17 october 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2528: Beetle Oil, or Snake Oil ?

This post was inspired by today's 5-minute writing prompt in the Freewriters Community - 17 october 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2528: beetle oil

Enjoy !

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Master Morichan had been ill for a fortnight, lying in bed covered in sweat, violent shivers and fevers wrestling with his weakening body.

Three different physicians in their crow-faced masks and heavy robes had been summoned and announced finally that they could do nothing. Master Morichan's was the town's wealthiest merchant attracted them, but all the gold in the world can't help when the knowledge isn't there.

In desperation, Mrs Morichan went to the woods to beg for the help of Mother Sawill. Some said she was a wise woman, others that she was a witch. But she said "Let me come down to your house. I'll stay a fortnight, and by the end of it I am sure I can make things better."

So she came to the house. The place was a mess, untended while everyone fussed around Master Morichan. An infestation of beetles had moved in. They crunched as people walked across the floor.

Every day, Mother Sawill guided Mrs Morichan in collecting a few beetles up, grinding them to a paste and extracting the oil. Then she'd feed the beetle oil to the feverish man on a large pewter spoon.

By the end of the fortnight, she stood up and said "Two weeks are up, and I must return home."

Mrs Morichan was aghast. "But my husband is still deathly ill. You said you'd cure him !"

Mother Sawill smiled a mocking smile. "Your husband will get better in his own sweet time. I never said I'd cure him. I said I'd make things better. You've spent all week making beetle oil, and now your house is rid of all it's beetles. Isn't that better ?"