In the land of Ingary, where such things asseven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it isquite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows youare the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you setout to seek your fortunes.

Sophie Hatter was the eldest of three sisters. She was not eventhe child of a poor woodcutter, which might have given her somechance of success. Her parents were well to do and kept aladies’ hat shop in the prosperous town of Market Chipping.True, her own mother died when Sophie was just two years old and hersister Lettie was one year old, and their father married his youngestshop assistant, a pretty blonde girl called Fanny. Fanny shortly gavebirth to the third sister, Martha. This ought to have made Sophie andLettie into Ugly Sisters, but in fact all three girls grew up verypretty indeed, though Lettie was the one everyone said was mostbeautiful. Fanny treated all three girls with the same kindness anddid not favor Martha in the least.

Mr. Hatter was proud of his three daughters and sent them all tothe best school in town. Sophie was the most studious. She read agreat deal, and very soon realized how little chance she had of aninteresting future. It was a disappointment to her, but she was stillhappy enough, looking after her sisters and grooming Martha to seekher fortune when the time came. Since Fanny was always busy in theshop, Sophie was the one who looked after the younger two. There wasa certain amount of screaming and hair-pulling between those youngertwo. Lettie was by no means resigned to being the one who, next toSophie, was bound to be the least successful.

“It’s not fair!” Lettie would shout. “Whyshould Martha have the best of it just because she was born theyoungest? I shall marry a prince, so there!”

To which Martha always retorted that she would end updisgustingly rich without having to marry anybody.

Then Sophie would have to drag them apart and mend their clothes.She was very deft with her needle. As time went on, she made clothesfor her sisters too. There was one deep rose outfit she made forLettie, the May Day before this story really starts, which Fanny saidlooked as if it had come from the most expensive shop inKingsbury.

About this time everyone began talking of the Witch of the Wasteagain. It was said that the Witch had threatened the life of theKing’s daughter and that the King had commanded his personalmagician, Wizard Suliman, to go into the Waste and deal with theWitch. And it seemed that Wizard Suliman had not only failed to dealwith the Witch: he had got himself killed by her.

So when, a few months after that, a tall black castle suddenlyappeared on the hills above Market Chipping, blowing clouds of blacksmoke from its four tall, thin turrets, everybody was fairly surethat the Witch had moved out of the Waste again and was about toterrorize the country the way she used to fifty years ago. People gotvery scared indeed. Nobody went out alone, particularly, at night.What made it all the scarier was that the castle did not stay in thesame place. Sometimes it was a tall black smudge on the moors to thenorthwest, sometimes it reared above the rocks to the east, andsometimes it came right downhill to sit in the heather only justbeyond the last farm to the north. You could see it actually movingsometimes, with smoke pouring out from the turrets in dirty graygusts. For a while everyone was certain that the castle would comeright down into the valley before long, and the Mayor talked ofsending to the King for help.

But the castle stayed roving about the hills, and it was learnedthat it did not belong to the Witch but to Wizard Howl. Wizard Howlwas bad enough. Though he did not seem to want to leave the hills, hewas known to amuse himself by collecting young girls and sucking thesouls from them. Or some people said he ate their hearts. He was anutterly cold-blooded and heartless wizard and no young girl was safefrom him if he caught her on her own. Sophie, Lettie, and Martha,along with all the other girls in Market Chipping, were warned neverto go out alone, which was a great annoyance to them. They wonderedwhat use Wizard Howl found for all the souls he collected.

They had other things on their minds before long, however, for Mr.Hatter had died suddenly just as Sophie was old enough to leaveschool for good. It then appeared that Mr. Hatter had been altogethertoo proud of his daughters. The school fees he had been paying hadleft the shop with quite heavy debts. When the funeral was over,Fanny sat down in the parlor in the house next door to the shop andexplained the situation.

“You’ll all have to leave that school, I’mafraid,” she said. “I’ve been doing sums back andfront and sideways, and the only way I can see to keep the businessgoing and take care of the three of you is to see you allsettled in a promising apprenticeship somewhere. It isn’tpractical to have you all in the shop. I can’t afford it. Sothis is what I’ve decided. Lettie first—”

Lettie looked up, glowing with health and beauty which even sorrowand black clothes could not hide. “I want to go onlearning,” she said.

“So you shall, love,” said Fanny. “I’vearranged for you to be apprenticed to Cesari’s, the pastry cookin Market Square. They’ve a name for treating their learnerslike kings and queens, and you should be very happy there, as well aslearning a useful trade. Mrs.Cesari’s a good customer and agood friend, and she’s agreed to squeeze you in as afavor.”

Lettie laughed in a way that showed she was not at all pleased.“Well, thank you,” she said. “Isn’t it luckythat I like cooking?”

Fanny looked relieved. Lettie could be awkwardly strong-minded attimes. “Now Martha,” she said. “I know you’refull young to go out and work, so I’ve thought around forsomething that would give you a long, quiet apprenticeship and go onbeing useful to you whatever you decide to do after that. You know myold school friend Annabel Fairfax?”

Martha, who was slender and fair, fixed her big gray eyes on Fannyalmost as strong-mindedly as Lettie. “You mean the one whotalks such a lot,” she said. “Isn’t she awitch?”

“Yes, with a lovely house and clients all over the FoldingValley,” Fanny said eagerly. “She’s a good woman,Martha. She’ll introduce you to grand people she knows inKingsbury. You’ll be all set up in life when she’s donewith you.”

“She’s a nice lady,” Martha conceded. “Allright.”

Sophie, listening, felt that Fanny had worked everything out justas it should be. Lettie, as the second daughter, was never likely tocome to much, so Fanny had put her where she might meet a handsomeyoung apprentice and live happily ever after. Martha, who was boundto strike out and make her fortune, would have witchcraft and richfriends to help her. As for Sophie herself, Sophie had no doubt whatwas coming. It did not surprise her when Fanny said, “Now,Sophie dear, it seems only right and just that you should inherit thehat shop when I retire, being the eldest as you are. So I’vedecided to take you on as an apprentice myself, to give you a chanceto learn the trade. How do you feel about that?”

Sophie could hardly say that she simply felt resigned to the hattrade. She thanked Fanny gratefully.

“So that’s settled then!” Fanny said.

The next day Sophie helped Martha pack her clothes in a box, andthe morning after that they all saw her off on the carrier’scart, looking small and upright and nervous. For the way to UpperFolding, where Mrs. Fairfax lived, lay over the hills past WizardHowl’s moving castle. Martha was understandably scared.