There's a witch in the woods named Wanda, they say, and she's a murderer besides, even if she did cast a spell on the tsarina to get a pardon; she consorts with evil faeries and demons and Jews, she's too tall, and she won't hold her tongue properly.

But she does know magic: she can summon spirits of winter, her goats are the softest, her weaving the warmest, and she knows runes that tell her all the secrets of money and people. And although the witch is stern, they'll add in hushed tones, she's not unkind; if you are in genuine need, she will deal with you fairly.