THE WITCH IN THE CHERRY TREE

With no more nefarious aim than obtaining some of mother's fresh baked cakes, the witch in David's cherry tree is further defused by her inability to outwit a typical preschooler. David foils her every attempt to trick her way into the house, but when David's own cakes burn he takes them outside and tosses them up to her. The witch, it turns out, prefers burnt cakes, so she nibbles contentedly in the tree and then flies off while David and his mother enjoy their cakes indoors "where it's light and warm and smells of baking." Always one step ahead of his meek and admiring mother in anticipating the witch's ploys, David may have some ego-boosting function, but neither Mahy nor Williams gives the silly business any consequence or zing.