During this, Miss Hardbroom notices Mildred's broken broom (she broke it on her second day at the academy after falling over a fence and crashing into some dustbins). In the next chapter, the girls are practicing for a broomstick display for Halloween. They add pondweed mistaking it for one of the ingredients but make an invisibility potion instead. In the next chapter, Mildred and Maud are making a laughing potion. Mildred quickly takes the Ethel-pig to the library where she restores her to her human form. After warning her about a frog-transformation, Ethel goads Mildred into turning her into a frog but Mildred loses her temper and accidentally turns her into a pig instead. After seeing the confrontation between Mildred and Miss Hardbroom, a rather smug witch called Ethel Hallow (for whom everything goes right) teases Mildred about it. When trying to get Tabby to sit on her broomstick, he keeps falling off without even trying to cling on.Īfter losing patience, Mildred puts Tabby in her satchel but Miss Hardbroom disapproves and Mildred has to stop.

When receiving the black kittens, Mildred is the last in the queue and receives, not a sleek, black kitten like the other girls, but a tabby cat (whom she names Tabby). Miss Hardbroom (their extremely strict form-mistress and also the deputy headmistress) catches them and sends Maud back to her own room. The novel begins with Mildred Hubble and her best friend Maud talking about the upcoming ceremony where all of the first-years will be given their own black cats which they will teach to ride on their broomsticks with them. In September 2014, a 40th Anniversary edition of the book was released, featuring all the original illustrations redrawn in colour by the author, Jill Murphy.

The book was published in 1974 and was followed by The Worst Witch Strikes Again. It features Mildred Hubble in her first year at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. The Worst Witch is the first novel in The Worst Witch book series by Jill Murphy.

The worst witch book cover