Ever After High: Once Upon a Twist: Rosabella and the Three Bears Page 2

  Well, what are Ever After High students good at? Solving problems! Suddenly, her frown flipped upside down. All the cottage needed was a little elbow grease, and it would be tidy in no time.

  With a spoon, she scraped some hextra-sticky honey out of the jar and used it to glue her glasses back together. “I guess this trick will have to do!” she said out loud.

  Smiling, she looked in the kitchen closet and found some cleaning supplies. I can make sure they come back to a cleaner house and a better meal than they left behind in the first place! They sure look like a nice family. I hope we all can be friends.

  She washed the bowls and rinsed the tablecloth. She brought it outside to dry. In the front yard she spotted some pretty daisies, which she picked and put in a vase on the kitchen table. Everything looked in order!

  “Now for the porridge!” Rosabella declared. She couldn’t wait to get some porridge on the stove, and to eat some once the Bears were back home! She tried on Momma Bear’s apron, but it was as big as a tent. She wrapped it around and around her dress.

  Soon the kitchen smelled spicy and sweet. The porridge bubbled.

  Rosabella stuck her finger in the big pot and took a taste. “A little too bland!” She put some more honey in and stirred. “That’s better!” She added a dash of this, a little of that, a bit of charm, and some hextra-special love. It was going to be wonderful!

  Now it was time to put the living room back in order. She was picking up a bear-size broom when she heard the front door squeak open.

  “Who’s there?” growled a grumbly voice.

  Rosabella shivered.

  She held on tight to the broom. She took a deep breath and tiptoed out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

  Who was there? Was it the Bears? Or had the intruder returned?

  Maybe this was the answer to the mystery.

  CHAPTER 5

  The Bear Facts

  Standing in the frame of the open door was the same Bear family Rosabella had seen in the painting. Hexcept they were a lot bigger—and they definitely weren’t smiling.

  The minute Rosabella walked into the room, Momma Bear squealed in terror. Baby Bear clutched his mother. Even Poppa Bear was trembling, although he stepped forward bravely, glowering. “Are you the one who’s been causing so much chaos in our forest?” he demanded.

  “Look at this living room! It’s a complete disaster,” wailed Momma Bear.

  “Please don’t blow down the rest of our house!” Baby Bear begged.

  Rosabella could tell that, despite their frowns, these bears were fairy nice. She took a big breath.

  “Don’t be afraid,” she said calmly. “You’re right. Someone’s made a terrible mess. But I was just cleaning it up. That’s why I’ve got this broom. Come try the porridge I just made and you’ll see. And speaking of seeing, look at my glasses.” She pointed at her face, where the lopsided frames hung on her nose. “Whoever blew through this house like a tornado managed to break them, too!”

  Poppa Bear’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Momma Bear bit her lip. Should they trust this tiny stranger? But Baby Bear was grinning. He could already smell the porridge… and it smelled especially delicious.

  “And… and you’re not that Goldilocks girl we’ve heard about? The one who causes all that trouble?” asked Momma Bear.

  “Well, not really. It’s kind of complicated, but I promise I didn’t make this mess, and I won’t be making any messes! I just want to help.”

  Hesitantly, the Three Bears came inside and followed Rosabella into the kitchen. Momma Bear pulled Baby Bear close, but her wary expression softened the moment she saw the daisies on the table. “How fableous! I love flowers. I can’t believe I never thought of that.”

  Rosabella blushed. “Here, try this.” She couldn’t wait to share her fresh porridge with the Bear family.

  Poppa Bear’s nose twitched. “It smells… good,” he said cautiously.

  Carefully, Rosabella served each bear a bowl. She gave a piping-hot serving to Poppa Bear. “Wow! This is delicious,” he enthused, “and it’s as hot as I always like it!”

  “Just right!” said Baby Bear, and he put his snout into the bowl to eat. Momma Bear tapped his head to remind him of his manners. Smiling sheepishly, Baby Bear picked up his spoon.

  Rosabella handed the last bowl to Momma Bear. The porridge had cooled down enough for her to eat it the way she liked. Rosabella watched as Momma Bear carefully tasted a tiny bite. She pursed her lips. She swallowed. She smiled! “Such a careful chef would never have caused this disaster. And no one who makes such tasty porridge could be responsible for this disarray,” she announced. “Whatever-after did you add to it?”

  “Just a pinch of cinnamon, some of my other favorite spices, and a little bit of cream.” Rosabella was happy to share her cooking tips.

  Momma Bear continued to smile, but when she thought Rosabella wasn’t looking, she added some more honey. Rosabella laughed to herself. Momma Bear must have a sweet tooth!

  Poppa Bear had already finished his meal. He sat back in his chair and studied Rosabella.

  “Well, if you were busy stirring up this porridge, then who was stirring up trouble? Who could’ve done this to our home?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Rosabella. She was washing up the cooking pot in the sink. “But I heard some birds and squirrels talking about trouble in the forest when I arrived.”

  “We left the house in a hurry today because some of our friends’ houses were blown down—nests in disarray, dens disturbed,” Momma Bear hexplained sadly. “It’s up to us Bears to keep everyone in the forest happy and safe.”

  “Maybe the creature that made the mess in our house also made a mess in the forest,” noted Baby Bear, who had just finished his third helping of porridge.

  “Now, there’s a thought!” Poppa Bear thrust his paw into the air.

  “I bet a real bad beast is responsible!” chimed in Baby Bear.

  “You’re a beast, Baby Bear,” Momma Bear gently reminded him.

  “Well, then!” Baby Bear said. “Someone much beastlier than me.”

  But Rosabella shook her head. “I’m sure there’s some hexplanation. Within every beast there’s always some beauty! It’s not fair to assume that anyone is bad before we know all the facts. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding and there is no bad beast at The End of this story. But the only way we’re ever-after going to find out is by getting to the bottom of this!”

  The Bears all nodded and thumped the table with their big paws in agreement.

  Rosabella beamed and dipped her spoon into her own bowl. Finally, after serving everyone else, she could take a bite.

  “Wow!” She sighed. “Just right!”

  CHAPTER 6

  Just a Hunch

  After the meal, Momma Bear and Poppa Bear stayed in the kitchen while Baby Bear and Rosabella sewed up the cushions on the armchairs.

  “It’s so rewarding when you can turn a wrong into a right,” Rosabella said as she embroidered a little flower where the rip in a cushion had been.

  “You’re right,” said Baby Bear, admiring Rosabella’s work.

  “But tell me more about what’s going on in the forest. Who do you think is knocking down all the houses?” Rosabella asked.

  “Let’s see.” Baby Bear rubbed his head as he thought. “I don’t know about clues, but I certainly saw a lot of animals today. The rabbits kept hopping over my feet while I tried to ask them questions, and the chickadees wouldn’t stop singing when I was asking for a bird’s-eye view… but a bee did show me where I could find some fairy sticky honey.”

  Rosabella chuckled. “It sounds like you lost the plot! Did you make it back to your own story by The End?”

  “I’m super sorry, Rosabella.” He sighed. “So much happened that it’s hard to remember it all. After a long morning and a yummy breakfast, it all becomes a bit fuzzy.…”

  Just then, Rosabella’s honey-repaired glasses fell apart and hit the floor with
a clatter.

  “Oh no! Speaking of fuzzy, this mystery is going to stay unsolved if I don’t have my glasses.” Rosabella knelt down to pick up the pieces.

  “I think I can help!” Baby Bear held out his paws to Rosabella.

  Rosabella handed him her broken glasses and watched carefully as he hexamined them.

  “Believe me—every Bear knows how to fix little problems.” Baby Bear held up the two pieces. “That’s why we are in charge of keeping the forest happy and organized.”

  He reached into a drawer and pulled out a piece of gold wire. Wrapping it around the broken parts of the glasses, he quickly made them as good as new.

  But within moments his happy smile had become a frown. “If only we could fix up the forest’s blown-down houses just as easily as your glasses.”

  “Don’t worry, Baby Bear. I’m sure we will soon solve this problem, too. We just have to stay focused.” Rosabella put her glasses back on happily and blinked. “Now, is there anything else you can remember?”

  Baby Bear scooted onto his comfortable chair. He put his paw up to his chin and scratched it. “There was something a little off-the-page that happened.…” Baby Bear’s eyes brightened. “A super-strange girl appeared out of nowhere! Everyone was talking about her, and nobody knows who she is! She fell through the trees and landed right next to a squirrel, and her glasses fell off.…” Baby Bear covered his face with his paws. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

  Rosabella laughed. “It was, but you know what? You might just be on to something. I wonder…”

  “Wonder what?” Baby Bear asked.

  “I wonder if somebody else has stumbled into the wrong story. If I did, somebody else could have, too, right? And maybe that person wouldn’t be as careful as I was to not make a mess.”

  “Maybe that’s the answer to our mystery!” Baby Bear replied.

  “Baby Bear, I think it’s time to rally the troops.” Rosabella dusted off her dress. “We have to begin our investigation!”

  And they bounded off to the kitchen to tell Poppa Bear and Momma Bear about their new lead!

  CHAPTER 7

  Ever After Evidence

  A delicious smell greeted Rosabella and Baby Bear as they entered the kitchen.

  “I think Momma Bear made some more porridge!” Baby Bear said hexcitedly. He rubbed his stomach, ready to eat another meal.

  “I’m glad,” Rosabella said, though she was still fairy full from breakfast. “We’ll all need to keep up our energy if we’re going back into the forest to search for another mysterious character on the loose.”

  Baby Bear was even happier to see that Momma Bear had prepared a little spellebration in honor of cleaning up the house. There were china cups filled with steaming tea and some cakes alongside more porridge! The porridge smelled hexceptionally good to Rosabella. This was just what they needed before starting their investigation.

  The Three Bears enjoyed the porridge while Rosabella drank some warm tea. She smiled and thought, These bears are always hungry! I guess if I were responsible for such a big forest, I’d have a big appetite to match!

  “Momma Bear, what secret ingredients did you add to this batch?” Rosabella asked as she breathed in the delicious smell.

  Momma Bear was wearing her flowery apron, which was just the right size on her. She grinned. “I took your advice about the cinnamon and the cream, but I also added some berries and maple syrup!”

  Rosabella made a mental note of Momma Bear’s recipe and thought, Maybe I can make some porridge for my classmates in Princessology when I get back to Ever After High. This may not be my original tale, but you can always learn something new from new friends.

  As they finished up their meal, Baby Bear hexplained to his parents Rosabella’s idea to go to the forest and investigate further. Poppa Bear patted Baby Bear’s shoulder and nodded. He thought that sounded like a great plan!

  In the forest, the trees waved their colorful leaves and the flowers swayed in the wind. Momma Bear picked a few flowers and tucked them into her cap for decoration.

  Rosabella noticed bushes knocked over sideways and birds’ nests on the ground. Everything was jumbled!

  “Look!” cried Baby Bear. “The rabbits’ den has been stomped on. They aren’t even home. The rabbit family must have been afraid and run away!”

  Momma Bear put her paw over her mouth in surprise, and Poppa Bear shook his head.

  “This is totally unjust!” Rosabella was really upset now. She was fairy passionate about critters’ rights, and it wasn’t right (or, as Baby Bear would say, just right) that all these animals were having their homes, and lives, disturbed!

  A family of foxes quietly emerged from the shadows of the trees. The one with the pointiest ears spoke up. “Our new house was just trampled! Will you help us, please?”

  Rosabella knelt beside the fox and let him sniff her hand. “I promise I’ll help you all. It’s not fair that your homes are being destroyed, and we need to find whoever’s doing this and give them a stern talking-to before the whole forest is destroyed.”

  The rest of the fox family cautiously came over to Rosabella. Poppa and Momma Bear gave them an approving nod, as if to say, She’s with us! The littlest fox flicked his tail and jumped up on Rosabella’s lap.

  “Don’t worry, foxes. We just need to get organized. The Three Bears and I are going to search the forest and see if anything else strange is going on.”

  “You mean like the strange girl?” squeaked the little fox. “The one the squirrels were talking about?”

  Rosabella wondered if the squirrels had told the foxes about her landing in the forest earlier that day.

  “That could be a lead. What did the girl look like?” Rosabella asked carefully.

  “Everyone said she had long brown hair.”

  Rosabella looked at her own hair. Oh no. Maybe it wasn’t a clue ever-after all.

  “Did the girl have glasses?” asked Rosabella.

  “Like yours? I don’t think so. But she seemed kind of funny.”

  Whoever this mystery girl was, the only thing Rosabella knew for sure was that she’d have to talk to her. And to find the mystery girl, they had to talk to the squirrels right away!

  The Three Bears led Rosabella down a path to a small woodland clearing filled with pink flowers. The squirrels were busy helping some cardinals put their nest back onto the branch of a tree.

  “Oh no! Was your home blown down, too?” asked Poppa Bear, coming to the rescue. He helped put the nest on a higher branch. The squirrels squeaked in gratitude.

  “Cheep! Cheep!” cried the cardinals as they hopped on and off Poppa Bear’s shoulders. “We’re flightfully grateful for your kind help, Mr. Bear!”

  A squirrel looked over at Rosabella. “Hey! Princess! Did you find the right forest?”

  Rosabella recognized the squirrel she had stumbled across right after she’d arrived in this topsy-turvy story! “Oh, hello again!” she answered, giving the squirrel a boost to a higher tree branch. “I don’t think this is the right forest. But it’s just right for right now. We’re trying to solve the mystery of who’s making a mess of everybody’s homes.”

  “Ah!” Another squirrel pointed his bushy tail up in the air. “There’s a nut that might help you with your next clue.”

  “Nuts!” hexclaimed Baby Bear, rubbing his stomach. He was always so fairy hungry. “That sounds delicious.”

  The squirrels all laughed, and the one who knew Rosabella called, “No! Not that kind of nut. There’s a nutty girl who’s helping critters rebuild their houses and painting them so beautifully that they’re better than new! She knows so much about wood, you might think she was made of wood!”

  Hmm…thought Rosabella. There was only one girl she knew who fit that description. And Rosabella had a feeling she wasn’t the one stomping through the forest! “Can you help us find her?” she asked, and the squirrels all nodded in agreement

  As they made their way through the trees, Rosabe
lla heard the sound of hammering… and laughter.

  A girl with long curly hair was helping some rabbits rebuild the entrance to their den. She was nailing the final touches to a wooden archway. All around her were new little birdhouses painted in a lovely array of colors that matched the flowers nearby.

  The girl clapped her hands hexcitedly when she finished. “Why don’t you guys hop in and see how it feels?”

  “Cedar!” hexclaimed Rosabella, recognizing her Ever After friend.

  Cedar Wood did a double take. “Rosabella! I’m so happy to see you!” Cedar ran to give her friend a big, warm hug. Rosabella knew Cedar really was glad to see her because Cedar Wood, the daughter of Pinocchio, could never tell a lie.

  “But wait a splinter! What are you doing here? I thought I was the only one going a little off book today.”

  Rosabella smiled. “We’re more than just a little off-book. We’re in a completely different book—Goldilocks and the Three Bears!”

  “Wow! I wonder how we’ll ever get back to Ever After High if we’re not even in our own stories.”

  Rosabella had a few ideas about how to get to The End of this storybook and back to school, but she didn’t want to leave until they could make this story a Happily Ever After for everyone!

  “Rosabella, have you heard about what’s going on in the forest?” Cedar asked. “Houses are being knocked over and blown down! I don’t remember that from Blondie’s story. How can we turn it into a Happily Ever After when they’ve gone off script?”

  Rosabella hexplained that something fairy strange was going on in this forest and she’d promised the Three Bears and all the woodland creatures that she would help put a stop to it. Maybe if they figured out what was going on, they could get the forest back on track!

  Cedar was so happy that Rosabella wanted to help fix up the forest, too. “So many animals need their homes rebuilt. I was just starting to think I was the only girl around in this whole forest to help get the job done!”