by Perdita Finn
“Uh—Rosabella? I think you should take a look at this!” called Cedar.
Rosabella bounded over to look at Baby Bear’s brand-new bark painting. It showed a familiar scene. Confused critters stood next to a pile of debris, another mess of blown-down houses. There was a shadowy wolf running off into the forest.
But those weren’t just any old critters.
“Are those pigs?” asked Rosabella. “Are there three of them?”
Baby Bear nodded.
“But there aren’t any piggies in our forest,” Momma Bear noted.
“That’s because this isn’t a painting of our forest, Momma,” said Baby Bear with a smile. “It’s a painting of The Three Little Pigs. All these houses being blown down today reminded me of that fairytale!”
Rosabella took a closer look at the painting. After a moment, she finally realized that the colorful pile of debris the three pigs were standing by was made up of straw, wood… and bricks!
Rosabella started thinking out loud. “I’m fairy certain I know what’s going on in this hextra mixed-up story!”
Cedar’s eyes grew wide as she realized what Rosabella was saying. “We’re not just in Goldilocks and the Three Bears—”
“We’re in Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs!” announced Rosabella.
Their fairytale mix-up was mixed up with another fairytale!
“Wait…” Poppa Bear furrowed his brow. “I’m confused. What story is this?”
“It’s two stories mixed up into one! In the tale of The Three Little Pigs, a big, bad wolf would huff and puff and blow all the houses down!” hexplained Baby Bear as he pointed to his painting. “And in our tale, the forest houses keep getting blown down, too!”
“Oh. I see now,” Poppa Bear said as he pulled at his chin whiskers. “So the Big Bad Wolf has been blowing down our forest homes?”
“I guess someone else ended up in the wrong story, too,” considered Rosabella as she looked at the scary face of the wolf in Baby Bear’s picture. “Still, I don’t believe a big, bad wolf is responsible. Maybe a good wolf just got confused.…”
“There’s only one way to find out,” replied Poppa Bear. “We’ve got to set a trap to catch him in the act. Then we can question him.”
“If he’s a smart wolf, we’ll need a smarter plan to catch him,” Momma Bear suggested.
As the Bear family and Cedar began to scheme, Rosabella stood aside and thought, I just want to talk to the wolf! I’m sure if we listen, he can hexplain everything. I’m sure he’s just as friendly as the other critters in this forest.
CHAPTER 12
A Big, Bad Trap
Rosabella was filled with new energy and hexcitement after their tasty dinner and lucky break. They finally knew who was turning their pages!
“Everybody is getting better at understanding one another since you both showed up,” noted Baby Bear. “The rabbits and the foxes are talking, and I even hear the woodpeckers are helping hammer together new birdhouses for the chickadees!”
“That’s hexcellent! I couldn’t wish for anything more.” Rosabella was glad that the critters were beginning to realize that their forest neighbors were actually friendly and talented.
As they walked through the forest, more and more animals noticed them and began to ask questions. First a little hedgehog scuttled by their path, his quills standing up high.
“Don’t worry, little hedgehog. We’re just passing through to help!” said Rosabella before giving him a soft pat. The hedgehog gave a quiet squeak, happy that Rosabella had seen past his quills to his soft, fuzzy insides. With that, the hedgehog joined their group as they headed deeper into the forest to set their trap.
Noticing how friendly they were, the foxes and rabbits and deer and birds all began to follow. Finally, they came upon a group of bees and butterflies that were playing in the grass. Seeing Momma Bear—who always loved their honey—the bees flew over for a chat. The bees loved to share their honey with the Three Bears, and now they wanted to help find the wolf!
“Hey, little butterflies. Can you help us with something?” questioned Cedar as the butterflies gracefully floated by. She held out her colorful skirt, and the butterflies landed on it.
“Of course!” the butterflies agreed.
“We’re trying to catch the shadowy animal that’s been causing this forest so much trouble. We need to think of a trap to lure him out of the woods.”
“A sticky trap! What about some honey?” one of the bees suggested.
Rosabella smiled at the idea. “I think the only critters we’d catch with honey would be a family of hungry bears.”
“You are right about that!” Poppa Bear replied.
Baby Bear took out his painting of The Three Little Pigs and showed it to the bees and butterflies. “Somebody like the Big Bad Wolf is blowing down our houses. Maybe we can use this for inspiration.”
The bees and butterflies hummed and bumbled close to the painting. They talked among themselves. Finally, they had an idea!
A butterfly perched on the edge of Cedar’s skirt spoke up. “What does a big, bad wolf want more than anything?”
Poppa Bear looked stumped and rubbed his chin. “By my paws, I don’t know.”
Cedar’s face lit up. “I know! He wants something to blow down!”
“Hexactly!” The butterfly beat her wings happily.
Rosabella thought for a moment. “We just need to make some houses that are so sturdy and pretty that the wolf won’t be able to stop himself. He’ll have to come and blow them down! Once we talk to him, we can finally figure this out.” At last Rosabella saw how this story was coming together. “And we have all the skills to set this plan in motion. We can all gather the materials. Cedar can help us build the houses. And Baby Bear can use his new paint to make them colorful and inviting!”
Poppa Bear patted his pointy green hat and hexclaimed, “Well, let’s get started!”
Everybody got to work turning the woodsy clearing into three houses.
“Let’s be fairy hexact and make the houses just like the ones in the story,” suggested Rosabella. Baby Bear nodded as he started mixing up some paints the birds had just delivered.
“One straw house, one wood house, and one brick house?” asked Cedar as she started to build the foundation of a house with Momma Bear’s help.
“You’ve got it,” said Rosabella.
In no time, three houses with red, green, and blue roofs stood in the clearing.
“Flying five,” cried a woodpecker, raising his wing and trying to high-five Cedar.
Cedar gently tapped his wing and laughed. “We all make a really good team. It’s a shame these houses have to be blown down.”
“We can always fix them back up!” suggested the hedgehog from the ground. He had just finished weaving a wreath to put on the last house’s front door. The entire forest had never had so much fun working together.
“Quick!” called Rosabella. She gathered her friends. “Let’s hide in the bushes until our culprit shows up.”
In a hurry, they all scattered to find a hiding spot behind a tree, flower, or bush. The Bears apparently thought a patch of sunflowers were enough to keep them hidden. With a smile, Rosabella hexplained, “You guys need to shrink or find some bigger flowers to hide behind.”
Bashfully, the Three Bears moved to hide in the shadow of a couple large oak trees.
“I’m nervous, Rosabella,” whispered Baby Bear. “What if the Big Bad Wolf really is big and bad?”
“Don’t worry, Baby Bear. We have the whole forest with us. And besides, I’m fairy certain nobody bad is responsible for this mess. Let’s stay quiet so we don’t scare him off.”
Finally, everybody was quiet, and the houses sparkled with their new paint.
They waited, and they waited… and they waited. They were getting sleepy, and some of them, mainly Baby Bear, were getting a little grumpy from hunger. The sun was sinking lower and lower.
Rosabella let out a disappo
inted sigh. Maybe this plan wasn’t tricky enough.
All of a sudden, a loud crack and whoosh sounded from the other side of the clearing.
The birds chirped in surprise.
Huff, puff, huffing puffing. Someone was out of breath.
Oh no! thought Rosabella. She was a little bit scared.
Maybe it really was a big, bad wolf!
CHAPTER 13
Cold Case
Every critter was trembling. Rosabella waved silently at the birds, and they stopped chirping.
Who was huffing and puffing up to the houses?
Rosabella reached out for Cedar’s hand. Cedar squeezed Rosabella’s hand back. It’s good to have a friend here with me, thought Rosabella.
All of a sudden, there was a huge gust of wind and straw.
KERCHOOOOO!
When the dust settled, everybody jumped out in order to catch the wolf in the act. They were finally going to learn who was causing all this trouble, and figure out why!
“Freeze! Hands up!” called out Poppa Bear.
Baby Bear, who had jumped out from the trees too quickly, fell over. He rolled into a somersault and stood up, looking dizzy.
“Wait a splinter…” Cedar gasped. “That’s not a big, bad wolf.”
“It’s not a big, bad wolf ever-after all!” cried Rosabella with happiness. She’d known in her heart that no one bad could be causing this trouble!
“Where… am… I?—KERCHOO!” sneezed the shadowy animal. Hexcept it wasn’t a shadowy animal. It was Daring Charming, transformed again into Daring the Beast! He’d sneezed his way through the forest and knocked down yet another house!
Rosabella blushed. After all, Daring just might be her prince. But looking at him now, it seemed he still had a little Beast left in him. Not to mention, quite the cold!
“Daring?”
But Daring Charming was fairy confused. He looked around the clearing with his red, runny eyes.
Cautiously, Rosabella stepped into the clearing and Daring caught sight of her for the first time.
“Rosabella!” hexclaimed Daring as he wiped his beastly nose on his sleeve. “I’ve been searching for our castle all day long. It’s positively hexhausting. It’s bad enough that I’m a Beast again, but now I have a cold! Everything is terrible.”
“But, Daring… this isn’t Beauty and the Beast! We’re in Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs… well, kind of, anyway. And you’ve been huffing and puffing and blowing these houses down all day with your big sneezes.”
He scratched his head with his big paw and frowned. His nose dripped. “I thought I was in my own forest the whole time. I didn’t think anyone would mind if the Beast let out a few sneezes. But now I guess I sneezed so hard I ended up in the wrong story!”
“You’re in our forest,” rumbled Momma Bear as all the woodland critters gathered around her. “And you’ve made quite the mess!”
Daring looked around thoughtfully, noticing the pile of straw and the upset rabbits and foxes and birds. “Did I really make this whole mess?”
Cedar chimed in to answer honestly. “Yes, you did,” she said sadly. “Your beastly sneezes caused a big, bad disaster. It looks like you’ve been more of a Beast than a prince lately.”
If there was one thing Daring wanted to be good at, it was acting like a prince. He looked so upset that the Bears began to soften and smile.
“It’s okay,” piped up Baby Bear at last. “We all make mistakes sometimes.”
“Here you go,” added a rabbit. He produced a handkerchief made of leaves and flowers. “You can wipe your nose on this.” Daring’s cold was dreadfully un-charming.
KERCHOO! Daring let out another loud sneeze that shook the leaves right off a tree.
“My paws!” said Momma Bear. She rested a paw on Daring’s big, furry shoulder. “It sounds like you have a terrible cold. We can take care of you at the cottage.”
“Why, tha-tha-thank you—KERCHOO!” And with one big sneeze, Daring blew over the wooden house and the brick house, right down to the grass.
Glancing around at the frustrated animals and noticing Rosabella’s disapproving look, Daring laughed awkwardly. “Well, haha, I guess I need to learn to cover my nose!”
CHAPTER 14
The Beast Bust
Once everyone realized that Daring the Beast wasn’t trying to cause trouble, the animals calmed down and started to clean up the mess. The bees and butterflies were busy trying to reconstruct the straw house’s front porch, while the deer and beavers did some heavy lifting with the wood and bricks. After all, these would be fairy nice houses for someone!
Daring was sitting on a log all alone, embarrassed by his dripping nose and destructive sneezes. Rosabella sat down beside Daring and caringly put an arm around his shoulders. “Daring, it’s true you may have been in the wrong story. But you still caused a lot of trouble. It’s important to treat every forest and fairytale with respect. Especially if it’s not your own.”
Daring blinked at her. Then he slowly nodded. “Yeah. You’re right, Rosabella. I might not have been fairy charming today…ker-ker…kerchoo!” This time he covered his nose.
“If you’re going to be a ruler one day, you have to start thinking about others—even when you’re feeling a little off-book.”
She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out some cough drops. Rosabella was always prepared to help someone in need. “Here, take some of these. They’ll make you feel better.”
He popped a cough drop in his mouth. “Yum! Great!”
“Uh, I think you’re forgetting something, Daring,” Cedar said, overhearing their conversation.
“Oh… yeah. Thank you, Rosabella!”
“You’re welcome.” Rosabella appreciated Daring’s gratitude. “But isn’t there something you’re forgetting to say to everyone else?” Rosabella hoped Daring had learned something about being considerate of others.
But Daring wasn’t getting the picture. Sucking on the cough drops and blowing his nose, he looked at everyone. Then he caught a glimpse of his dirty clothing. He definitely didn’t look like a dashing prince! He scratched his head. “Hey, guys. It would be spelltacular if you could find me some more princely clothes and a down-feather bed and a cup of hot chocolate. Obviously, it’s been a hexing day for me.” Then he lay back on the log and bit down on his cough drop.
The Bear family blinked at him. Cedar’s mouth hung open in surprise.
He tried to flash his dazzling smile, but his drippy nose made him look pretty silly.
“And while we’re at it”—he looked directly at Rosabella—“some more of these delicious cough drops would help.”
Everyone just stared at Daring. The crickets started chirping.
“What am I doing wrong?” he asked. He rubbed his red nose before sneezing again. The birds all flew in front of the wooden house, protecting it from Daring’s huffs and puffs.
“Daring, I think you’re forgetting that you’re not the prince in this story. And while all that huffing and puffing was no fun for you, it was even less fun for the creatures in this story. Remember, you knocked down a bunch of houses, and you made a big, bad mess of things. Maybe you should say something to everyone who lives in this fairytale.”
Daring wrinkled his brow. His mouth dropped open, revealing his bright-white teeth. “Oh… I see! Wow. What a disaster I’ve caused. I knew I sneezed up a storm, but I hadn’t really thought about how that would affect everyone else…”
Rosabella’s eyes lit up! Daring was finally getting it. She gave him an encouraging smile.
“… and I should…apologize! That’s it! Critters and creatures! I am really sorry for the mayhem and mischief I caused. I didn’t realize what I was doing, but that doesn’t make it okay. I want to be a good prince and a good Beast one day.” Daring caught Rosabella’s eye and she blushed. “And that means caring about everyone.”
“Hexactly!” the Bear family seconded. “And as the forest guardians, we accept you
r apology.”
“I’ll try to help clean up the chaos, and I’ll be hexceptionally careful not to disturb anyone else’s story in the future.”
The animals welcomed his apology and started to bark, tweet, and cheer. Cedar clapped her hands in delight. “Fableous!”
Rosabella took Daring’s hand and squeezed it. “That was a great apology, Daring. And what you just said was fairy princely to me. Just think about how impressed all the other princes will be when you get back to Ever After High.”
Obviously, the idea of royally impressing his classmates cheered up Daring. He grinned. “You’re right! And I’m thankful that you stopped me before I toppled any more houses.” He covered his mouth and let out another big sneeze, then wiped his running nose on his sleeve. “But feeling good in my heart is not making my cold go away any faster. This cold is royally terrible!” A bird came to sit on his shoulder.
“You poor prince!” Momma Bear hexclaimed with her paws in the air. “Let’s get you back to our cottage. I’ll cook up some vegetable soup for your cold.”
“And a side of porridge, pretty please!” requested Poppa Bear. “I’m getting hungry after all this commotion.”
“That sounds just right,” Daring responded, and everybody started to head back through the trees to the Bear family home.
“Hey, Daring?” asked Cedar. “Don’t you have a royally amazing collection of paintings in your castle?”
“Yeah! I do. Lots of handsome portraits of me sitting and standing and lying down, wearing my gold crown and my silver crown. Oh, and one with my special diamond-encrusted crown! And there are a few other paintings and stuff,” hexplained Daring.
“Wow,” said Baby Bear. He was clutching some new paintbrushes the beavers had made for him.
“Baby Bear loves to paint. He might learn a lot by studying those, uh, works of art…” suggested Cedar.
“Of course! That’s a great idea,” agreed Daring, and he immediately started talking to Baby Bear about his painting hobby.
