Long ago, in the city of Ashkelon, the people were plagued by a coven of eighty witches who lived in a cave at the outskirts of the city. Those witches were sworn enemies of the people of Ashkelon, and saw to it that spells were cast that brought harm to them in ways large and small. Not only did they play nasty tricks, such as turning wine into vinegar, or causing the fire to go out, but they also brought about grave dangers, casting spells which kept the rain from falling, and causing the cows to go dry. And sometimes the vengeance of the witches was directed at one person, as when they caused a rabbi to become a bird, and his wife, a butterfly.
Now it happened that there were three witnesses to this foul deed, the three children of the unfortunate couple. They had seen the witches approach their parents and strike them with their magic wands, transforming their father into a bird and their mother into a butterfly, both of which had flown away and not been seen again. And after this event became known, the people of Ashkelon were outraged, and turned to Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah to rid the city of its curse. At first Rabbi Shimon seemed hesitant to move against the witches. But then it happened that one of his disciples dreamed that he was strolling in an orchard through which a river ran. In the dream this disciple saw Rabbi Shimon trying to reach the water but unable to do so, and he also saw Miriam, the sister of Moses, and she had an object in her hand. He asked her what it was, and she showed him an iron key, and said that she had been sent to deliver it to Rabbi Shimon.
And when the disciple asked what key it was, she said it was the key to Gehenna, where the souls of the wicked are punished, the very gates of Hell, and that it would shortly be delivered to Rabbi Shimon unless he fulfilled his vow to rid the city of the curse of the witches.
Now when the disciple awoke, he wasted no time, but hurried to Rabbi Shimon and told him his dream. And Rabbi Shimon said: I do not doubt that what you say is true. Surely this is a message from heaven that has been delivered to me, for I have told no one of my vow to eliminate the witches. So it was that Rabbi Shimon thought up a plan. Then he waited for the rainy season to begin, and when it did, he gathered together eighty men. He told each of them to bring a large pot and a fresh garment, and when they had assembled, he told them to put their dry robes into the pots, and to place the pots upside down upon their heads. In this way he led them to the cave of the eighty witches. When they were almost there, he took them to a nearby cave and said: When I whistle once, put on your robes, and when I whistle a second time, come together and enter their cave. Then each of you should take hold of one of the witches and start to dance with her. And while you are all dancing, lift the witches off the ground, as if this were part of the dance. But once you have raised them up, do not allow their feet to touch the ground again. For it is well known that when a witch's feet are not touching the earth, she is powerless. So Rabbi Shimon went to the cave of the witches and knocked at the door. They called out: Who is there, and what do you want? He replied, Open up! It is one of your own! And the witches said, Who are you? And Rabbi Shimon said, I am a sorcerer. I want to show you my powers, and for you to show me yours. What can you show us? they asked. I can make eighty men appear, with dry robes, who will dance with you. And when the witches heard this, they said: Come in, come in, for we would like to see you perform such a feat! Then the witches opened the door of the cave, and Rabbi Shimon entered. And when he was inside they saw that his robe was dry, and they could not understand this, since the rain was pouring outside. They said: How is it that your clothes are dry? And he replied: I made myself small and walked between the raindrops. And they said: Ah, you have great powers! Then the witches began to show him their powers: One of them made a table move to the center of the room without touching it, and another conjured up a tablecloth that descended from the ceiling onto the table, and it was covered with all the signs and symbols of the witches. Still a third pronounced a spell, and the table was covered with the finest food and drink.
Then they said: Now it is your turn to show us what you can do. Then Rabbi Shimon said: Yes, now I will show you the wonders I promised. For when I have whistled twice, eighty men as dry as I am will appear and will dance with you. Then he whistled once, and the men, hearing this, put on the dry robes, and when he whistled a second time, they all rushed into the cave. The witches shrieked with delight when the men appeared, their robes dry, exactly as he had promised. And each man chose a witch for a partner and began to dance with her, whirling wildly, and in a flash the men had lifted all the witches off the ground. At first the witches thought it was a part of the dance, but when the men did not put them down and began to carry them out the door, they began to shriek in fear, for witches are terrified of the rain. And just as soon as the witches were struck by the rain, all of them were transformed.
Those who had caused the wine to turn into vinegar were changed into grapes which were ripe on the vines, waiting to be plucked and crushed in the winepress.
Those who had caused the fire to go out burst into flames, and burned until they were ashes, which were scattered by the winds to the four corners of the world.
Those who had stopped the rain from falling were turned into puddles, which formed into a stream, which flowed to a river, which flowed into the sea. And later these waters rose up into the sky and formed into clouds, and in time, when the clouds grew full, they fell down to earth as rain.
Those who had caused the cows to go dry became grass in the pasture, which the cows grazed upon, and from which they produced an excellent milk.
And those who had turned the man into a bird and his wife into a butterfly were turned into worms which scurried along the ground until they were swallowed by hungry birds which swooped down and picked them up.
And when all the witches were transformed, the spells they had cast were broken, and the bird and the butterfly again became the rabbi and his wife.
Thus were the witches punished for their evil doings, and the city of Ashkelon was rid of its curse for all time.