I had to agree: They looked identical. Their hair was the same color and length as Mab's, but there the resemblance to their older sister ended. Both were very thin, with sharp, pinched faces and piercing eyes. Their mouths were hard, horizontal slits in their faces, and their narrow noses were slightly hooked. They wore thin, threadbare dresses like Mab and their feet were also bare.I gripped my staff harder. Mab's two sisters were still staring at me intently, but there was absolutely no expression on their faces; no way to tell whether they were hostile or friendly."Sit yourself down, Tom, and take the weight off your feet," Mab said, pointing to one of the tree stumps opposite her sisters. "It might be some while before we can go to Alice."Warily I did so. Mab sat down on the stump to my left. Nobody spoke, and an odd silence seemed to settle over everything. To fill in the time, I counted the stumps. There were thirteen, and it suddenly struck me that this could be a meeting place for a coven of-witches.No sooner had that disturbing thought entered my head than a bat swooped down into the clearing before flitting away through the branches to my left. Next a big moth appeared from nowhere and, rather than flying toward one of the lanterns, began to circle Jennet's head. Round and round it fluttered, as if her head were a candle flame. She was still staring at me hard, and I wondered if she'd even noticed the moth, which was getting closer and closer and seemed about to settle on her pointy nose.
Suddenly, to my astonishment, her mouth opened wide and her tongue flicked out, caught the moth, and drew it in. Then, for the first time, her face became animated. She gave a broad smile, her mouth curving from ear to ear. Then she chewed quickly and swallowed down the moth with a big gulp."Was that good?" her sister Beth inquired, peering sideways at her.Jennet nodded. "Really juicy. Don't worry--you can have the next one.""Don't mind if I do," said Beth. "But what if another don't come?""In that case we'll play a game, and I'll let you choose what it is," Jennet offered."Let's play Pin Spitting. I like that game.""That's because you always win. You know I can only spit pins on Friday. Wednesday today, it is. I only do feathers on Wednesdays, so it'll have to be something else.""What about Through a Hedge Backward?" suggested Beth."Good game, that," said Jennet. "First to the bottom wins!To my astonishment, they both fell back from their tree stumps and did reverse rolls, spinning faster and faster until they disappeared into the bushes and brambles behind. For a few moments you could hear them crashing downward with a great snapping and cracking of twigs, punctuated by shrieks of pain and bursts of hysterical laughter. Then there was silence, and somewhere close by I heard the cry of an owl. I looked up into the branches but could see no sign of it."Love that game, my sisters do!" Mab said with a smile. "But they'll be licking their wounds tonight, just as sure as eggs rot!"
A few moments later the twins climbed back up the path. When they sat down opposite me again, I didn't know whether to laugh at the state of them or feel really sorry for the pain and discomfort they must be going through. Their threadbare dresses were torn --Jennet's left sleeve had been ripped off completely--and they were covered in cuts and scratches. Beth had a piece of bramble tangled up in her hair and there was a thin line of blood trickling down from her nose to her upper lip. But she didn't seem at all dismayed."I really enjoyed that! Let's play another game," she suggested, licking away the blood. "What about Truth or Dare? I like that, too.""Fine with me. But make the boy go first," Jennet said, squinting toward me."Truth, dare, kiss, or promise?" Beth demanded, staring right at me, a challenge in her voice. All three girls were watching me now, and none of them were blinking."I don't want to play," I said firmly."Be nice to my younger sisters," Mab insisted. "Go on, choose. It's only a game."
"I don't know the rules," I said. It was true. I'd never heard of the game. It sounded like a game that girls would play, and I hadn't had any sisters. I didn't know much about girls' games."It's easy," said Mab from my left. "You just choose one of the four. Choose truth and you have to answer a question truthfully. Choose dare and you're set a task. Pick kiss and you have to kiss who or what you're told to --there's no getting away from it. Promise is hardest of all. Have to make one, and bound by it, you are --maybe bound forever!""No! I don't want to play," I repeated."Don't be silly. Don't have any choice, do you? Can't leave this spot until we say so. You're rooted to it --hadn't you noticed?"I'd been growing more and more annoyed. It seemed to me now that Mab had been playing some sort of game with me from the moment we'd first met at the graveyard. I didn't believe for one moment that we were going to rescue Alice. What a fool I'd been! Why had I followed her here?When I tried to stand, though, nothing happened. It was as if all the strength had left my body. My arms fell uselessly to my sides and my rowan staff slipped from my grasp onto the grass and rolled away.
"You're better off without that nasty stick," Mab said. "You go first--It's time to choose one of the four. You'll play our game whether you want to or not. You'll play, and you'll like it. So choose!"By now I had no doubt at all that the three of them were witches. My staff was out of reach and I felt too weak to stand up. I wasn't afraid because somehow it seemed more like dreaming than waking, but I knew that I wasn't asleep and that I was in danger. So I took a slow, deep breath and thought carefully. Better to humor them for a bit. While they were concentrating on the game, I might find a way to get free.But which one of the four options should I choose? Dare could lead to some type of dangerous task that I might be forced to carry out. Promise was full of risk. I'd made promises before that had gotten me into trouble. Kiss seemed harmless. How could a kiss hurt you? But then I remembered that she'd said "who or what," and I didn't like the sound of that at all.
Even so, I almost chose that option, but then I decided on truth instead. I always tried to be honest and truthful. It was something that my dad had taught me. What harm could come from choosing that?"Truth," I said.At my answer the girls all smiled broadly, as if it was exactly the option they'd wanted me to pick."Right!" said Mab triumphantly, turning to face me. "Tell me this and be truthful. And you'd better, if you know what's good for you. Wouldn't do to cross us! Which one of us do you like best?"I looked at Mab in astonishment. I'd had no idea what kind of question I'd be asked, but this was like a bolt from the blue. And it wasn't easy to answer. Whichever one I picked, the other two would be offended. And I wasn't even sure what the truth was. All three girls were scary and almost certainly witches. I didn't like any of them. So what else could I do? I told them the truth."I don't like any of you that much," I said. "I don't mean to be rude, but it's the truth you wanted and it's the plain truth I've given you."