Gretel Pushes Back Read online

  Exclamations of “What?” “Your magical charm?” and “When?” rang out.

  As the students hiked through the forest with Hansel in the lead, Gretel told everyone about her walking stick and how it had once belonged to the witch but was intended for her, made by her grandfather.

  Naturally, her friends were all excited for her. “Show us what it can do!” Jill urged. Before Gretel could reply, a vine snaked down from a tree they were walking under and wrapped itself around her BFF’s arm. Jill tried to shake off the vine, but to no avail.

  “Stick of mine, please make that vine stay in line,” Gretel said quickly. Her stick leaped from her hand to obey. One good whack was enough to make the vine loosen its hold on Jill’s arm and wiggle away.

  “Grimmawesome!” Jill exclaimed as the stick flew back to Gretel and settled under her hand again.

  “It can also flatten down grasses to create new trails,” she told her friends. “And help find food and water! Not sure what else it can do yet.” She didn’t tell them that when she’d first held it, she felt braver. And that it made her feel braver now, too. She had a feeling that was part of why this charm was meant for her. But she wanted more time to explore all that before sharing those thoughts with others.

  Hansel overheard her as he stopped to consult his map. “Create new trails, huh?”

  “Yeah, I was thinking I could write a supplement to A Guide to Trails and Hikes Around Grimmlandia! And include the new trails it makes as well as others I discover,” Gretel blurted out. She hadn’t meant to let the cat out of the bag so soon, and braced herself for her brother’s criticism.

  But instead of pointing out holes in her plan, as she’d halfway expected him to do, he called back to her in an admiring tone, “That’s a grimmerrific idea! Let me know if you need help!”

  “Thanks,” she said, as he directed everyone toward the left fork of the trail they’d been hiking along. With his love of words and dictionaries, he’d be an extra big help with one thing in particular. “I’ll take you up on that offer, especially when it comes to naming the trails,” she called back.

  Hansel grinned at her. “Perfect. Right up my alley!”

  Jack had been hiking beside Hansel at the head of the group, but now he dropped back to the rear with Gretel, Jill, and Red. “I’ll help with your trail guide, too,” he told Gretel. “I bet lots of kids will.”

  “Count me in,” said his sister, Jill.

  Gretel flushed with pleasure. “That would be great, you guys.” Then a new idea came to her. “Maybe members of G.O.O.D. could band together to improve old trails in addition to creating new ones.”

  “G.O.O.D. idea,” said Jack. He spoke each letter in turn, which made everyone who heard laugh.

  “We could put up signs to warn hikers of dangerous areas,” Jill said enthusiastically.

  “Yeah,” said Red. “Like the Wall. I could maybe borrow some of the Drama department’s supplies to help us make the signs.”

  “There are other improvements we could make, too. Like building bridges over mushy areas, and removing fallen tree limbs or vines that block some trails now,” said Hansel, dropping back to walk with them as well.

  Jack grinned at him. “I like it. Less for me to trip over!”

  The girls all laughed.

  A bit farther up the trail, Gretel stopped for a moment to empty out a pebble that had worked its way into her boot. She waved the others on ahead, saying, “Go on. I’ll catch up.”

  When Jack stayed behind, she passed him her walking stick to hold while she turned her boot upside down to shake out the pebble. As she started to teeter while standing on one foot, Jack took her arm to steady her.

  “Thanks,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm. She’d noticed earlier that his forehead injury must have healed because the bandage was gone now. However, he was limping slightly, probably from his stumble on the drawbridge that Hansel had mentioned. “How’s your ankle?” she asked as she slipped her boot back on.

  “Not too bad,” he told her. When she straightened at last, he held her walking stick out to her.

  “You keep it for now,” she told him. “It’ll help take the weight off that ankle.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “I’ve got something for you, too. Here. A gift from the abominable sisters.” He pulled out a bunch of ribbons from his pocket and handed them to her.

  Gretel laughed. “Thanks, these’ll come in handy marking the new trails,” she said, stuffing her ribbons in her pocket.

  They had just begun to walk again when a loud howl came from directly behind them. Owooooo!

  Startled, Gretel grabbed Jack’s free hand. Was it a wolf?

  As the two of them jumped around to see what was behind them, laughter rang out.

  “Got you, didn’t I?” A boy stepped out from behind a tree. It was only Red’s crush, Wolfgang, playing a practical joke.

  Jack grinned at him. “I’ll get you for that,” he said good-naturedly. “Sometime when you least expect it.”

  Wolfgang grinned back. “Ha! You’re on.” With that, he loped past them and called over his shoulder, “See you back at GA!”

  Realizing she was still holding Jack’s hand, Gretel started to drop it as they began to walk again. But then she thought better of it and left her hand in his. And he didn’t let go!

  A grimmtastically happy feeling filled her. What an incredible adventure she’d had! Yes, parts of it had been very scary, but she’d survived and even kept her wits about her, especially at the end.

  And she’d gotten a magic charm! It was even more special because her grandfather had carved it for her. She could hardly wait to use it to help G.O.O.D. with trail projects.

  She had a new appreciation for Hansel now, too. It seemed he was going to try not to be so bossy from here on out, and she would try to cut him a little more slack when he was. Plus, she’d finally come to see Mistress Hagscorch as the good witch she’d always been. And then there was Jack …

  She was holding the hand of a boy she liked for the very first time! So her super-secret crush on him probably wasn’t going to be super secret much longer. But that was fine with her. Gretel smiled over at him and he smiled back. Swinging their hands between them, they raced (or race-limped in Jack’s case) down the trail to catch up with their friends.

  A Grimmtastic girl named Cinderella is starting her first week at Grimm Academy on the wrong foot. Cinda’s totally evil stepsisters are out to make her life miserable. The Steps tease Cinda, give her terrible advice about life at the Academy, and even make her look bad in front of her new friends, Red, Snow, and Rapunzel! But when Cinda overhears the Steps plotting a villainous deed that could ruin Prince Awesome’s ball, Cinda, her new friends, and a pair of magical glass slippers have to stop them — before the last stroke of midnight!

  Red Riding Hood is thrilled to try out for the school play. Acting is her dream, and she’s great at it — too bad she has stage fright! After a grimmiserable audition, Red decides to focus on helping her friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. But when Red gets lost in Neverwood Forest and runs into Wolfgang, who might be part of E.V.I.L., she needs her magic basket and a grimmazingly dramatic performance to figure out what’s going on!

  No matter how many lucky charms she wears, Snow White can’t catch a break. She’s especially worried that her stepmom, Ms. Wicked, is a member of the E.V.I.L. Society. Snow and her friends Red, Cinda, and Rapunzel are trying to stop E.V.I.L.’s plans to destroy Grimm Academy, but Snow seems to be jinxing all their efforts. Her luck might change if she can find her own truly magical charm — before it falls into E.V.I.L. hands!

  Rapunzel’s enchanted, fast-growing hair can be a nuisance, especially when an accident gives it magical powers she can’t control! But Rapunzel can’t let her grimmorrible hair woes distract her — she and her friends Cinda, Red, and Snow are trying to save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. Once Rapunzel tracks down her magic charm, she w
on’t let a bad hair day get in the way of stopping E.V.I.L.!

  Sleeping Beauty — who just goes by her middle name, Rose — has always been a daredevil. But according to her fairy tale, after her twelfth birthday Rose must avoid all sharp objects. That isn’t easy at Grimm Academy, where enchanted items can also be dangerous. Rose will have to stay wide awake to keep out of trouble — and to join the fight against E.V.I.L.!

  Goldilocks is so eager to make friends at Grimm Academy, she’s even tempted to accept an invitation to join E.V.I.L. — it’s just nice to be included! But she doesn’t want to be a villain. Can Goldie get inside the secret society and do some good?

  Snowflake isn’t sure which fairy-tale character she is. But with her magical powers causing lots of trouble, she’s definitely on thin ice! So just in case she might be a villain, Snowflake is chilly to her classmates. Can she keep her cool until she knows her whole story, or will her social life at Grimm Academy be permanently frozen?

  Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated more than 130 children’s books. She lives in Raleigh, NC, and can be found at www.joanholub.com.

  Suzanne Williams is the author of more than 40 books for children, including the award-winningpicture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives outside Seattle, WA, and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com.

  Together, Joan and Suzanne have written the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series. Though they live in different states andhardly ever get to see each other, they spend lots of time together in Grimmlandia.

  Cinderella Stays Late

  Red Riding Hood Gets Lost

  Snow White Lucks Out

  Rapunzel Cuts Loose

  Sleeping Beauty Dreams Big

  Goldilocks Breaks In

  Snowflake Freezes Up

  Gretel Pushes Back

  Text copyright © 2016 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First printing 2016

  Cover art by Frank Montagna

  Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-94575-2

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