When Sabrina and Daphne returned to the group, the fire had died down and the others were waiting expectantly.
“What now?” the Cheshire Cat asked.
Sabrina turned to Daphne. The little girl gave her a knowing look and then smiled. It was a relief to have her sister’s approval.
“I think we need to re-create the ending. This story is so short it might be easy. New ending—new door.”
“Interesting. But how?” the White Rabbit said.
“This little old lady lives in a shoe. She’s got so many kids she doesn’t know what to do. Sounds like she needs a little help organizing,” Sabrina said. “Puck, can you take the others and find the children? Get them back to the shoe on the double. Daphne and I will stay here and get everything ready.”
It wasn’t long before the children were hurrying back to the house. It helped that Puck had transformed himself into a pterodactyl and was buzzing over the crowd so that they ran for their lives. When the children were gathered, Sabrina looked out on the hundreds of them.
“All right, kids, listen up,” Sabrina said. “You have had it too easy. Your mother feeds you, clothes you, washes your laundry, and keeps your rooms clean. She’s exhausted. She’s inside taking a much-needed nap. While she’s having a little ‘me’ time, we’re going to get this shoe in shape. So, if your name starts with the letter ‘A,’ raise your hand.”
A dozen children raised their hands.
“You are going to mow this yard, rake the leaves, and clean out the gutters,” Daphne said.
The children whined.
“No fuss!” Sabrina cried. “If your name starts with ‘B,’ you’re on laundry. There’s a pile of dirty socks in there a mountain high. They need to be washed, dried, folded, and put away.”
“If your name starts with a ‘C,’ you’ve got dish duty,” Daphne added. “Wash, dry, and put away. And remember, there is a trick to loading the dishwasher. Don’t overfill it!”
The chores went on all the way to Zed, Zelma, and the rest of the Zs. Sabrina and her group stood by and watched as the children washed windows, swept the walkway, bagged grass clippings, and beat the dust out of rugs. When the little old woman came outside, she had tears in her eyes.
“Thank you! Thank you!” she cried.
Just then, a door appeared behind Sabrina. “Let’s get the ball rolling,” she said to her sister.
Daphne whispered something into the magic yarn and it hopped out of her hand. When Puck opened the door, it rolled right through it. Puck was next, followed by Daphne. Sabrina gestured for the others to follow and stepped through the portal last, unsure of where they would land.
When Sabrina could see again, she was at the bottom of a rocky hill crowned with a majestic castle. It overlooked a crisp green valley and a churning river less than a mile away. Unlike the crumbling castles Sabrina had seen in her father’s travel magazines, this one was pristine—almost as if it were brand-new. Its walls were constructed from gleaming white stones and its towers stretched toward the clouds. A turret sat on the rooftop, where a proud orange flag featuring a fierce black griffin flapped in the wind. Before Sabrina could ask her sister which story they had entered, there was a loud explosion and the blue sky turned an angry red.
“Dear, dear,” the Cheshire Cat said as it hid behind Daphne. “We’ve stepped into a war zone.”
There was another explosion that echoed across the valley, and a moment later, one of the castle’s towers toppled over and crashed against the rocks below. The next thing Sabrina knew, three knights in full armor came charging over a drawbridge and straight toward them. Sabrina stepped out of the way only to fall to the ground with a thud. She wasn’t expecting to be wearing a heavy suit of armor.
Puck pulled her to her feet with much effort.
“Sir Galahad! Sir Bedivere!” one of the men in armor shouted to the girls. It was suddenly clear they had been placed in the roles of knights. “The Editor has sent a sorcerer to put down our rebellion. He has invaded the castle and our dear Merlin is fighting him off, but he is very powerful. He has attacked the castle, but he will not stop our cause. Freedom will be ours.”
“Cause?” Sabrina asked. “What cause?”
“To escape this book, of course,” the second knight said proudly. “We are members of the Character Liberation Army. We are working to leave this story, and clearly the Editor has unleashed a horror on us aimed at ending our quest.”
The third knight looked as if he were ready to add more to the conversation when he rubbed his eyes and stared at the group. “What manner of creatures are you?”
Sabrina turned to look at her group—a giant puppy, an extinct bird, a rabbit wearing clothes, a man-size cat, a boy with pink fairy wings . . . not to mention Daphne and herself, two little girls in ill-fitting suits of armor.
“Long story,” Sabrina said to the knight. “What story is this?”
The third knight gasped. “You’ve come from another story?”