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A Hat Full of Sky (ISBN 0-385-60736-9) is a novel written by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, written with younger readers in mind. It is set two years after The Wee Free Men, and features an 11-year old Tiffany Aching.
Synopsis
A Hat Full of Sky begins with a disembodied presence roaming the hills, looking for a strong mind. Tiffany is trying on a new pair of boots, and a new hat. She tries to look at herself in her small, cracked mirror, but is unable to see herself properly. Tiffany is a witch, though, and has a trick for these situations. She says "see me", and is able to see herself from the outside. Doing this, however, attracts the attention of the presence.
Tiffany is packing her things, preparing to travel with Miss Tick to the home of Miss Level, a research witch with whom Tiffany is to learn about witchcraft. On the journey, Tiffany meets Roland, who always seems to be where she is. He gives her a gift: a silver horse, like the White Horse on the chalk. As Tiffany explains to Miss Tick, in the words of Granny Aching, "'Taint what a horse looks like, it's what a horse be".
In the home of the Nac Mac Feegle, Rob Anybody is being taught to write by his new wife, Jeannie, the kelda. They are interrupted by Big Yan, who tells them that the witches are being followed by a "hiver", the disembodied presence. Rob wants to send word to Tiffany of this, but is forbidden by Jeannie, who has taken a dislike to Tiffany, who was briefly kelda, and briefly engaged to Rob. Miss Tick suspects that something is wrong though, while waiting for a coach, she builds a "shamble", a cat's cradle with some alive inside it which is used to detect magic, and both she and Tiffany feel the presence of the hiver, which quickly leaves.
Eventually they meet Miss Level. Told to go away while Miss Tick talks to Miss Level, Tiffany finds her curiosity aroused when Miss Level says that she left her spectacles on her other nose. Tiffany and Miss Level travel by broomstick to Miss Level's cottage, and Tiffany is glad to arrive: she suffers from air sickness.
Tiffany is soon worried, though. She hears sounds of another person in the cottage, and while she eats, an invisible person tries to take her plate. In the morning, she notices a circus poster, featuring "Topsy and Tipsy: The Amazing Mind Reading Act". She meets Miss Level, or rather, both of Miss Level, who explains that she was born with two bodies, with a single mind. Tiffany then guesses that prior to becoming a witch, Miss Level had been a circus performer. Miss Level also explains about Oswald, an "ondageist" - the opposite of a poltergeist, who compulsively cleans.
Miss Level then introduces Tiffany to her area of research: finding the instructions for the use of plants, which the Creator of the Discworld has written on or in the plants themselves. As an example, she shows Tiffany that the message in a walnut may be read with a green magnifying glass, lit with a taper of red cotton: "May contain nut".
The book then features a passage from Hivers: A Dissertation Upon a Device of Amazing Cunning by the wizard Sensibility Bustle, who tried to capture a hiver, and was consumed by it. Back in the home of the Feegles, Jeannie tells Rob that she will have seven sons and a daughter, and orders him to go find Tiffany: he was so worried about her that he wouldn't even get drunk. Rob organises the Feegle, and determines that they need a plan: he writes "PLN" on piece of paper, and they set off. Awf'ly Wee Billy, the clan's new gonnagle, tells them about scarecrows, and they manage to disguise themselves in a somewhat human shape, bribing coach drivers to go as quickly as possible with gold of an ancient king, whose burial ground they live in.
Tiffany is finding the work of witches dull: helping people who don't seem to show appreciation. She particularly dreads visiting Mr. Weavall, an old man whose only concern is that he is able to pay for his own funeral. Tiffany, who he calls Mary, after his long-dead daughter, has to count his money at every visit. She is becoming disheartened, since she isn't able to make a shamble. She is visited by another trainee with, Petulia, who has a tendency to get tangled up in the numerous amulets she wears. Petulia takes Tiffany to a meeting of trainee witches, which is presided over by Annagramma, who takes great pleasure in mocking the other girls. Annagramma mocks Tiffany for the virtual hat she was given by Mistress Weatherwax, but blames Mistress Weatherwax for messing with her head. She, like Mrc. Earwig, who is teaching her, believes that witchcraft should be done "properly", with sacred circles, written spells, and a hierarchy of witches (with her on, or near, the top). Back at Miss Level's house, Tiffany wants to see the virtual hat, which had been so clearly visible to her before. She says "see me", and the hiver occupies the space left where her mind had been.
Tiffany, controlled by the hiver, now finds her chores intolerable. She finds that she now has power, and uses magic for every task, including making cheese, which she had enjoyed before. While making it though, a part of her writes "help me" on the table. She tells Miss Level about the new memories she suddenly has, of being a great lizard, and speaks with a man's voice. The hiver is taking over, and the Nac Mac Feegle arrive too late to save her.
Miss Level finds the Nac Mac Feegle, and they tell her about the hiver, and about her "see me" trick. Miss Level tells them that this is Borrowing, and that you have to learn to protect yourself before even trying it. Tiffany, drunk with new-found power, goes to the house of Mrs. Earwig to find Annagramma. She scares Annagramma with her power, though every time she speaks, she adds a faint "help me", and together they go to buy the various trinkets Annagramma thinks are necessary for witches to possess. At the shop of the dwarf Zakzak Tiffany starts to argue over the price of the items. Zakzak calls his wizard, Brian, to deal with them, but Tiffany knows that Brian is not a real wizard, and asks if he knows what happens to the rest of the mass of a person who is turned into a frog. When he says that he doesn't know, Tiffany shows him: she turns him into a frog, which is accompanied by a large pink balloon. Zakzak agrees to Tiffany's discount to have his "wizard" back.
Miss Level and the Nac Mac Feegle are discussing how to return Tiffany to herself. The Feegles tell her that they will go into Tiffany's head and fight the hiver: the Feegles are able to walk between worlds. Tiffany returns, and Miss Level is puzzled about how Tiffany was able to buy the new things she has, but soon guesses that Tiffany stole Mr. Weavall's money. Half of her confronts Tiffany, but the hiver in Tiffany kills her. The rest of Miss Level is struck senseless by the death of part of her, and the Feegles try to figure out how to get into Tiffany's head. They see the necklace, and decide to follow the horse.
Inside Tiffany's head, they find a land like Tiffany's home, and the cottage which used to belong to Granny Aching. They notice that the sun is setting, a sign that the part of Tiffany that is still herself is fading, when a sign comes to them from Tiffany. Written on the wall, they read "Sheep's wool, Turpentine, Jolly Sailor" - the smells that remind Tiffany of Granny Aching. Rob sends the rest of the Feegles out to steal these items, while he remains to guard Tiffany. With these scents, the hiver is drawn out, and into a fight with the Feegles, and is eventually driven away when the land starts to form hills in the shape of Tiffany.
The awakened Tiffany is still not free of the hiver; she doesn't know which mind is hers. Mistress Weatherwax, who was attracted by the use of magic, brings her back to herself. Miss Level, has recovered, but hasn't noticed that half of her is gone. She notices while the ghost of her other half is carrying tea for Mistress Weatherwax, who helps her to maintain control of the ghost of her other part.
Tiffany and Mistress Weatherwax go about making Miss Level's usual visits, and Mistress Weatherwax uses her powers of "headology" to bring about the changes Miss Level had been trying to. Tiffany goes alone to Mr. Weavall's house, and is given the usual request to check the money box. She does, but finds that the copper money she had stolen has been replaced with gold by the Feegles. On seeing this, Mr. Weavall is changed utterly. He thanks Tiffany for stealing the money, for the gold he got in its stead, sets off to propose to Widow Tussy. Tiffany and Mistress Weatherwax then go to find the hiver, which keeps away from them.
The next day, Petulia comes to see if they need help, and tells them that the Witch trials are on. Mistress Weatherwax sends Petulia to tell Miss Level that she is going to the trials, and sets off for the trials with Tiffany. Along the way, she tells Tiffany to call her Granny. At the trials, Tiffany causes a stir by calling Mistress Weatherwax "Granny", and another when she sees the hiver approach. While she was trying to become herself again, Granny had been talking to sensibilty Bustle through Tiffany, and Tiffany was left with a nagging feeling about three wishes, that the third wish was important. She goes around trying to find out from various witches what the third wish is, but only Granny can tell her: to undo what the first two did.
Making a shamble, using Rob, Tiffany traps the hiver, and talks to it. She has learned that the hiver isn't trying to hurt people, but that it is afraid; she offers it protection. The hiver wants to be human, because it wants boredom: knowing everything has driven it mad. Tiffany helps it, she uses the analogy of evolution to show the hiver, which refers to itself as "us", that humans are made up of as many different parts as it is, and names it "Arthur". The hiver wants to die, so it can put things right, so she helps it find the door, and helps it through. Rob comes with her: he is under a geas to ensure her safety.
Tiffany helps the hiver to understand that no one knows what death is like, and watches it walk across the black desert. When it has left, though, she can no longer find the door. Death appears, and explains that the rules say that you can come in, but not leave, and advises her not to sleep. Granny follows her through the door, and drags her and Rob out; telling her that part of being a witch is that they weren't her rules, and that all witches help people to find their way to death, but to never speak of it.
Back at the trials, Tiffany wakes in the healing tent, surrounded by the other yound witches. All of the witches know what has happened, and some have seen the essence of a white horse, but Annagramma refuses to believe it, until Tiffany shakes black sand from her boot. Tiffany is told that Granny gave her her hat, which astounds the other witches. The trials go slowly, with everyone expecting Tiffany to challenge Granny, but they both sit, staring at each other. Eventually, Petulia gets up to do the "pig trick", but does it with a sausage, which impresses many people there. The reaction gives her the courage to stand up to Annagramma.
A week later, Tiffany goes to visit Granny. On the way, she meets a witch made of bees, and dances with it. She meets granny, and returns her hat. Granny explains that it is important for a witch to find her own hat, and Tiffany reflects that Granny Aching used the sky as hers. Granny gives her a lesson in witchcraft. She takes a stick and uses it as a magic wand, and makes Tiffany try the same, but it doesn't work. This, Grany says, is because the power comes from within. Granny then tells her to throw the silver horse down the well. Tiffany reflects that this is another test, and refuses. Granny congratulates her, "If you don't know when to be a human being, you don't know when to be a witch".
Tiffany returns to the Chalk, and assumes the role left vacant by Granny Aching. She tends to the sheep, and to the people, who are filled with pride to have their own witch. She also visits Jeannie, to see her children. In the end, Tiffany throws away the hat she had been using, and decides to use the sky as her hat.
See also
External links
- Annotations (http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/apf/a-hat-full-of-sky.html)
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