Wanda meets the weasels

A pointed furry face popped up over the moss covered log in the midst of the bramble patch joined moments later bay a second equally furry face. Two pairs of rounded light brown ears twitched her way and two pairs of small dark eyes stared at her whilst two pointy black noses twitched and sniffed while many whiskers quivered.
Wanda took a step backwards at the sight, they were as tall as she was.
“You say somethin’ ?” The first head challenged her.
“Hello.” Wanda repeated weakly, she didn’t like the sound of his tone.
“That’s torn it.” The head said and turned to the other one. “Now look at what you done.”
“I only done what you said.”
“The Hyoomin swallowed the wood magic mud, it understands us.”
Both heads turned back to Wanda.
“Who are you ?” Wanda asked timidly of the argumentative pair.
“Weasels.” Griff answered proudly and hopped up onto the log.
“Yes, weasels.” Niff said jumping up too and giving her a little bow.
“You don’t bow to Hyoomins.” Griff hissed, and then cuffed Niff on the back of the head.
“Ow. Why not ? Its polite.” Niff retorted crossly.
“Oh, sorry.” Wanda said and she bowed to them.

“Ere, the Hyoomins got manners.” Niff  said and jumped down from the log to bound lightly over to Wanda. “The names Niff.” He announced brightly and bowed again.
“I’m called Wanda.” She replied and bowed back.
Griff  jumped down too and was beside his fellow weasel in two liquid lopes.
“Harum.” He said a bit self consciously. “I’m Griff.” Then he bowed.
Wanda bowed back.
“Wanda.” She repeated and just for good measure bowed again.
The two weasels sat their on their haunches looking at Wanda and she looked back at them.
“What happened to me ?” She asked them after a few seconds silence.
“We ahh, we shrunk you.” Griff said a little sheepishly.
“Shrunk me ?” Wanda asked them in disbelief but then looked up at the towering trees and shrubs, they hadn’t grown, she had become tiny.
“Wood mud magic.” Niff said nodding his head. “Shrunk you down, same as us.”
“Why ?” She demanded plaintively, she didn’t like being tiny.
“Cos you were lyin’ and callin’ us bad things.” Griff replied self righteously and crossing his arms across his narrow chest.
“Lying ?”
“Callin’ us weasels smelly, cos we aint.” Niff said disapprovingly.

Wanda sniffed the air, they did smell, but they smelt pleasantly weasely.
“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t calling you smelly.” She tried to explain. “I was calling Jill smelly.”
“Jill, whats a Jill ?” Griff queried her.
“My friend.”
“A Hyoomin.” Griff surmised with a knowing nod of his head.
“A hyoomin….oh you mean human.” Wanda said as she began to adjust to their accents.
“Its not nice to call even a Hyoomin a smelly weasel.” Niff piped up. “Cos we aint.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were there.” Wanda said contritely.
“Hyoomins never know we is here.” Griff said gruffly. “Call us bad names and stuff.”
“I said I’m sorry.” Wanda replied.
“Hmmm, sayin’ an doin’.” Griff told her with a meaningful look. “You say sorry but are you really doin’ sorry ?”
“But I am sorry, honest.” Wanda said to them. “Will you make me normal again now, please ?”
Griff had been looking down on her in a superior way with his chin up in the air and now he blinked.

“Ah.”
“Make you big again.” Niff repeated then noticed that Griff wasn’t looking happy. “There’s plenty of mud.” He volunteered.
“Ah.”
Wanda glanced from one to the other and began to get worried, seriously worried.
“You can make me big again, can’t you ?”
“Ah.” Griff said for the third time. “No.” He admitted.
“Noooo.” Wanda wailed. “I don’t want to be small forever.”
“Not forever.” Griff said apologetically. “But ….”
“But ?” Wanda demanded of him hopefully.
“It’s the spell see.” Griff said holding his paws out to her. “It has to be fulfilled.”
“Fulfilled ? How ?”
“Yeah, how ?” Niff waded in, he liked this Hyoomin and the way its eyes were getting all wet was making him unhappy.
“Well I said ‘Weasels is as weasels does, make this Hyoomin same as us.’.”
“So ?” Niff nudged him.
“That’s it, we made her like us, she’s sort of … weasely now.” Griff said slowly.
“And ?”
“So she got to help us do weasel stuff and ….” Griff began and then fell silent.
“Help us do what ?” Niff asked him. “We don’t need no help, do we ?”