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Winifred was a well-meaning witch who lived in a tower by the river, but her spells had a peculiar side effect: they always, without fail, turned into elaborate musical theater numbers. If she tried to levitate a cauldron, the cauldron would float up while singing a soulful tenor aria. If she tried to create fire, the flame would burst into a rousing jazz ensemble.

One morning, Winifred was highly annoyed by a massive, sloshing puddle that had formed right outside her front door. "That puddle is a menace!" she muttered. "I shall turn it into solid cobblestone."

She raised her ancient wand, muttered the required words—“Puddle, puddle, cease your slosh, become a stone, and do not wash!”—and zapped the water.

The water didn't turn to stone. Instead, the puddle began to shimmer, and a booming voice sang out:

“I AM THE PUDDLE! I’M WET AND WIDE AND DEEP! A BRINY, SLOPPY MUDDLE! WHILE ALL THE DRY THINGS SLEEP!”

Then, a chorus of tiny bubbles rose up and started tap-dancing furiously on the surface of the water, splashing in perfect rhythm. The spell had created a full-blown puddle-themed Broadway show, complete with kick lines made of leaping water drops.

Winifred sighed. "Oh, not again! I just wanted a simple sidewalk!"

An old crow named Clive, who often sat on her chimney, cawed knowingly. "Seems like a two-act show, Winnie. That bubble chorus needs more pizzazz."

Winifred tried to reverse the spell. “Puddle, puddle, reverse the rhyme, stop the song and turn back time!”

Instead of reversing, the spell triggered Act Two: the puddle froze slightly, forming a perfect, miniature ice rink. The lead puddle-performer, now wearing a tiny skater’s outfit made of mist, glided across the ice, singing about the tragedy of evaporation in a high soprano.

Winifred knew only one way to end the show early: applause. She clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Encore! Encore!"

At the sound of the applause, the water dancer bowed, the bubble chorus dispersed with a final, fizzy fanfare, and the entire production melted away, leaving just a normal, slightly less annoying puddle. Winifred decided to just build a small wooden bridge over it instead. Some problems couldn't be solved with a catchy tune.