The beginning chapter of The Witch and the Beast introduces readers to the dark and eerie atmosphere of the story. The chapter begins with an unnamed character, who is later revealed to be the witch, wandering through a dense forest. The author does a masterful job in creating a sense of foreboding and mystery through vivid descriptions of the forest and its inhabitants. The reader is immediately transported into this fantastical world where danger lurks behind every tree. As the witch continues her journey, she stumbles upon a wounded beast lying on the forest floor. This encounter sets the stage for the central conflict of the story.
Like all flatfish, the Witch flounder has a distinctive flat shape with both eyes on one side of its head and swims horizontally. Its flatness and color mutability enable it to easily camouflage itself along the soft muddy and sandy bottoms where it lives. Witch flounder are found in fairly deep waters in the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere. They grow up to nearly 2 feet (60 cm) in length and have been reported to live up to 25 years.
Even if you do not see yourself as a witch, but let us say, you see yourself as a sorcerer or as a wizard, you can still learn something magical and divine from this book. Also called fluke, the summer flounder is a pancake-flat fish, with both eyes on one side of the head, an adaptation to living and moving horizonally along the ocean bottom and a good camouflage.
This encounter sets the stage for the central conflict of the story. The beast, once a human, has been transformed into a grotesque creature by a curse, and the witch holds the key to his salvation. However, the witch is not motivated by a desire to help the beast; instead, she sees an opportunity to use him for her own gain.
Flounder/Sole
Starry flounder stocks are healthy and managed effectively.
BestMORE ABOUT PACIFIC SANDDAB
One of the smaller members of the flounder family, this popular West Coast flatfish reaches only 16 inches (41 cm) when fully grown. Pacific sanddabs live on sandy bottoms and feed on a variety of benthic organisms, including small fish, squid, octopus, shrimp, crabs, sea squirts and worms.
Commercial Sources
The United States is the main commercial source for Pacific sanddabs.
Capture Methods
Pacific sanddabs are caught with bottom trawls.
BestMORE ABOUT DOVER SOLE
Like the flounder, the Dover sole is a pancake-flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head, making it well adapted to living on the ocean bottom. Dover sole produces a protective slime that may spread to other fish when it’s caught in a net. It can grow to a maximum of 2.5 feet, or 76 cm.
Commercial Sources
Dover sole are found in the eastern North Pacific, from the Bering Sea to Baja California in Mexico.
The main source of dover sole is the United States.
Capture Methods
Dover sole come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include handlines and traps.
BestMORE ABOUT ENGLISH SOLE
Like the flounder, the English sole is a pancake-flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head. It dwells along sand and mud bottoms, and can grow to 1.5 feet, or 49 cm.
Commercial Sources
English sole are found in the eastern North Pacific, from the Bering Sea to central Baja California in Mexico.
Capture Methods
English sole come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with trawls.
BestMORE ABOUT PETRALE SOLE
Like the flounder, the petrale sole is a pancake-flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head, making it well adapted to live on the ocean bottom. It grows to a maximum of 2 feet, or 61 cm. It is considered the premium Pacific coast sole.
Commercial Sources
Petrale sole are found in the eastern North Pacific, from the Bering Sea and Alaska to northern Baja California in Mexico.
The main source of petrale sole is the United States.
Capture Methods
Petrale sole come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with trawls.
BestMORE ABOUT REX SOLE
The rex sole is a flounderlike bottom-dwelling species with both eyes on one side of its head. Rex sole is slow-growing and can live up to 24 years while growing to a maximum of 2 feet, or 61 cm. Often it is captured as bycatch and discarded. Though sometimes used for fertilizer, it is also considered tasty.
Commercial Sources
Rex sole are found in the eastern North Pacific, from the Bering Sea to Baja California in Mexico.
The main source of rex sole is the United States.
Capture Methods
Rex sole come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with trawls.
MORE ABOUT AMERICAN PLAICE
A relative of sole and flounder, the plaice is a slender flat fish with a large mouth and the characteristic eyes on one side of its body. Like its relatives, it lives sideways flush with the ocean floor. It grows to 2.5 feet (76 cm) in length.
Commercial Sources
American Plaice are found in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the eastern Atlantic, they occur from Greenland to the coast of Murmansk on the Barents Sea in northern Europe. In the western Atlantic, they range from southern Labrador and western Greenland to Rhode Island.
The main sources of American plaice are Iceland, followed by the United States, the Russian Federation and Canada.
Capture Methods
American plaice come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets, seines and hooks-and-lines.
MORE ABOUT YELLOWFIN SOLE
Like the flounder, the yellowfin sole is a pancake-flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head, making it well adapted to living on the ocean bottom. Yellowfin sole can reach a maximum of 1.5 feet, or 46 cm.
Commercial Sources
Yellowfin sole are found in the North Pacific, from the Sea of Japan to Barkley Sound in Canada.
The main source of yellowfin sole is the United States.
Capture Methods
Yellowfin sole come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls and lines. Additional types of fishing gear include seines.
MORE ABOUT WINDOWPANE FLOUNDER
The once-depleted stocks have recovered, and overfishing is not occurring. However concerns remain over the bycatch of other species, including some that are threatened or endangered. EDF is actively engaged in this fishery in New England to resolve these concerns.
MORE ABOUT BLACKBACK FLOUNDER
Blackback flounder or winter flounder are on OK choice because the stocks are healthy. However concerns remain over the bycatch of other species, including some that are threatened or endangered. EDF is actively engaged in this fishery in New England to resolve these concerns.
MORE ABOUT ARROWTOOTH FLOUNDER
Arrowtooth flounder caught on the U.S. West Coast and in British Columbia, Canada, is an “OK Choice” because management is effective, and the stocks are healthy. However, moderate concerns remain over bycatch and impact to seafloor habitat. EDF is actively engaged in this fishery in the US Pacific to resolve these concerns.
ImprovingMORE ABOUT SUMMER FLOUNDER
Also called fluke, the summer flounder is a pancake-flat fish, with both eyes on one side of the head, an adaptation to living and moving horizonally along the ocean bottom (and a good camouflage). Summer flounder, which can grow to nearly 3 feet (0.9 meter), prefer to burrow into sandy bottoms and live along coastal areas.
Commercial Sources
Summer flounder are found in the western North Atlantic, from Maine to northern Florida. They occur rarely in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The main source of summer flounder is the United States.
Capture Methods
Summer flounder come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include handlines, pound nets and gillnets.
ImprovingMORE ABOUT WINTER FLOUNDER
The winter flounder lives, as its name implies, in the cold northern waters of the western Atlantic. As with other flounder, its pancake-flat shape and color mutability provide it with a good camouflage against the bottom, where it feeds on insects and crustaceans. It grows up to over 2 feet (0.6 meter) in length.
Commercial Sources
Blackback flounder are found in the western North Atlantic, from Labrador to Georgia.
The main sources of blackback flounder are the United States and Canada.
Capture Methods
Blackback flounder come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets, dredges and pound nets.
ImprovingMORE ABOUT WITCH FLOUNDER
Like all flatfish, the Witch flounder has a distinctive flat shape with both eyes on one side of its head and swims horizontally. Its flatness and color mutability enable it to easily camouflage itself along the soft muddy and sandy bottoms where it lives. Witch flounder are found in fairly deep waters in the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere. They grow up to nearly 2 feet (60 cm) in length and have been reported to live up to 25 years.
Commercial Sources
Witch flounder are found in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the eastern Atlantic, they occur from Norway to northern Spain. In the western Atlantic, they are distributed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Grand Banks in Canada to North Carolina.
The main sources of witch flounder are Spain and the United Kingdom, followed by the United States, Canada, Denmark and Iceland.
Capture Methods
Witch flounder come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets and seines.
ImprovingMORE ABOUT YELLOWTAIL FLOUNDER
The yellowtail flounder has a distinctive flat shape with both eyes on one side of the head. Its flatness and color mutability enable it to easily camouflage itself along the soft muddy and sandy bottoms where it lives in shallow waters. It grows up to 2 feet (61 cm) in length and has been reported to live up to 12 years.
Commercial Sources
Yellowtail flounder are found in the western North Atlantic, from southern Labrador to Chesapeake Bay.
The main sources of yellowtail flounder are Canada and the United States.
Capture Methods
Yellowtail flounder come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets and dredges.
These ratings are provided in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, © 1999-2018 Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation
Recommended servings per month
| Contaminant | Men | Women | Kids 6-12 | Kids 0-5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starry flounder (US, Pacific) | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | |
| American plaice (US, Atlantic) | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Summer flounder (US, Atlantic) | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Winter flounder | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Witch flounder | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Yellowtail flounder | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Pacific sanddab | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Dover sole | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| English sole | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Petrale sole | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Rex sole | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Yellowfin sole | Mercury | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| Windowpane flounder (US, Atlantic) | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | |
| Blackback flounder (US, Atlantic) | 4+ | 4+ | 4 | 4+ | |
| Arrowtooth flounder (US and Canada, Pacific) | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
This chart shows how much can safely be eaten each MONTH (assuming no other contaminated fish is consumed). The advice is based on EPA guidance and the latest mercury data. More on contaminants »
Eco details:- Since they live on or near the bottom, flounder and sole are usually caught by bottom trawls, which can result in bycatch and damage to bottom habitats.
- True flounders are found in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. In New England, flounders are now caught under an innovative new ‘sector’ management plan. Discards in the fishery have dramatically decreased, sector fishermen stayed under their catch limits for all groundfish species, and less gear was deployed compared to previous years.
- True soles are found in the Pacific Ocean. On the West Coast, soles are now managed under an innovative new ‘catch share’ management plan. Bycatch is down 75%, and conservative catch quotas have limited the catch of overfished rockfish. Additionally, an innovation boom in gear design and fishing behavior has helped trawlers avoid bycatch hotspots and keep sensitive species out of nets.
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- About this guide
Like the flounder, the yellowfin sole is a pancake-flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head, making it well adapted to living on the ocean bottom. Yellowfin sole can reach a maximum of 1.5 feet, or 46 cm.
This revelation adds another layer of complexity to the story, as it becomes clear that the witch is not a typical protagonist. The chapter ends with the witch confronting the beast, who is initially fearful and suspicious of her intentions. It is clear that their relationship will be a tumultuous one, filled with tension and distrust. The author leaves readers eager to uncover the motives of the witch and the fate of the beast. Overall, the beginning chapter of The Witch and the Beast sets the stage for a riveting and dark fantasy tale. The author's skillful use of descriptive language and introduction of complex characters immediately draws the reader in. The main idea of this chapter is the meeting of the witch and the beast, and their complicated relationship that will drive the plot forward..
Reviews for "The Witch and the Beast: An enticing start to a thrilling tale"
1. John - ★★☆☆☆
I was really excited to read "The beginning chapter of the witch and the beast" based on the intriguing title and the hype surrounding it. However, I found myself disappointed with the story. The writing style felt disjointed and the characters lacked depth. The plotline was confusing and rushed, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. Overall, I was left underwhelmed by this beginning chapter.
2. Lisa - ★★☆☆☆
"The beginning chapter of the witch and the beast" failed to capture my interest. The story seemed jumbled and lacked a clear direction. The characters felt one-dimensional and their motivations were unclear. Additionally, the dialogue was forced and unrealistic. I struggled to connect with the story and found myself wanting more substance. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.
3. Mike - ★★★☆☆
While "The beginning chapter of the witch and the beast" had an interesting premise, I felt that the execution fell flat. The pacing was too slow, and it took too long for anything substantial to happen. The writing style was also overly descriptive, which made the story drag on. I wanted to be drawn into the world and invested in the characters, but I found myself feeling detached and uninterested. Although there were some moments of intrigue, overall, this beginning chapter failed to engage me fully.