"I can't believe you have a whole room of them!" he shouted with glee.
"We might be bending the rules on the slippers, but those are off-limits to the likes of you!" Mirror said.
"How about a peek?" Jack pleaded. He suddenly looked like a lost little boy. "These things are part of my past. Can't a man take a walk down memory lane?"
Sabrina could see his expression, and all at once she felt sorry for him. Jack was a man whom the whole world had loved. He had seen amazing things and lived life to the fullest, but being trapped in Ferryport Landing had put an end to all of it. It dawned on Sabrina that Ferryport Landing might have been the home of many of the world's fairy-tale creatures, but it was also a prison they were never allowed to leave. It didn't seem right.
Sabrina pulled out the keys, knelt down, eyed the keyhole, and within seconds opened the door. Jack pushed past her into the tiny room, where a single mason jar sat on a table. Inside it was a collection of little white beans.
Jack gasped and picked up the jar. "There must be a hundred of them."
Mirror snatched the jar out of his hand and placed it back on the table.
"These things are dangerous. If you dropped them on the floor we'd be ear-deep in giants."
Jack scowled for a moment and looked as if he were ready to fight for his treasure, but he took a deep breath and his anger vanished, only to be replaced with a boyish grin.
"Thanks, Grimms, you don't know what you've done for me," he said.
Mirror hurried everyone back through the door.
"Well, ladies, now that we've got the shoes, we need the proper disguises," Jack said. "I think a little fairy godmother magic will do the trick."
"Wands are over here," Mirror said, leading them down the hallway. They stopped at the door labeled FAIRY GODMOTHER WANDS and Sabrina unlocked it. Inside, a small black cauldron sat on a tiny table, with several skinny sticks popping out of the top. Mirror reached into the pot and removed one that had a glittery glass star on the end, and handed it to Sabrina.
"The first magical item your family ever had to confiscate," Mirror said.
"I remember old Wilhelm Grimm trying to get that away from her." Jack laughed. "Girls, I'll say one thing about your family. They are brave. Fairy godmothers are sweet as pie on the outside, but try to take away their wands and they can get downright mean."
"Indeed," Mirror said.
"How does this work?" Sabrina asked.
Mirror frowned. "I can't believe your father!" he cried. "I'd hoped that your mother, Veronica, might at least give you the basics behind his back. Very well, this is the changing wand used by Cinderella's fairy godmother. It will alter your clothes, shoes, even your bodies, in any way you want."
"Charming's ball is going to be filled to the rafters with Everafters," Jack said. "You're going to go in as one of them."
Daphne smiled. "I know what I want to be! I want to be the Tin Woodsman!"
"Are you sure, honey?" the little man in the mirror asked. "Tin is so last season."
Daphne nodded enthusiastically.
"Very well, it's your fashion funeral," he said. "Sabrina, just say 'Tin Woodsman,' make three small circles with the wand, and then tap her on the head."
"OK," Sabrina said. "Tin Woodsman!" She made three awkward circles in the air and then smacked her sister on the head with the wand. Daphne squealed in pain and rubbed the spot, but as she was rubbing, a miraculous change began to occur. Her skin took on a silvery tone. She grew several feet taller and her clothes faded, only to be replaced by gears and joints. Her hair retreated into her scalp and a shiny funnel took its place. Sabrina blinked her eyes to be sure they weren't playing tricks on her, but she knew they weren't. Her sister had become the Tin Woodsman.
"That hurt," Daphne cried as her hand scraped against her new metallic head. Hearing the screech of metal in her ears, she looked at her hand and squealed in delight. She walked around the hall, squeaking with every step. "Look at me!"
"Spitting image," Jack said.
Daphne took the wand from her sister. "OK, who do you want to be?"
Sabrina was stumped. She realized she had to choose wisely. She needed to be inconspicuous at the ball, someone small and unnoticeable, and someone who could be very, very sneaky.
"OK, I was thinking ..."
"I know, Momma Bear!" the little girl interrupted and before Sabrina could stop her, she had performed the circles and was cracking her big sister on the head.
Sabrina felt the transformation immediately, as if her body was being inflated. Her clothes disappeared and were replaced with a bright, pink-and-white polka-dotted dress that ended well above her knee. She looked down at her humongous arms and groaned as hair exploded from every pore. Fangs burst from the top of her mouth and razor-sharp claws sprang from her fingernails and toenails. She could feel them scratching at the insides of the ruby slippers, which had expanded to fit her new size-twenty-six feet. When the transformation was complete, Daphne giggled.