“Well …” I hesitate. I am really torn. I don’t want to leave my brother alone. At all. I’m his big sister, his protector. Jonah doesn’t remember all the scary things that can happen in fairy tales! And Mr. Beast is pretty scary!

But … maybe being here will help Jonah’s memories come back. And anyway, I have to find Beauty.

At least Mr. and Mrs. Butler do not seem as if they would let anything bad happen to Jonah.

And since I know Mr. Beast’s story, I do know that he is good deep down. He didn’t hurt the merchant and he didn’t hurt Beauty, so he won’t hurt my brother. He’s not a monster.

It’s not like he purposely destroyed someone else’s painting out of jealousy and then lied about it. Nope.

That was all me.

Maybe fixing up Beauty and Mr. Beast will make up for what I did. My nana always says that matchmaking is a mitzvah. That means “good deed” in Hebrew.

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll do it. I’ll go. Wait,” I add, suddenly panicked. “Where am I going?”

Mr. Beast laughs. “How am I supposed to know? You’re the one who said you knew who she was.” With that, he turns and marches inside the castle.

He has a point. I try to remember what the story said. The merchant was on his way home when he got lost. So Beauty must live in a nearby town.

“Is there a town nearby?” I ask the servants.

“A crown? You would like a crown?”

“No, a TOWN,” I clarify. Although if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind a crown either.

Mrs. Butler nods. “Yes, it’s called Town.”

“The town is called Town?” I ask.

She nods again.

Of course it is.

“It’s about a two-hour ride,” she goes on. “Mr. Beast has never been — he doesn’t go out in public — but I go every week to get supplies. I’ll give you a map and you can borrow Pony.”

I assume Pony is their … pony.

At least I’m good with maps. I got all As in our new geography unit in school. And I’ve had to ride a horse before, and I’m not so bad at it. Now I just have to figure out where in Town Beauty will be. All I know from the original story is that she likes books. “Is there a bookstore in Town?” I ask. “Or a library?”

Mrs. Butler shakes her head. “No,” she says. “But if you go to Main Street, you can ask around to see if anyone knows her.”

I nod. “Okay. I’ll go.”

I give Jonah a long, tight hug. “Be careful,” I whisper to him. “Be safe.”