Free Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde

thicker or, well,
newer
than the rest.
    The sight of the blanket-covered body of the old witch returned a sense of seriousness to him. He was sure she must have a shovel since she had a vegetable garden, but burying her no longer seemed the right thing to do.
    He tied the blanket more securely around her shoulders, then set about moving her. Being so old, she had shrunk down to a size close to Howard's own and she didn't weigh very much, which meant
he was able to get her to the edge of the pond, and then into the water where she could be, come spring, among the geese.
    "I hope that's what you wanted," he said, and only then did he set off for home.