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

by Perdita Finn

  “But we still don’t know who is responsible for all this mess,” Momma Bear said, sounding worried. She was picking up debris around the rabbits’ den.

  “Do you think a villain is on the loose?” Cedar asked with big, worried eyes.

  “I just think there’s a lot more to this story than we know right now. Have you seen anything unusual?” Rosabella asked Cedar.

  Cedar tilted back her head thoughtfully. Her eyes brightened. “I did see something,” she answered at last. “But I don’t think any of the animals believed me when I told them about it.”

  Hearing this, the Three Bears turned to pay close attention to Cedar.

  Cedar’s face became serious. “It was scarier than failing a hard hexam! Just after I spotted a bird’s nest that had been knocked over, I saw a shadow of a big animal lumbering into the trees.”

  “Maybe there really is a villain in the woods!” Momma Bear bellowed.

  Rosabella was worried. Cedar couldn’t tell a lie, so now Rosabella knew for certain that there was a big animal knocking over houses. But she still didn’t believe that anyone would intentionally cause so much trouble. No one would want to hurt such friendly creatures. Would they?

  CHAPTER 8

  The Scene of the Crime

  “We can’t have a villain in the forest!” Baby Bear said after thinking for a moment. “I’ve never met even one bad animal.”

  “Yes,” Momma Bear added. “There are certainly countless animals in this forest, but none that are mean or hurtful.”

  “Deer, birds, skunks, foxes, rabbits, butterflies…” listed Poppa Bear, as though trying to see if he had forgotten any animals.

  Baby Bear reached into the pocket of his shirt and then looked a bit embarrassed. “Can I show you guys something?”

  “Sure thing!” Cedar and Rosabella said at the same time. Surprised, they shared a smile. They might not have been in the right story, but they were definitely on the same page.

  Baby Bear took out a rolled-up piece of parchment that he stretched out slowly. A brightly colored map of the forest was painted on the parchment, with each critter and each critter’s home carefully depicted.

  “Oh my paws!” Momma Bear was surprised. “I’ve never seen that before, Baby Bear.”

  “I painted it,” Baby Bear admitted bashfully. “I thought it might be helpful for finding our neighbors when they needed help.”

  “That’s fairy considerate,” Rosabella said as she looked closer. There was even a small painted version of the Bears’ cottage with a tiny painted Baby Bear standing outside the door.

  Cedar hexamined the painting. “I don’t see any villainous animals here, but I do see plenty of enchanting skill.”

  “You think so?” Baby Bear was skeptical. “I never thought I was any good at painting. I just like to play with colors. But I bearly have enough brushes and paints to do another picture.…”

  “Trust me!” Cedar was really smiling now. “I love to paint, and this is impressive work. But don’t worry. It would be my pleasure to help find you some more supplies.”

  “Really?” Baby Bear was brimming with delight.

  “We’ll be searching the forest to figure out who’s knocking down houses. We can search for some art supplies for you, too, Baby Bear!” Rosabella decided on the spot.

  All the animals cheered. One squirrel was so enthusiastic he fell off a branch and landed on Poppa Bear’s head. Poppa Bear’s green hat toppled to the ground, and he chuckled as the squirrel jumped down to retrieve it for him.

  “Two stories are almost always better than one,” Cedar said decisively. “Let’s go!”

  CHAPTER 9

  The Unusual Suspects

  Back at the cottage, Rosabella described a well-thought-out plan using Baby Bear’s map. “All right, team! We have four hours until sunset, so there’s a lot of ground to cover in fairy little time. Three Bears: You should go to the North Forest and the caves, since you know those places best. Cedar and I will go talk to the foxes, rabbits, and woodpeckers. If anyone finds any leads, we can share them when we meet back here.” Rosabella took a second to catch her breath. “Okay, break!” The Three Bears and the girls high-fived and went off into separate parts of the forest.

  Rosabella and Cedar followed a long path along the side of a brook, on their way to check on some nearby fox dens. Rosabella was enjoying the sound of water rushing along the brook when suddenly they heard a big ruckus of squeaks.

  “Stop stomping on our dens!”

  “Leave our burrows alone!”

  “You’re the ones who are blowing down our homes!”

  The rabbits were chittering at the foxes. The foxes were growling at the rabbits!

  “You’re sly foxes!” yipped a furious rabbit, thumping his hind legs angrily.

  “It’s you carrot-eaters who are ruining things!” sniffed a fox, glaring at them all.

  Rosabella and Cedar had walked straight into a big argument between the rabbits and the foxes! Each group thought the other one was knocking over their homes, and neither would believe the other was innocent.

  “Stop!” ordered Rosabella. This was just terrible! Everybody was blaming everybody else and nobody was listening. Houses could be repaired, but repairing friendships was often more challenging. “Now, listen here! I know that foxes and rabbits don’t always get along, but everyone shares this forest, and it’s just not right to blame one another without knowing the whole story. We’re all worried about the forest, but we can make it better if we work together!”

  The rabbits hung their heads, ashamed. The foxes frowned at their paws.

  A rabbit with soft brown fur spoke up at last. “The foxes are always causing trouble for us. It must be them!”

  “No fair!” A fox twitched his nose indignantly. “Just because we like to play doesn’t mean we’d ever damage anybody’s home! It’s the rabbits who are always hopping without looking!”

  “It wasn’t us!” protested the littlest rabbit.

  “Of course not,” said Rosabella, giving the little rabbit a pat. “I don’t think any of you would harm anybody else’s home. I think, deep down, you all know that, too.” She could see each animal’s true character, and she knew that no one was at fault. But how could she persuade them to stop fighting?

  “If we give everyone a chance to speak, maybe we’ll learn something,” she suggested.

  “And remember: Honesty is always the best policy,” Cedar told the animals cheerfully.

  A rabbit cleared her throat. “We were playing all morning with the chipmunks, and when we got home, our dens were destroyed. Someone had stomped on them! The foxes must’ve—”

  “Now, little rabbit. Stick to the facts,” said Rosabella sternly.

  But before the rabbit could continue, a family of crickets entered the glen. They were carrying small bags made of leaves over their shoulders.

  “What’s wrong?” Rosabella stepped carefully over to them.

  “Some big animal just came and blew down our house,” a cricket chirped. “We’re moving to a new home!”

  “How terrible!” all the animals cried out together.

  “Wait a splinter…”

  “What are you thinking, Cedar?” asked Rosabella. Everybody was quiet and gathered around to listen.

  “Rewrite me if I’m wrong, but if somebody just blew down the crickets’ house, then it can’t be anyone who’s here in this clearing,” Cedar said.

  “Whoops.” A rabbit pulled at his ears. “I guess we were all hopping to conclusions.”

  Rosabella was feeling better now. “If we stop and listen to our forest creatures, we can solve this problem even faster.”

  “I guess I’m sorry,” a fox said to a rabbit.

  “We were royally wrong.” A rabbit nodded while hopping up and down.

  All the animals smiled, squeaked, and chattered with gratitude. Even though they hadn’t found the mystery culprit yet, Cedar and Rosabella had still managed to help the forest. �
��Is there anything we can do to help you, too?” asked the rabbits and the foxes.

  “There is one thing we need a little help with,” said Cedar. “Our good friend Baby Bear is a wonderful artist, but he doesn’t have enough painting supplies.”

  “I have some beaver friends who whittle paintbrushes with their teeth,” a lady rabbit volunteered.

  “The bumblebees know how to use pollen to make glittery paint,” added a cricket.

  “I know the woodpeckers love to collect birch bark that could be used as canvases,” a fox suggested. “Let’s help out our new friends and get Baby Bear some painting supplies!”

  Rosabella and Cedar shared a grin. Everyone was getting along, and Baby Bear was one step closer to having enough painting supplies!

  “Let’s work together?” the littlest rabbit suggested to a fox.

  “My paws, that’s a great idea!” agreed the fox. Smiling and teaming up, the animals began to head off on their new quest.

  Rosabella turned to Cedar. “I’m so glad none of our new friends were causing any trouble, but now we need to get back on the case. The crickets’ home was just stomped on, and we still don’t know who’s making this mess!”

  “I don’t know what that shadowy thing was,” Cedar responded. “But it still scares me.”

  Rosabella took a deep breath as they walked back into the forest.

  Was someone going to jump out? Who was behind all this beastly behavior?

  CHAPTER 10

  Fowl Play

  Next on their list were the woodpeckers. Cedar spotted some freshly pecked wood, and soon they were following the trail all the way into the deep forest. After a while, Cedar stopped and took a whiff of the fresh wood dust. “Hmm… I think they’re close!”

  Sure enough, just around a bend in the path, the woodpeckers were hammering away on a maple.

  “Hello!” Rosabella called to them.

  The woodpeckers paused. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” they chattered nervously.

  “Don’t be frightened. We’re not the ones knocking down houses,” hexplained Rosabella.

  Cedar nodded in agreement. “Actually, we’re trying to find out who is responsible so we can stop them. We want to help fix up the forest!”

  Reassured by the girls’ friendly voices, the woodpeckers inched down the tree until they were eye level with the girls.

  Some of the woodpeckers started chirping loudly. Others were nervously pecking away. “Our houses were just blown down from our trees!”

  Rosabella was upset that the culprit had struck again, but at last they were hot on the trail. They had their first clue! “Can you guys show us where your houses have been blown down?” she asked.

  They followed the woodpeckers all the way to their trees, where a little house sat on the ground in a big mess. Cedar was sad to see a pretty house broken and covered in dirt on the ground.

  Rosabella hexamined the destroyed pieces of the house for clues. She saw a big footprint, just like the big animal Cedar had seen. She looked at it more closely but couldn’t tell what kind of animal had made it. It was too long for a bear, and too wide for a wolf. It didn’t match any of the woodland creatures. They’d found a clue, but Rosabella had no idea what it could mean! All they really knew was that the animal Cedar had seen also knocked down these houses. And Rosabella still didn’t know why.

  “I’m so sorry this happened, my friends,” Rosabella said gently.

  The woodpeckers chirped in unison. “Do you know who could be huffing and puffing up all this trouble?”

  “Oh, well, I did see a shadowy animal flee the scene of a crime earlier today,” answered Cedar, honest as always.

  The birds’ feathers ruffled. They were upset again. This sounded scary.

  “Deer me!” snorted a voice. A frightened deer standing on the tips of his hooves had arrived nearby. “That sounds like a big, bad wolf to me! That’s what everyone is saying!”

  “Did you say a big, bad wolf?” repeated Rosabella. “Has anybody seen one?”

  The woodpeckers squawked and chattered. More deer appeared, stomping their hooves nervously. Everyone had an opinion, but nobody had a clue.

  “Everyone should stay calm,” Rosabella told the deer. “No one’s seen a wolf, so we shouldn’t assume a wolf is causing trouble. Besides, everybody makes mistakes sometimes. I’m sure the culprit didn’t mean to damage anyone’s home.”

  But still, Rosabella knew that whoever was knocking over houses needed to apologize to the whole forest. Everyone was fairy upset.

  Noticing how upset the little birds were that their houses had been knocked down, Cedar wanted to help make them happy.

  “Maybe I can fix these houses!” Cedar offered. “Can you help me find some paint, please?”

  The woodpeckers all chirped happily, hexcited to have Cedar’s help.

  “Spelltacular!” Cedar clapped her hands. A red woodpecker flew off and returned quickly with some nutshells filled with an assortment of pretty colors.

  Cedar got to work. Soon, with some help from the birds, she was hammering the house back together. With the paint she made sure the front door was a bright-blue and the roof was an enchanting mix of pinks and greens.

  “Wow!” cried the red woodpecker and his friends when they saw Cedar’s work. She was already weaving some broken nests back together. The woodpeckers all chirrupped and chirped their thanks. They saw that their homes were even prettier and sturdier now that Cedar Wood had reconstructed them.

  “How can we repay you for all your help, Cedar?” the woodpeckers asked.

  “Well, there’s one thing you can do.…” Cedar began. She had twigs and feathers in her hair after her hard work, but she seemed proud. She was really beginning to look like she belonged in this story!

  “Tell us! Tell us!” the birds twittered.

  “I may be good at painting, but Baby Bear is fairy talented, too! He paints the forest, including your homes and habitats, just like it really looks. But he needs more paints and brushes!”

  “I swear by my feathers that we will find more painting supplies for Baby Bear than he’ll be able to use,” the red woodpecker promised.

  “That’s fableous!” Both Rosabella and Cedar smiled. They made a great team. Cedar could help return the forest to normal while Rosabella rallied everyone to solve the mystery. It was also fairy important that all the animals got along. Rosabella wanted to be sure no animal rights were taken away, even when things were so mixed up.

  “I’m glad we’re making a difference, but I still don’t know whatever-after is at The End of this tale,” Cedar wondered out loud as the woodpeckers headed off to find art supplies.

  “I know,” Rosabella agreed as she pushed her glasses farther up her nose. “I wish we could piece together this puzzle. But we won’t give up until our work is done and the forest is secure again! Let’s keep our eyes open and our mystery-solving skills sharp.”

  Rosabella and Cedar were more determined than ever-after!

  CHAPTER 11

  A Critter Culprit

  Rosabella and Cedar continued on their search for answers in the forest. They walked along the brook, looking for clues. Rosabella was focused on a snapped twig in her path when suddenly she heard a loud rumbling from beside her. She jumped up, startled, before noticing that Cedar was rubbing her stomach.

  “Sorry, Rosabella. I don’t want to sound discouraged, but I’m getting fairy tired and hungry,” she admitted.

  Rosabella was starting to get hungry, too. She hoped Momma Bear might have a fresh batch of porridge in the cottage. Just thinking about it was making her even hungrier. “Let’s go back to the Bears’ cottage and rest. Maybe the Bears had better luck finding clues than we did today.”

  “And maybe they’ll have some snacks!” Cedar Wood said hopefully.

  As they neared the warm and cozy Bear family home, the two girls caught a familiar smell. Momma Bear had some porridge on the stove!

  “Hexcellent!” they both he
xclaimed and then laughed.

  “Is that our new friends I hear?” called Momma Bear from the front door. “I have some dinner ready to share.”

  “Let me guess,” said Rosabella, chuckling. “Is it just right?”

  “Just right you are!” Momma Bear answered. “I added some savory herbs from my garden and a pawful of walnuts.”

  Rosabella and Cedar helped Baby Bear set the table, and they all sat down for a yummy dinner. Everyone dug in, and after a second serving, Cedar held out her bowl for more. “It’s just so good!”

  “My paws!” Momma Bear beamed with pride. “I’m glad my recipe turned out so well.”

  Over their scrumptious dinner, the Three Bears caught the girls up on their progress. They had talked to the other animals in the forest—the big moose and the twisty snakes, the wise owls and the playful otters. None knew who was causing the trouble. Momma Bear was beginning to suspect this mayhem wasn’t being caused by any of the woodland creatures ever-after all.

  Cedar chimed in. “We don’t think any of the creatures are at fault, either. All the animals were just so nervous. But Rosabella helped everyone stay calm and friendly.”

  “Thanks, Cedar.” Rosabella was blushing.

  “It’s true!” insisted Cedar. Everybody laughed, knowing she couldn’t tell a lie.

  After they finished eating, Momma Bear cleared the table, and then everyone helped out with the dishes. While Cedar and Rosabella finished cleaning up, Baby Bear sat in his chair and started painting. The foxes had already dropped off some canvases made of bark. Baby Bear nibbled the end of his brush, thinking hard about what to add to his picture.

  He suddenly looked up from the canvas with bright eyes. “Cedar, would you mind helping me finish my painting? I’m not sure if there’s something else I should add.”

  Cedar walked over to him and took in Baby Bear’s artwork—and she was fairy surprised by what he had painted!