“Free me!” it bellowed. “Release me from this prison!”
Suddenly there was a blast of heat and the creature cried out. Momentarily stunned, its hands lost their shape and Sabrina took the opportunity to crawl out of its reach. When she turned to run, she saw Puck breathing fire at the water monster, causing it to boil and evaporate into steam. What was left of it sank back into the pond and disappeared.
“What was that thing, Grimm?” Puck asked as he helped her to her feet.
“I don’t know for sure, but I have a theory that it was what everyone’s been warning us about,” Sabrina croaked. “The character from Snow White’s story that was too horrible to keep. We’re outside of Jack’s story, in the woods. That’s where this thing lives—in the parts of stories that aren’t written. When it had me, it demanded that I set it free.”
“What’s going on?” Daphne asked as she rushed to the pond.
Puck shook his head. “Nothing.”
Sabrina looked at him, silently thanking him for not causing the little girl any more worry.
“Well, come on. I have an idea on how to get out of this story,” Daphne said.
Sabrina pulled herself together, and she and Puck followed Daphne back across the field in the direction they had come from.
“So, the Munchkins told us that the door appears when the story is over,” Daphne said. “Well, the story is over, pretty much, and we’re still here. Why hasn’t it started over?”
“’Cause Jack didn’t kill the giant,” Sabrina reminded her.
“True!” Daphne said. “And now we have no Jack and no giant, but there is a big part of this story that is still around.”
Daphne pointed at the enormous beanstalk rising into the clouds and continued her march to the little house beneath it.
Without knocking, Daphne opened what was left of the front door and went inside, returning after a second with a large ax. “It’s just a theory, and I could be totally wrong, but maybe if we chop it down, the story will give us a break. Maybe if we can finish part of the story it will be enough of a finale to open a door.”
Puck looked at the ax, then at the beanstalk. It was as thick and round as a house. “This smells suspiciously of work. You know I’m allergic.”
“We have to try. Besides, there’s nothing to eat in that house and so soon—”
“Give me that ax,” Puck shouted, and snatched it from her hands. Soon he was chopping wildly at the enormous plant.
“It’s worth a shot,” Daphne said.
Sabrina nodded. Her throat was sore from the water creature’s attack, and speaking hurt.
After each of them had taken their turns hacking at the beanstalk, the overgrown plant finally tottered over. Sadly, it fell on Jack’s little house, crushing it even further. His poor mother would be distraught—she already had a loser for a son. But felling the beanstalk had its desired effect. A new door materialized right before them.
Sabrina pulled it open. A blast of wind blew everyone’s hair back. It smelled like wild grass and tea. Daphne whispered for the ball of yarn to follow Pinocchio. It rolled into the void and the trio once again stepped into the unknown.
When the lights came back on, Sabrina found herself sitting at a long table set beneath a tree. A little cottage sat on a hill not far off and wildflowers covered the ground, leaning toward the sunlight. Sabrina looked around the table and nearly fell out of her chair when she saw who was sitting with her. The Mad Hatter was sipping tea from an enormous cup and resting his elbow on poor Daphne’s head. Next to Daphne was a brown hare as big as a child, and he had his elbow on Daphne’s head too. The little girl seemed just as bewildered by their arrival in the strange setting as Sabrina was. She also looked annoyed as she struggled to escape from the Mad Hatter and the hare’s rude behavior.
Puck was at the other end of the table, shoveling handfuls of cake into his mouth. He looked like a boy who hadn’t eaten in weeks. Not far away, Sabrina spotted the magic ball of yarn zipping into the woods.
Sabrina looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a soft blue dress with an apron tied around her waist. She also had on white stockings and simple black shoes and she knew exactly which story they had stumbled into.
“I’m Alice,” Sabrina said through her strained throat.
“We’re in Wonderland,” Daphne squealed.
“Shhhhhhhh!” the Mad Hatter whispered. “Stick to the story.”
“Have some wine,” the hare said.
“Wine? Where do you think we are, France? I’m twelve years old,” Sabrina said.
The hare seemed surprised by her outburst.
“Remember, you’re supposed to be Alice,” Daphne hissed.
“Well, Alice was only seven years old when this happened. They need to worry about getting arrested. You can’t walk around offering alcohol to children.”