Sophie did not sleep until the next day, when her stepmother, Madame Finney, had not yet risen early to visit, and Sophie claimed to have a bad cold, and sent her away.

Sophie left the bed and looked in the mirror again, still with her yellow, haggard, wrinkled, gray-haired face.

"Well, I'll have to admit that I'm an old woman, but don't worry, Sophie, even if you become an old woman, you look healthy, even if you get old, you're not a pretty girl, you're just getting older, oh, luckily, you're still healthy, you can still walk, you can talk, don't you?"

Sophie, in fact, is not ugly, and even very beautiful, otherwise there would be no drunkard soldiers to harass her, but as the eldest daughter, she has always taken care of the storefront, and she does not dress up much, and she does not look as beautiful as her sister Lettie.

Maybe it's such self-deprecation, maybe it's natural strength, Sophie stabilized her mood, she became an old woman, she seemed to have the mentality of an old woman, and her mood became calmer, so she made a decision, just like some old people should make.

"I can't stay here anymore, the way I look now will scare Finney, Letty, I'm going to get away. There is nothing to be afraid of living alone. ”

Sophie cheered herself up, and she staggered but carefully found some coins, bread, and cheese in the house, packed them, carried them on her back, and left the house.

She walked across the market, across the bridge, and toward the moors outside the town. Then he sat down on a kind coachman who calculated the pasture, and sat on it, and went off into the distance. The coachman asked the old woman, "Where are you going?"

Sophie replied, "A little further than where you're going." Sophie didn't know where she was going, and when Sophie got out of the carriage, she kept her head down and bowed her waist, not knowing where to go, but she still walked forward.

The coachman advised the old woman not to go any further. Ahead is the Wilderness Valley, where from time to time there are terrifying wizards and magicians, such as the Wilderness Witch. For example, the wizard of Howl......

Sophie bowed her head in silence and continued to walk without looking back, no matter what it was now, damn witch. Damn wizards. Maybe I'll be happier if you kill me.

In this way, she came to the valley of the wilderness, and for some reason, perhaps it was the old woman who made her heart feel peaceful, and she walked on the wilderness, but found that it was a warm spring.

Oh, and the wilderness is full of grass. The bushes and the fragrance of spring. It's a sight she rarely gets out to see.

"It's not without benefit to becoming an old woman, at least you have time to enjoy the scenery." Sophie enjoyed the warm breeze blowing in the wilderness valley with the scent of spring, and Sophie was in a better mood, so she said.

After walking for a long time, Sophie felt tired, sat on a rock, ate the food in the package, and Sophie was 'surprised' to find a good thing.

"Oh, it's good that the teeth are still the same." Sophie eats food bite after bite, this may be the nature of the optimist, if it is someone else, I am afraid that everything has already been lost, but Sophie has found two good things one after another, one is to have time to enjoy the spring scenery, and the other is that the teeth are still normal as before.

In fact, Sophie didn't know that this cursed witch of the wilderness witch did not really erase her youth, but a complex witchcraft that acted on the soul, this kind of witchcraft will indeed make people temporarily lose their youth in the early stage, just like someone forcibly changed your appearance, and forcibly instilled in you the spirit inducing deception of 'you have lost your youth', after 99% of people have planted this kind of witchcraft, if no one lifts it, the person who is affected will generally be discouraged and disheartened' Admit this fact, then you really lost your youth and really became an old woman.

The one percent exception is someone who is born with a strong spirit, a strong soul, or a calm enough optimist like Sophie, who is able to eliminate this witchcraft on their own.

Yes, just as to dispel the gloomy mood, the passage of time will gradually wear away this sorcery. But Sophie didn't know all this.

She continued to eat her food, and her eyes looked around, when she suddenly noticed a long stick in the bushes not far ahead.

"Maybe you can use it as a crutch."

She walked over, stooped down and took out the stick with great difficulty, and stood up to see that it was actually a scarecrow thrown into the bushes! The long stick is the lower half of the scarecrow.

She erected the scarecrow, oh, it was a scarecrow in a small black and white suit, with a high hat on his head, and his face was a scarecrow carved from a turnip, smiling and baring his teeth and biting a small cigarette bottle, the suit was a little shabby, and it was obvious that the scarecrow had been thrown here for a long time.

"It scared me, I thought it was a Witch of the Wilderness, well, the head seems to be made of turnips, I've hated eating cabbage since I was a child."

"But it is better for you to stand up like this than to fall to the ground." Sophie muttered to herself and turned away.

"Take care."

But she didn't notice that the scarecrow behind her was jumping up and down behind her!

Oh! This is the same cursed man! It was cursed and transfigured, and it became a scarecrow!

Sophie heard the sound and turned to spot it.

Again, another wizard, no, maybe some wizard's subordinate, no, she didn't want to be associated with anything about wizarding anymore.

"Don't come, don't come, I don't want you to repay the favor, I don't want you to thank you, are you also made like this by magic? Is it also the Witch of the Wilderness spell? I've had enough! ”

"You just want to find a place you like to stay." Sophie turned and left with the scarecrow on her back, she really didn't have anything to do with wizards.

The scarecrow heard Sophie's voice and paused for a moment, but he still jumped up and followed her, and came to Sophie's side, and at some point the scarecrow had a cane hanging from it, and then threw it down and landed in front of Sophie.

Sophie glared, took the crutches, and gave it a try.

"This crutch is really just right, thank you......" Sophie felt the kindness of the scarecrow, and her heart moved again, looking up at the scarecrow.

"But if ...... It would be better if you could bring a room that you could stay in one night. "The wind was blowing in the wilderness valley, and Sophie was still feeling cold with her parcel and coat on her back.

This scarecrow doesn't look like a bad thing, maybe it can help me, I'm Sophie, I'm already like this, what else to be afraid of. (To be continued.) )