The witch left him go around by the woods. He was allowed to explore it for a while but had to come to the cottage before night. He walked up straight like a true gentleman but soon realized that a crouching position was better to slide between the branches. SOmething inside him felt so right when he got on all fours and climbed a fallen log like a common gecko...it scared him so much that he stood up very firm once again only to hear his shirt get scratched and ripped by the branches.
Mortimer cried he liberated a sad screech for his beautiful clothes destroyed.
His stomach gave noticed of his hunger and he felt pity for himself, sat on the log and daydreamed about tea and cookies or those chantilly topped sponge cakes, dipped in honey. The hunger was there and thinking about pastry made it worse. That was when he looked and saw a praying mantis near his tail. In other times that would be enough to make him raise up and shoo the bug, but not his time, he wasn't scared in fact he got to himself opening his mouth and letting a slimy, salive filled tongue out.
"Do not do it, Mortimer! " he told himslef. But before it was over his tongue swirled and trapped the bug- crunchy but delicious.
The witch had told him to present himself by night but he wasn't there and the moon was already shinning. Now, she wanted no toruble witht e villages and hunters, nor wanted to find him mortally wounded lying in the woods. Cursing her luck, she conjured a light ball to guide her trough the woods to his encounter. The Witch made her way trough the trees and weed until she found a wagging tail on the air and Mortimer laying down and swirling his sticky tongue around the forest's floor dirt to retrieve bugs and thermites. He noticed her a while after, with a smirk on her face. Mortimer felt so ashamed, he put himself immediately up, cleaned his mouth and tried to look as if he still was human.
"No need to pretend, honey. You were hungry. But that's still not enough to make me turn you back again" she said and he let out a sad screech. "Proceed to feed yourself, don't get into trouble I'll be in my cottage."
Mortimer even crossed his arms (the way he could) but as soon as the light disappeared in the forest, he didn't resist and crouched down again proceeding to eat his dinner.