Stepping into a Fairy Tale

Hi - it's me, Kate. I'm back again to tell you more about my adventures in fairy tales. I bought a book of fairy tales from a mysterious woman who told me the book would take me on a magical journey, but only if I truly believed.

When I got home, I opened the dusty old book. I began reading the first story. Hansel and Gretel. As I began reading the words to myself, I wondered if something magical would happen to me. I didn't really believe in magic, but something about the book with its tattered pages and the old woman with the purple eyes had made me curious.

I read the first few sentences.

Absolutely nothing happened. Nothing at all. It was just an ordinary book, I thought, with a bit of disappointment.

Then I recalled that the magic would only work if I truly believed. I took a deep breath. And told myself to believe. To believe in the impossible. I closed my eyes. Imagined a world of magic. A world where animals could speak, and I could fly.

I opened my eyes and began reading the words once again. "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away. Lived a boy named Hansel and his sister, Gretel." Suddenly, I was plunged into darkness.

I could hear someone speaking. The words echoing as though in a cave. "We are lost, Gretel. Hopelessly lost." I felt like I was floating between worlds. Adrift in the pages of a book. Fluttering through space and time.

And then my feet touched ground. The moon broke through the clouds, and I could see a boy in front of me. He was tall and blonde. And he spoke with a strange accent I didn't recognize. But the strangest thing of all--he was calling me "Gretel."

How I Saved Hansel

Hi there, it's Me, Kate Walsh. 10 years old, fan of skateboarding and riding horses. I'm writing posts for Deborah because she's busy working on a new novel and hasn't had time to blog lately.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a magical book. I know, it sounds crazy and unbelievable. But it's true. It was just a dusty old book of fairy tales. A book I thought I was way too old to even read. But this strange old woman with purple eyes convinced me that I needed to read it. She told me the book would take me on a journey. I had no idea she meant a real journey. A journey into another world. So I'm going to tell you all about it. About how I saved Hansel. Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? You know, the kids who got lost in the forest and munched on a gingerbread house? Well, it isn't exactly the story you think. And when I finish telling you what happened to me, and to Hansel, you won't think fairy tales are for little kids anymore.

Til tomorrow--
Kate