most successful. Mr. Hatter is proud of his three daughters and sent them to the best school in town. However, Mr. Hatter died suddenly…

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Goodbye, Grandma

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The next day, Mr. Kranky talks about his great idea. The idea is to build a Marvelous Medicine Factory and sell the stuff in bottles at ten dollars apiece. If it realizes, his family will become rich and famous. So Mr. Kranky tells George to make the same medicine again. However, George says he cannot possibly remember all the hundreds of things he put into the pot to make the medicine. Mr. Kranky agrees with George, but he says that he will help and jog George's memory.

Then Mr. Kranky and George trace George's memory and collect all the medicine. George makes Marvelous Medicine Number Two, but he forgets something and it does not work out. George also makes Marvelous Medicine Number Three and Four, but they do not succeed. Meanwhile, Grandma appears. She accidentally drinks Marvelous Medicine Number Four. The medicine makes Grandma smaller and smaller. Finally she becomes no bigger than a pin... a pumpkin seed... then... disappears. Grandma is gone. George does not say a word. He feels quite trembly. He knows something tremendous has taken place that day. For a few brief moments he has touched with the very tips of his fingers the edge of a magic world.

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Animals grow and grow

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At that moment, George's mother comes back form shopping in the village. She drives her car into the yard and gets out. She is carrying the bag of groceries, but when she looks up and sees Grandma's head sticking up through the tiles, she drops the bag. She is so surprised and stands motionless. A second later, George's father appears. His name is Mr. Killy Kranky. Mr. Kranky is also surprised and asks George what happens. He answers it is his magic medicine! Mr. Kranky becomes very happy because if he uses the magic medicine on animals, they will become bigger and bigger. He has been trying to breed bigger animals for years and years. Mr. Kranky tells George to bring the medicine. George brings it and gives a spoonful of the medicine to the pig, the cow, the sheep, the horse and the nanny goat. Then they grow and grow.

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Getting taller and taller

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Next, Grandma begins to bulge. She is swelling and puffing up all over. Her face is turning from purple to green. But, after a while, she stops swelling. She is going down and is slowly getting thinner, shrinking back and back slowly to her shrivelly old self.

He asks Grandma if she is all right or not, but she does not answer. She is miles away in another world.  Then she suddenly begins to grow. She is getting taller and taller, longer and longer, thinner and thinner. Finally, Grandma's head goes through the roof!!!

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Grandma gets the Medicine

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George turns off the heat under the stewing pot. He must leave plenty of time for it to cool down. When all the steam and forth has gone away, he peers into the giant pot to see what color the great medicine now is. It is a deep and brilliant blue, so he uses brown paints and pours the whole lot into the pot. The mixture in the pot is gradually turning brown. 

Grandma tells George to bring her medicine. He has the new medicine in his hands and goes to Grandma. When he pops it into her mouth, suddenly her whole body shoots up whoosh into the air. After a while, down she comes again with a plop, back into her seat. She shouts that her stomach is on fire. George sees the smoke coming out of her mouth and out of nostrils. Clouds of black smoke are coming out of her nose and blowing around the room. George runs into the kitchen and comes back with a judge of water. He manages to pour half a jugful down her throat. Spouts of water come shooting out of her and the smoke clears away. 

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The Cook-up

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Lastly, George goes to the place where some animal medicines are put. He finds five big bottles of medicines there: for chicken, horses, cows, sheep and pigs. George puts all into the pot. When he sees the mixture, it is as thick as cream. In addition, as he stirs and stirs, many wonderful colors rise up form the depths and blends together, pinks, blues, green, yellows and browns. George goes on stirring until it is all well mixed, but even so there are still hundreds of medicines lying on the bottom that has not melted. So, he decides to boil it all. On the way to the kitchen, he notices engine oil, antifreeze and grease, so he puts them into the pot. Then back to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, George puts the heavy stewing pot on the stove and turns up the gas flame underneath it as high as it will go. He finds a long wooden spoon in a kitchen drawer and begins stirring hard. The stuff in the pot gets hotter and hotter. The smell is unlike any he has smelled before. It is a brutal and bewitching smell, spicy and staggering, fierce and frenzied, full of wizardly and magic. George dances around the steaming pot, chanting strange words that come into his head out of nowhere.

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How to make the Medicine

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George takes an enormous stewing pot out of the cupboard and places it on the kitchen table. He is going to put in everything he could find. Whatever he sees, if it is runny or powdery or gooey, in it goes.

He goes first to the bathroom. There are always lots of funny things in a bathroom. So upstairs he goes, carrying the enormous two-handled pot before him. When he arrives at the bathroom, he begins to put various kinds of things such as shampoo, shaving soap and face cream into the pot. Then he goes to the bedroom and sees his mother's dressing table. He puts hair set, perfume and lipstick into it. When the bedroom has nothing more to offer, George carries the enormous pot downstairs and trots into the laundry room. He also begins to put many kinds of household items including cleaner and floor polish.

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The Marvelous Plan

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One day, George's parents go out and George is alone in the house with Grandma. Grandma starts to talk about a great many secrets, for example, some of us have magic powers that can twist the creatures of this earth into wondrous shapes.... George is very frightened by her stories and runs into the kitchen. 

George sits himself at the table in the kitchen. He is shaking a little. He really hates that horrid old witchy woman. He says to himself that he is not going to be frightened by Grandma. But he is frightened. And that's why he wants suddenly to explode her away.

He starts to ponder some interesting ideas, for instance, he would like to put six big black rats in the room with Grandma and lock the door. But, his eyes fall upon the bottle of Grandma's brown medicine standing on the sideboard. The medicine is that he has to give Grandma at eleven o'clock. Suddenly, he comes up with a marvelous plan. The plan is that he makes her a new and magic medicine, a medicine no doctor in the world has ever made before!!!

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George's Marvelous Medicine

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I am so sorry for the late blog post :'( During my summer vacation, I read George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl. I have read some of his books including Matilda, The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald Dahl is my favorite writer, so I chose this book.

George is a eight-year-old boy. He is very bored everyday because he does not have a brother or a sister. His father is a farmer, and the farm they live on is miles away from anywhere, so there are never any children to play with. He is tired of staring at pigs, hens, cows and sheep. Besides, George could not help disliking Grandma. She is a selfish grumpy old woman. Most grandmothers are lovely, kind, helpful old ladies, but not this one. She spends all day and everyday sitting in her chair by the window, and she is always complaining, grousing, grouching, grumbling, griping about something or other. She does not seem to care about other people, only about herself. She is a miserable woman.

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