"Are you the next TV heart-throb? The next Susan Lucci? Are you
going to take the couch potatoes of the world by storm and make all of
them yearn to be you? You could, you know. You surely are already the
envy of everyone who has ever laid eyes upon you!"

The Witch looked at her prisoner. "What is this machine up to, boy? And
you'd best not lie to me again!"

"Oh, no!" replied Graham. "I have learned my lesson, to be sure. I
wouldn't think of telling another lie."

"Then what is this clinking, clanking, clattering collection of
caliginous junk babbling about?" she sneered.

"I'm truly relishing your magnificent beauty!" repeated Telly.

"My friend is simply admiring your beauty, like he said," answered
Graham, not sure why Telly was acting this way, but deciding it would be
best to play along. "I think he is quite smitten with you!"

"Really?" said the Witch. "Tell me more."

"You are truly a vision of loveliness!" charmed Telly in a most dramatic
manner. "My heartstrings are all going ZING!"

"They are?" the Witch said, somewhat perplexed. "Maybe the spell worked
after all. I guess it was a delayed reaction. Give me a mirror! I want
to see how I look!"

"Er... You don't want to do that," said Graham. "You... er... You are so
gorgeous that no mirror could possibly capture your true image."

"That's altogether silly and utterly foolish, young man! Now that I am
pretty, I want to look upon myself." The Witch took her foot off his
chest and let him stand up. "Now fetch me a mirror, or I will turn
mean!"

"Such beauty could never do harm to anyone," said Telly. "You are only
meant to be worshipped!"

"Thank you," the Witch said. Then, realizing that she had actually said
something polite, she added, "You bizarre jumble of soup cans and
gigabytes."

She saw that Graham had made no move to obtain a mirror, so she pushed
him over again. "Okay, slime-twirp. I'll get my own mirror!" She
switched off Telly's picture in order to catch her reflection in the
blank screen. Telly, thinking quickly, distracted her for a moment
and switched the screen back on while at the same time calling up
an image of Eva Gabor from his archives.

[Illustration]

When Graham saw what had happened, he held his teeth tightly together
and clenched his fists in anxiety. How would the crone react?

"My ... My ... My goodness!" she said. "I really am something, aren't
I?" She smiled a hideous grin. "Just looky there! I am beautiful!"