14. Marvellous Medicine Number Four  |   <<   Back   |   Home   |   Next   >>

No harm intended, no profit made.

Marvellous Medicine Number Four

Back in the kitchen once again, Severus, with Mr Snape watching him anxiously, tipped half a pint of engine oil and some anti-freeze into the giant saucepan.

'Boil it up again!' cried Mr Snape. 'Boil it and stir it!'

Severus boiled it and stirred it.

'You'll never get it right,' said Mrs Snape. 'Don't forget you don't just have to have the same things but you've got to have exactly the same amounts of those things. And how can you possibly do that?'

'You keep out of this!' cried Mr Snape. 'We're doing fine! We've got it this time, you see if we haven't!'

This was Severus' Marvellous Medicine Number Four, and when it had boiled for a couple of minutes, Severus once again carried a cupful of it out into the yard. Mr Snape ran after him. Mrs Snape followed more slowly. 'You're going to have some mighty queer chickens around here if you go on like this,' she said.

'Dish it out, Severus!' cried Mrs. 'Give a spoonful to that one over there!' He pointed to a brown hen.

Severus knelt down and held out the spoon with the new medicine in it. 'Chick-chick,' he said. 'Try some of this.'

The brown hen walked over and looked at the spoon. Then it went peck.'Watch it grow!' shouted Mr Snape.

'Don't be too sure,' said Mrs Snape. 'Why is it whistling like that?'

'Keep quiet, woman!' cried Mr Snape. 'Give it a chance!'

They stood there staring at the brown hen.

'It's getting smaller,' Severus said. 'look at it, dad. It's shrinking.'

And indeed it was. In less than a minute, the hen had shrunk so much it was no bigger than a new-hatched chick. It looked ridiculous.

14. Marvellous Medicine Number Four  |   <<   Back   |   Home   |   Next   >>