now, the queen's husband was, of course, the king. and besides being a king he was an enchanter, and considered to be quite at the top of his profession, so he was very wise, and he knew that when kings and queens want children, the queen always goes to see a witch. so he gave the queen the witch's address, and the queen called on her, though she was very frightened and did not like it at all. the witch was sitting by a fire of sticks, stirring something bubbly in a shiny copper cauldron.