Gretel Pushes Back Read online

  Jack fell down and broke his crown,

  And Jill came tumbling after.”

  Despite the rhyme’s dire words, the song was a jaunty one. And singing it in a loud voice helped to tune out some of those spooky sounds. She sang it a second time and then a third.

  Suddenly, a loud squawk followed by a screech came from somewhere nearby. Gretel jerked a little and her hands began to tremble in her lap. She needed an activity to calm herself. Automatically, she reached into the pocket of her gown for her pocketknife, thinking she could find a nice piece of wood and carve something while waiting. But her knife wasn’t there. Oh, no! She’d put it into her backpack instead of her pocket. And unfortunately, Odette had her backpack right now.

  “Fudgenuts!” she exclaimed out loud. Feeling restless, she leaped up from the mossy log she’d been sitting on and began to pace back and forth in front of it. The damp ground seemed to suck at her boots. She started imagining beasts below the earth trying to drag her down to her doom. Yikes! She sat on the log again and drew up her knees, wrapping both arms around them.

  What was taking those sisters so long? After at least fifteen minutes had gone by, she finally decided to go look for them.

  She started back down the trail, but quickly got confused. Where were the ribbons she’d left on branches to mark their way back to the Academy? She didn’t see a single one along the path. Had she made a wrong turn without realizing it? Unlike Red Riding Hood, her sense of direction was usually excellent, but Neverwood Forest was very dense. And all the trees were starting to look alike to her.

  On the other hand, maybe she was on the right path. Birds could have taken the ribbons to build their nests. Gretel looked up into the branches of nearby trees to see if she could spot any nests with colorful ribbons wound through them. No luck.

  “Malorette!” she called out. “Odette?” No answer.

  A horrible suspicion began to creep over her. A suspicion that although she’d been determined to keep her wits about her, those sour sisters had still managed to trick her! They’d run off, leaving her alone in the woods without a map or her backpack. And even worse, maybe they’d removed the ribbons she’d used to mark their trail, making it nearly impossible for her to find her way out of the forest and back to GA. Talk about mean!

  Gretel fought down the panicky feelings rising inside her. Maybe she was wrong and the two girls had already returned via some shortcut to the log where they’d told her to stay. She swung around and retraced her steps to the log. Maybe they’d be there, waiting for her.

  But her gut was telling her that there were just two possibilities to explain what had happened. Either the sisters had changed their minds about showing her Mr. Hump-Dumpty’s secret place after all and had looped around her to continue on ahead by themselves. Or else the secret place did not exist at all. And if there was no secret place, that would have to mean that Malorette and Odette had deliberately led her into these woods with the intention of abandoning her here.

  A cold shiver ran down her spine. Why would they do that? Yes, they were evil, but even evil characters had reasons for what they did. Was it because they still thought she was a spy? She couldn’t think of anything she’d seen or heard that made her a threat to them. It just didn’t make sense!

  Unfortunately, Gretel’s gut feeling proved to be right. When she reached their meeting place, Malorette and Odette were not waiting for her. They had definitely dumped her. Unable to hold on to hope any longer, Gretel sank down on the fallen log. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She should have listened to Hansel, she scolded herself as she angrily swiped at the tears. She had thought she could take care of herself, but she’d been wrong. Just look at what had happened!

  Suddenly, she heard those weird thumping sounds again. Only this time they were much closer than before. Were the big pecking birds here to peck her to pieces now that she was alone and defenseless? Her throat seized up. But wait! Maybe it was just Malorette and Odette tramping back for her! She sprang up from the log and ran toward the sounds.

  “Malorette!” she called out. “Odette! I’m here!” But neither girl answered.

  The thumping sounds soon drew her into a small clearing. Confused, she turned in a circle, seeing no big birds. “No one here but me and my stupid imagination to scare me!” she muttered to herself. In an attempt to clear and calm her mind, she began to clomp in circles around the clearing. All at once she heard the sounds again. Thump! Thump! Thump! And now they were right behind her!

  She whirled around. But again, there was nothing. Except … a stick lying on the ground a few feet away. She stepped over to it and picked it up. This was no ordinary, random stick. About a yard long, it was polished and smooth except for a couple of knots. And one end was curved like a handle.

  “A walking stick!” she murmured, remembering the snazzy one Mr. Hump-Dumpty used like a cane as he walked. This one didn’t look exactly like his, but perhaps he had extras for outdoor hiking?

  “Mr. Hump-Dumpty?” she called out hopefully. If his secret place really did exist, maybe it was nearby. Had he been on his way to visit it but dropped this stick in his hurry to hide when he heard someone coming? (That someone being her!) It was possible. That egg-teacher was even less brave than she was!

  “Mr. Hump-Dumpty?” Gretel called out his name several times. But the egg-teacher didn’t appear. He was terrified of just about everything, but not of a student like her. Since he didn’t reply, he must not be here after all. Deeply disappointed and disheartened, she flung the stick away.

  “What now?” she wondered aloud. Talking to herself helped make her feel less alone.

  Considering the hollow, empty feeling in her stomach, she guessed it was well past lunchtime. All she’d had to eat that morning was an apple and some trail mix. She swallowed hard, feeling thirsty as well.

  “I need to find food and water,” she murmured. “If I still had my backpack, that wouldn’t be a problem, of course. But those evil sisters left me with nothing! There’s got to be a spring around here somewhere, though. Too bad Jack and Jill aren’t here with their magic pail since it fills with water whenever they ask. Mmm. Water.” She licked her lips.

  Making it her goal to find a spring, Gretel set off through the forest again with renewed determination. As she walked, she listened for the telltale trickle of running water and looked for vegetation that was taller and healthier than the plants around it. Certain types of trees always grew near water. So she would keep an eye out for aspens, cedars, and willows. And for damp earth, too, although that might not be such a good clue since it had rained so much during the last few days and most of the ground was soggy.

  Though still lost, she felt better now that she had a plan and a goal. However, she’d only been walking for a few minutes when she heard that thumping sound again. Her heart jumped into her throat. She whirled around but, as before, saw no one. “Who’s there? Whoever you are, show yourself or stop following me!” she yelled.

  Wait! There was that walking stick again. She’d tossed it away into some bushes before she set off, so how come it was lying just a few feet behind her now?

  “Okay, this is just getting too weird!” she murmured.

  Then something happened that was even weirder. The walking stick jumped upright and thumped toward her. All by itself!

  Gretel stared at it, too stunned to move. When it reached her, the stick came to a stop. Still upright, it wobbled back and forth a little as if uncertain what to do next. Its behavior reminded her of another magical object she was well acquainted with — Red’s basket. She gasped. A flicker of hope lit inside her — the first such flicker she’d felt since she’d realized once and for all that Malorette and Odette had ditched her.

  Then she spoke to the stick, which was kind of a dumb thing to do unless … “Are you my magic charm?” she asked it.

  The stick didn’t answer, but then, Gretel had never known of a magic charm that could talk
. “Thump once for yes and twice for no,” she told it.

  Instead, the walking stick leaped into her hand. She laughed in delight. “I guess I’ll take that as a yes.”

  An uneasy feeling had come over Hansel as he’d watched Gretel leave the Great Hall to go off hiking by herself. Why hadn’t she wanted Jack and him to go with her?

  “Gretel’s up to something,” he murmured to Jack now as the two boys headed for the breakfast line.

  “You always think people are up to something,” said Jack, rolling his eyes. Then his gaze fell on a group of girls at one of the tables, who were giggling and whispering. “Come to think of it, around this school, they usually are up to something!”

  “It’s just that she’s been acting bristly lately. Secretive, even,” Hansel went on. She used to tell him everything. Now, not so much. It was like she was mad at him all the time.

  “She thinks you’re too bossy,” Jack informed him.

  “What?” Hansel sputtered as he and Jack joined the breakfast line. “Did she tell you that?”

  “No, just a guess,” said Jack, shrugging.

  Bossy? Me? thought Hansel. Didn’t Gretel know he was only watching out for her and trying to keep her safe? What was so wrong with that? He was her big brother, after all. That’s what big brothers did!

  He and Jack inched along in line, standing behind some of the guys, including Prince Awesome and Prince Prince. Everybody was talking about the rain and how swampy everything was outside, but Hansel tuned them out.

  He felt kind of grouchy and unsettled. For one thing, he wasn’t sure he liked Gretel’s new haircut. He’d noticed the change, of course. But unlike Jack, he hadn’t commented on it. The absence of her long braid made her look … well … more grown up. Is that why she’d cut it off? Because she wanted to appear older? Like someone who didn’t need her big brother to keep an eye on her? Hmm. It was something to think about. He heaved a sigh. She used to be easy to figure out. Lately, though, it was hard to guess what was going on inside his sister’s head.

  Like now. What was she hiding? He should’ve asked her which way she was going when he had the chance. It wasn’t smart to hike alone. He hoped she would at least stick to one of the trails they knew well.

  “Save me a place in line, okay?” Hansel said to Jack. Then before Jack could reply, he zipped over to one of the Hall’s tall diamond-paned windows that looked out across the Once Upon River.

  Craning his neck to the left, he saw Malorette and Odette standing at the far end of the Pink Castle drawbridge. Bleah! Those horrid girls again?

  Seconds later, he saw his sister come out onto the drawbridge. She paused briefly to look out toward Ice Island before continuing across the bridge. He could see that Malorette and Odette were watching her. Sort of like spiders waiting for a fly to come into their web.

  He expected her to walk right by them as anyone with half a brain would do. Instead, as his sister went up to them, they said something to her and she stopped. Then, for some reason, Odette thrust a piece of paper into Gretel’s hand. Huh? He watched his sister study the paper for a minute. And then, much to his astonishment, the three girls walked off together. In the direction of Neverwood Forest, no less!

  What in Grimmlandia was going on? Did Malorette and Odette have some kind of hold over his sister? Is that why she’d gone off with them?

  Hansel’s first instinct was to bolt from the Great Hall and run after the girls. Whipping around to do just that, he bumped into Jack. He’d apparently already gone through the line because he was now precariously balancing two breakfast trays, one on the palm of each hand.

  “Whoa! Help! Quick!” Jack yelled, eyeing the tilting trays with concern. “Grab one before they both drop!”

  Hansel rescued one of the trays in the nick of time, while Jack managed to cling to the other. Mmm. Something smelled grimmyummy. There was a big bowl of Hagscorch’s delicious nine-day-old pease porridge on each tray. And also a couple of hot cross buns.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled to Jack. By the time he looked outside again, the girls were already entering the forest. He’d never catch them now.

  “Whatcha looking at?” Jack asked, leaning over to gaze out the window, too. Before Hansel could reply, Jack did a double take. The single tray he was still holding tilted to one side and the porridge almost slid right off. Hansel caught it at the last minute and set it back on the tray.

  Jack never even noticed that a disaster had almost occurred. “Hey! What’s Gretel doing going into Neverwood Forest with Malorette and Odette?” he said, actually sounding worried for once.

  “Good question.” Hansel frowned. As they set their trays down on the nearest table, he took a step toward the exit. “I’m going to go follow them.”

  Jack wrinkled his bandaged forehead. “Wait. You sure that’s a good idea?”

  “What do you mean?” Hansel asked in surprise.

  “What I mean, Mr. Bossy Bro, is would Gretel want you to do that?” asked Jack. “You know she’s just going to get mad at you for following her around like you think she can’t take care of herself. She’s a strong hiker. Maybe you should just wait till she gets back to talk to her.”

  Hansel opened his mouth to argue that it was his responsibility to look after Gretel even if she might not see it that way, but then he closed it. Because he’d remembered her new, more grown-up, haircut. And also how she’d so obviously not wanted Jack and him to go hiking with her.

  She must’ve been planning to meet Malorette and Odette all along, he realized. And she’d lied about it because she knew how he felt about those two. Well, as hard as it was for him, he’d respect her wishes, he decided. This time anyway.

  “Okay,” he told Jack, sitting down across from him at last. “Let’s eat.”

  Hansel picked up a hot cross bun from his plate. He stared at it warily. Although they tasted great, the buns were not his favorite. They were grumpy and crosspatchy and always trying to talk you out of eating them. As he started to bite into the bun, it complained, “Wait! You’re making a mistake!”

  A mistake eating it, the bun meant. But, thinking of Gretel, Hansel couldn’t help wondering if his real mistake was in not going after her. Feeling as grumpy as the bun, he murmured, “Too bad,” and shoved it into his mouth.

  Gretel curled her fingers around the walking stick’s handle. It fitted itself comfortably in her hand. Just holding on to the stick somehow made her feel calmer and braver. “So can you lead me out of here?” she asked it. No response.

  Sometimes charms came with printed instructions that at least hinted at how the charm worked. This had been the case with Red’s basket. When she had opened its lid, she’d found a piece of vellum paper inside. The words A tisket, a tasket had been written on it, followed by six fill-in-the-blank spaces. That clue had helped Red figure out how to phrase her commands to make the basket’s magic work.

  And Snow White’s magic charm, a tiara that could turn her invisible, had come with a riddle. Snow had shared it with everyone, and Gretel could still remember it:

  “Riding on high,

  I trick the eye.

  If you wish to fool,

  Press my center jewel.

  Where once was something

  will appear nothing.”

  It hadn’t taken Snow long to figure out what the riddle meant. To make her tiara work, she only needed to set it atop her head and press the turquoise jewel on its center front.

  “So what makes you tick, stick?” Gretel asked. “I don’t see a card or note anywhere. Of course, that isn’t unusual. Not all magic charms come with instructions. Snowflake’s wand didn’t. Neither did Rapunzel’s magic comb or Rose’s magic hairpin. But if you are my charm, a few hints about how you work would really be helpful.”

  She waited, but no hints came.

  “Well, I guess it’s up to me to figure out what you can do,” Gretel mused, trying not to feel discouraged. “I don’t suppose you could fetch me some food and water?” But
still the walking stick didn’t react, not even a jiggle.

  “So does that mean fetching isn’t something you can do? Just asking because Red’s basket can fetch snacks. But come to think of it, a basket has a place to carry them in and you don’t.”

  Knowing that charms often responded to rhyme, she decided to try something different. Rephrasing her request, she said, “Hey, stick. I’m in the mood for food.”

  To her surprise, the walking stick gave an abrupt, hard jerk. And then she found herself being propelled forward as it began to thump through the forest again, with her hand attached to its handle.

  “Whoa! You sure can move fast when you want to,” Gretel told it as she held on tight and breathlessly ran to keep up. “Are you leading me back to the Academy? That would be perfect. There’s food and water there, and my bed. And two sisters I’d like you to thump. Well, I don’t really mean that. If they are there, I’ll just give them a very big piece of my mind!”

  She turned her head this way and that, all the while trying to keep up with the stick. “Hey, I’m not doubting you or anything, but I don’t recognize this part of the forest. Are you sure you’re going the right way?”

  She didn’t expect an answer and didn’t get one. The walking stick was probably just taking her on a different (and, hopefully, quicker) route through the woods to GA.

  When they came to a really dense thicket of bushes and brambles, the stick raised its tip and swished back and forth over the bushes. At once they magically parted to create a path where none had been before, allowing Gretel to walk through easily.

  “Wow. Good work,” she praised her probably-charm. “You sure know how to blaze a trail!”

  Seemingly delighted at her compliment, the stick leaped free for a moment to twirl in the air like a baton. Then it settled under her hand again and went back to work, parting the bushes and guiding her forward. And a minute later, when a creeping vine made a grab for her ankle, the stick gave it a sharp rap, which caused the vine to quickly withdraw.