Scritch Scratch Screw huddled over her crooked table, surrounded by jars of peculiar ingredients. Her cottage, a patchwork of twisted wood and lopsided shingles, stood alone among the shadows. "People are nothing but trouble," she muttered, stirring a cauldron that belched purple smoke. She loved being all alone in the forest but every now and then she had to venture out and get what she needed for her many lotions and potions she made.
She tied the sack securely to her broom, glancing at the list scrawled on parchment—puppy dog tails, frog burp, snail slime, cow farts, and, most precious of all, cats' eyes. With a determined nod, she flung open the door. "The sooner I gather, the sooner I can return to peace," she grumbled, stepping out into the moonlit forest.
She snatched a puppy dog tail from a sleeping pup, coaxed a frog into burping, and scraped slime from a dozing snail. When she reached the cows, she captured their farts in tiny bottles. She gathered lots of her favourite item the cats eyes! She prowled behind fences and under porches, gathering as many as she could and as morning was breaking she finally cornering one last sleek black cat. "You won't miss your eyes for long," she whispered, scooping the startled creature into her sack planning to deal with it later .
As she zipped through the clouds, she failed to notice the frantic scratching from the sack. The black cat clawed desperately, tearing a small hole in the bottom. Scritch Scratch Screw was too focused on the forest ahead to hear the faint plink-plink of something falling. One by one the cats eyes were falling from the sack onto a freshly laid road.
The eyes glowed softly, catching the headlights of passing cars and reflecting their beams. Drivers who’d always struggled to see the road at night now found a shimmering path leading them safely onward. "Strange, the road seems brighter tonight," mused a passing driver, peering at the sparkling line beneath his tires.
Villagers soon noticed the mysterious lights guiding their way, stories of enchanted roads spreading from town to town. And though few ever saw Scritch Scratch Screw, her accidental invention changed travel forever. "Perhaps people aren’t so bad, if they keep to their roads," she chuckled, stirring her potion as the moon rose higher over the shining world.
