“No,” I say. But then I have a flash of remembering Mom and Dad dancing at a wedding. “But they can dance. Beauty and Mr. Beast dance in the movie! Dancing is really romantic. Don’t you remember Nana saying that she fell in love with Grandpa after they danced together at a school social for the first time?”

“Oh, yeah!” Jonah says.

I add:

3. Dance together

I relax against the back of the chair. “Perfect. These are three great date ideas. If they do what I say, Beauty and Mr. Beast are going to fall in love for sure.”

Jonah somersaults off the couch again and bangs into the wall. “Ouch,” he says, rubbing his elbow.

Now if only Jonah would do what I say, we’d be all set.

Chapter Eleven: Let’s Eat

The dinner bell chimes at nine o’clock. My stomach is rumbling like a volcano.

After Jonah and I finished making our list of date ideas, we went back to our rooms to change out of our pj’s. There were tons of clothes in my closet! Including a beautiful purple satin gown and a silver tiara. And at least ten pairs of super-cute pajamas. Does Mr. Beast think we’re staying that long? He didn’t even want us here in the first place! Is he really planning on keeping us forever? Doesn’t he realize we can sneak back home through the mirror at any time?

I change into a green-and-white polka-dot dress and green shoes, then stop by Jonah’s room. First, though, I peek into the magic mirror in the sitting room to make sure my parents are still in sleepyland. Yup, they are. Hurrah!

Jonah is wearing a new pair of gray pants, a crisp white shirt, and black suspenders. Except the suspenders are all tangled and crossed on his front instead of his back. He looks pretty proud of himself, so I decide not to fix them.

“You look very handsome,” I say.

He preens. “Thank you. I had to change. My pajamas had ketchup all over them.”

I laugh. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to eat them.”

When we get to the dining room, Mr. Beast is sitting at the head of the table. It’s a very long table. Like, ridiculously long. Like you could sit ten people on each side. But instead, it’s set for just five people. Mr. Beast, Beauty, me, Jonah, and …

Prince jumps onto one of the seats.

“No, Prince, not at the table,” I say.

“Why shouldn’t he sit at the table?” Mr. Beast huffs. “Is he not good enough to sit at the table because he’s covered in fur?”

“Oh,” I say. “I guess he can sit at the table.” Oops.

Beauty finally comes down a few minutes later and says, “Hi, everyone.”