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This episode is called The Witches Are Coming for Pie.

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Hey, my friends, it's Tom.

I'm so glad you're here for story time.

I'll be reading this lovely tale in which we're going on another adventure with Nanny and Nelly.

This time they have a problem to solve in time for Hallaween.

If you've heard our other Nanny and Nelly's stories before, you'll be quite familiar with them by now.

But don't worry if you haven't, you'll still be able to enjoy this one all on its own.

Before we begin, take a moment to make sure you're comfortable and warm, settling into the cozy spot you're in.

You might like to take a big stretch, letting your arms and legs reach out as far as they can go, releasing any pent up energy that might get in the way of your relaxing time here.

Well done, and now just listen to the sound of my voice as we join Nanny and Nelly at their home and the countryside on a crisp autumn day.

In a tiny town hidden away in the beautiful British countryside, lived a little girl named Nellie.

She was a bit shy and had long brown hair that she tied in plats.

If you've heard of Nellie before, you'll know that she lived with her grandmother, Nanny, who was always forgetting something.

Nellie's town was beautiful at all times of the year because it was surrounded by so much nature.

In the summer, the air was full of the sounds of bird song.

In the spring, the fields were full of baby animals and budding flowers.

In the winter, snow sometimes fell on the many trees, and the hedgerows became dotted with red holly berries.

But in autumn the countryside was particularly magnificent.

All the trees turned different colors.

Some had small, oval shaped leaves that turned bright yellow.

The maple trees had wide, jagged leaves that looked like little hands.

They turned all different shades of red.

Some were bright like a post box, and some were deep like grape juice.

Then there were trees whose leaves turned pale orange, or the color of tangerines.

Some trees mixed everything together and their leaves became like a kaleidoscope of color.

Eventually, of course, the trees dropped their leaves and they lay in piles on the woodland floor.

But until then, Nellie liked to open her bedroom window, her breath coming out in clouds in the cool air, and look at the beautiful colors of autumn.

It was one afternoon like this that our story takes place.

Nellie was watching the autumn trees from her window.

They were particularly bright this year.

The day was cold but clear, and somebody had lit a fire somewhere.

Nellie could smell the wood smoke on the breeze.

She was just thinking about going downstairs for a snack when her bedroom door burst open.

It was Nannie standing there with her calendar in her hand.

She pointed to the date excitedly.

It was the thirty first of our October, and the witches were coming for pie.

For once.

Nanny had not forgotten the date, but she had forgotten something else.

The pie.

They had to go shopping.

Nanny closed Nelly's window and hurried to find their warm boots and cozy jackets.

As Nelly got ready, Nanny explained the thirty first of October was Halloween, so they couldn't just make any old pie.

It had to be a pumpkin pie.

But the trouble was Nanny hadn't bought a pumpkin, and what was more, it couldn't be any old pumpkin.

It had to be one plucked from the ground.

That day, Together, they hurried out of the house.

Nanny locked the front door with a click and pulled out her car keys.

Nanny and Nellie never used the car unless they were going somewhere far away or wanted to buy something that they couldn't carry home very easily.

They walked up their street to the top of the hill where Nanny always parked the car.

It was a very old car.

It had gray, squashy seats and an old fashioned gearstick.

The car's shape was boxy and it only had two doors, But Nelly loved this car very much, especially as Nanny had painted it purple.

Nanny opened the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

Nelly got in beside her.

Then Nanny started the car and the engine came to life with its familiar clunking sound.

Together they drove off over the top of the hill and away from their small town.

On this side of the hill, the countryside was very beautiful.

There were hardly any houses.

The only road was the tiny, winding one Nanny was driving on.

All around them were big rolling hills, dotted with small clusters of trees.

Sometimes small woodlands or forests lie at the foot of the hills.

Nelly smiled as she watched them because their trees were crowned with red, yellow, and orange leaves.

Eventually the road became smoother and straighter, and farmland appeared.

Nanny pulled up to an old wooden gate at the edge of a field.

There was a huge signboard saying that they had pumpkins for sale.

Nanny and Nelly out of the car and walked to the gate.

They opened it with a creek and stepped on to the farm.

The ground was soft and muddy.

It squelched beneath Nellie's boots.

Together they trudged over the field.

But something was wrong.

There weren't any pumpkins.

There were only the vines and leaves where the pumpkins had been.

Then the farmer arrived and explained that they had all been sold for Halloween.

Nanny looked surprised, but she quickly recovered.

She marched all over the field until she found a huge green pumpkin leaf that seemed to be hiding something behind it.

Perhaps it was the last pumpkin.

Nanny pushed aside the leaf and smiled.

Behind it was a perfectly round, perfectly sized pumpkin, but instead of being orange, it was pure white.

The farmer scratched his head and told him that it must have forgotten to turn orange, but Nanny didn't mind.

She picked it up and paid the farmer.

Then Nanny and Nelly went back to the car carrying the white pumpkin.

Nelly was confused though would the pumpkin pie taste just as good?

Nanny laughed, of course it would.

The only problem would be the color.

But Nanny had a plan.

The witches who were coming for pie once taught her a spell to help her remember things.

Perhaps if they used the spell on the pumpkin, it would remember to turn orange.

Nelly wasn't sure about witches and spells, but she knew anything was possible when Nanny decided to do it, so she sat in the car with the white pumpkin on her lap as Nanny drove them home.

When they got back, Nanny carried the pumpkin straight to the kitchen.

Nlly had barely taken off her coat when Nanny told her that they must find as many orange things as possible to help the pumpkin remember to be orange.

So they started by looking through the house.

First, they looked in the kitchen.

They opened all the cupboards and drawers.

They peered inside all the tins and boxes.

They found a single satsuma, an orange dishcloth, and three carrots.

Then they hurried to the living room, searching all the bookshelves and ornaments, but they could only find an old sweet wrapper that had been stuffed down the side of the couch.

Lastly, they looked upstairs in the bathroom and bedrooms.

They found a small bar of orange soap, a necklace, and an old glove that belonged to Nelly.

Excitedly, they hurried down to the pumpkin and arranged all the orange things around it.

But Nanny said they needed more.

Nelly looked out the window and thought of a solution.

She hurried outside to the back garden, where a big leafy tree stood.

Usually its leaves were bright and green, but today they were a deep shade of orange.

Nelly grabbed a few leaves and carried them back inside.

Nanny carefully placed the leaves all around the pumpkin.

It was time to say the magic words.

She took a deep breath in, raised her hands, and opened her mouth.

But then she stopped.

She had forgotten the magic words.

Nanny sighed out all her breath in one go.

She frowned trying to remember them.

Nelly was about to make a suggestion when there was a knock at the door.

Nanny looked at the clock.

It was already evening.

She opened the door, and sure enough, three beautiful witches stood on the doorstep.

They were very lovely looking.

They each had long, silky hair and very kind faces.

As soon as they they saw Nanny, they smiled and laughed with happiness.

Nanny and Nany welcomed them inside and helped them to hang up their cloaks and their hats.

Then, with an embarrassed look, Nanny told the witches about the pumpkin and the pie and how she had forgotten the spell.

But the witches didn't mind at all.

They strolled into the kitchen and saw the white pumpkin and all of the orange things laid out around it.

The witches each tapped a finger on the pumpkins stem, and with a soft popping sound, it transformed from white to bright, vivid orange.

Nanny and Nelly smiled and laughed, and so did the witches.

Then Nanny found all the ingredients for the pie and laid them out on the counter.

Maybe they could make the pie together.

The witches loved that idea, so everyone pulled on an apron and started to work.

It was very quick.

With the help of the witch's magic, they had pastry rolling itself out, the pumpkin chopping itself up, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through the air.

They doubled the mixture of everything at least three times, so when the baking finally stopped, five delicious pumpkin pies sat on the kitchen counter, ready to be eaten.

The witches looked at Nellie kindly and offered her the first slice of pie.

It was unlike any pumpkin pie that Nellie had ever tasted.

The pastry was buttery and crisp, and the filling was sweet and silky smooth.

There was even a special flavor inside that she suspected might have been a sprinkling of pure your magic.

Together, they sat in the living room and all eight big slices of pumpkin pie.

Nanny made a pot of tea, and everyone drank at least three cups.

Finally, when enough pie had been eaten and the tea had been drunk, Nanny leaned back in the big, squashy armchair.

She felt so happy and relaxed.

Her legs felt very heavy, so did her eyelids.

She could hardly keep them open.

The witches were tired too, They conjured up sleeping bags and pillows and laid them out on the floor like one giant bed.

The witches covered Nelly in a soft, fluffy blanket on the chair.

Nanny stroked her hair and kissed her good night.

Nelly was so tired and so happy that she simply rolled onto one side and poured the blanket tighter around herself.

Nanny and the witches lay down too, but Nelly wasn't thinking about them.

She was already beginning to drift off to sleep.

Her eyes were so heavy and her body so warm.

She breathed out a soft sigh and let herself slip into a wonderfully deep sleep, where she dreamed of pumpkins, witches and the color of autumn leaves.

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