by Joan Holub
A flurry of notes floated through the air as the pipe and its followers flew out the infirmary door and down the hall. Snow stared after them, stunned. Then she leaped into action. After all, hadn’t she just wished there was something she could do to help save the Academy? She had to catch that pipe!
Snow took off after the line of objects, following them through the hall, and up some stairs. She encountered no one on her mad dash. Except for her, the whole school was at the ball.
Eventually, she found herself all alone on the east-side balcony above the Great Hall where the Hickory Dickory Dock clock stood. She’d lost sight of the pipe and its followers! Down below in the Hall, dancers whirled and twirled. Luckily, without realizing it, she’d picked up the tiara from her lap as she left the infirmary and now held it in one hand. Sticking it on her head, Snow reached up and pressed the center jewel of her tiara to make herself invisible. After all, she had been told to stay in bed and she didn’t really want everyone to see her with this rash if she could help it.
Snow scurried to the balcony and looked out over the transformed Hall, which had been readied for the ball. She sighed at its beauty. Huge swags of rich white satin hung around each window, fluttering in the cool night air that drifted in. The long meal tables had been replaced by smaller satin-draped ones, spaced here and there. A large crystal vase filled with white, pink, and red flowers and glittery stuff sat at the center of each tabletop. She sighed wistfully. If only she could be down there!
Suddenly, she caught sight of the pipe and its followers again! “Come here, you rotten pipe,” she murmured under her breath.
As the pipe darted around the Hall near the ceiling — could it have been drawn here by the music? — Snow’s eyes scanned the dancers below. Wolfgang had come, she saw. He and Red, along with Cinda and Prince Awesome, had formed a foursome to dance a simple country dance. She spotted Rapunzel, too, over by one of the snacks tables, chatting with Prince Foulsmell and another boy.
Where is Prince Prince? she wondered. This ball was in his honor, so he must be down there somewhere. She caught a flash of silver in the moonlight streaming in from a window. It was a coin, flipping through the air! She couldn’t see who was flipping it, because of the streamers. But she could guess. Prince.
So far, it seemed that no one in the Hall had noticed the artifacts that swooped and looped through the air above them. Probably because it was hard to see them through the dozens and dozens of long decorative satin ribbon streamers that dangled from the ceiling. Snow frowned when she caught sight of her stepmom dipping a cup of punch from a large bowl. She was there as one of the chaperones, of course. When her hard eyes swept the room, Snow felt glad to be invisible!
Having whooshed around the Hall, the pipe and its followers now headed back toward the balcony. She’d lost sight of the objects for a moment, but now they swooped right past her. If only she could catch the pipe. But how? Her eyes searched the balcony for ideas. There! Hanging from the side of the Hickory Dickory Dock clock was a butterfly net. No, a bird-catching net. Because occasionally the cuckoo in the clock went cuckoo and had to be recaptured. She dashed over, grabbed the net, and waited.
Finally, the pipe circled back her way. Snow swung the net. Swoosh!
Caught! The minute the pipe was inside the net, it stopped making music. Its followers floated gently to the floor of the balcony all around her. Snow quickly knotted the net so the pipe couldn’t escape, though it thrashed back and forth.
In the scuffle, her tiara tipped to one side and slipped off. She caught it in one hand and set it back atop of her head, hoping that no one — particularly her stepmom — had been looking up at the clock when the tiara fell off. Otherwise, someone might have caught a glimpse of her!
Minutes later, she was startled to hear footsteps. She pushed the center clover on her tiara again, just in case it was necessary to do it each time she put on the tiara to remain invisible. Learning how her magic charm worked would take some time! She looked over as Prince entered the balcony. “Need some help?” he called out softly, turning his head this way and that, trying to find her.
Snow froze. She could tell he couldn’t see her. Should she just stay quiet until he left? Despite her pretty gown, she didn’t exactly look her best right now. Her cheeks and neck were still pink and blotchy. She did not want him to see her like this. But she could use his help. To save the Academy!
“Yes!” she called softly. “I need help getting that pipe calmed down. And gathering up these other artifacts and taking them out of here.”
“Huh? Snow, where are you?” Prince whirled around, still trying to locate her.
She couldn’t help giggling at the confused look on his face. “It’s my new magical charm. A tiara that makes me invisible.”
“I see,” said Prince. “Or rather, I don’t see.”
Snow giggled again. Then his eyes fell on the pipe. “You really caught it!”
She nodded. Remembering he couldn’t see her, she added, “Yes.”
As he kneeled and tied the pipe up more securely, she began gathering the other artifacts in a small pile by the clock. “I have something for you,” he announced when they’d finished. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver chain. One with a clover amulet.
“My necklace!” Snow exclaimed joyfully. “Where did you find it?” When she kneeled and took it from him, it must have become invisible, too, because he looked to the floor as if fearing he’d dropped it. She saw at once that the clasp was broken. Happy to have it back, she kissed the amulet, then stood up and slipped the necklace into the pocket of her ball gown.
“I didn’t find it, actually,” Prince said. He was talking to her knees, the place where he’d last seen her necklace when she’d kneeled to take it from him a moment ago. “Mermily did,” he went on. “It caught on her tail while she was out swimming in the Once Upon. Awesome, Foulsmell, and I happened to be practicing with the catapults on the riverbank just afterward. I offered to return it to you.”
“Thank you so much!” Snow said gratefully. “But, um, I’m standing up now.” After he scrambled hastily to his feet, she continued. “My friends and I went out to Maze Island a few days ago. It must have fallen into the river on the way.” She’d have to remember to tell Red that apparently her basket couldn’t fetch things that were underwater.
“It’s Mermily you should thank,” Prince said humbly.
“Yes, sure,” Snow agreed. “I will.”
Prince cocked his head in the direction of her voice. “It’s a little weird to be talking to a disembodied voice. But if you’d rather not be seen with me …”
“That’s not it,” Snow said quickly. She knew she had a choice to make. She could let her vanity keep her invisible, or she could simply show up, regardless of the consequences. The latter choice was the courageous choice. Besides, vanity was a trait of her stepmother’s that she had no wish to copy.
Slowly, she reached up with both hands and lifted off the jeweled tiara. “The doctor said I can go back to the dorm tomorrow. I know I still look awful, though,” she said. She replaced the tiara on her head, but didn’t press on the center jewel, so that she’d remain visible.
Prince smiled. “No. You look cute — I mean, good — I mean … um, want to dance?” He reached for her hand, looking a little uncertain.
A glance toward the knotted net showed her that the pipe had finally settled down. And those seven artifacts weren’t going anywhere. She’d ask Prince to take all that stuff down to Principal R in a few minutes. But for now …
Snow smiled back at the prince and put her hand in his. She didn’t need to be holding the magic hand mirror to know that the twinkle in his blue eyes and the smile on his face would perfectly match his reflection. The musicians in the far balcony began a new tune, and Snow placed her other hand on his shoulder.
And then Prince swept her up in the most perfect Happily Ever After dance ever, ever, ever!
As they whirled and t
wirled around the balcony, Snow found herself thinking about good and bad luck and how sometimes it wasn’t so easy to tell the difference. After all, one could say it was good luck that she’d gotten a rash, since, despite being up in the balcony instead of downstairs in the Hall, she’d gotten to dance with Prince anyway.
Just then, Prince spun her around again, and she happened to glance over the balcony and catch her stepmother’s eye. Ms. Wicked was craning her neck to squint up at her, and she did not look happy. Well, so what? thought Snow. Pretending she hadn’t noticed her stepmom’s scowl, Snow waved gaily to her. Which made her frown even more. Well, ha-ha!
The sign on Snow’s armoire popped into her head: Luck Comes to Those Who Are Prepared. She’d always thought that being prepared meant having lots of lucky charms. But after all she’d been through in the last few days — sometimes with and sometimes without her lucky charms — she was no longer so sure. Of course, she’d still keep her lucky charm collection. (It would seem odd to be without them!) But there were other, more active ways of being prepared. Like studying before a big test, for example. Like making and keeping good friends who could support you even when your stepmother didn’t. In a way, Red, Rapunzel, and Cinda were her biggest good luck charms.
She smiled to herself, picturing the look of amazement that was sure to come over her Grimm girl friends’ faces when she told them what she’d decided to do. Volunteer to spy on E.V.I.L.! But all that would come later.
For now there was just this dance. And this prince. As she and Prince twirled around the balcony once more, Snow was prepared to enjoy it!
Rapunzel’s magical fast-growing hair can be a nuisance, especially when an accident in Bespellings class gives it a case of the wiggles! But Rapunzel can’t let her grimmorrible hair woes distract her — she and her friends, Cinda, Red, and Snow are putting on a school festival to help save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. Once Rapunzel tracks down her magic charm, she won’t let a bad hair day get in the way of stopping E.V.I.L.!
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
Copyright © 2014 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, July 2014
Cover art by Frank Montagna
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
e-ISBN 978-0-545-66283-3
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
