“What story?” Gretel cries. “What are you talking about? Who are you, anyway? And what do you mean just go home? Of course we want to just go home! We would if we knew how to find it!”

“Plus, I don’t think it’s right to steal the witch’s jewels,” Jonah says. “That seems wrong.”

“I know it sounds wrong,” I say. “But it’s better than what happens to her in the original story, isn’t it? And then Hansel and Gretel can get their happily-ever-after right away. They’ll have enough money to buy all the food they need!”

“Yeah but …”

Ruff! Prince barks. Ruff!

“Yummy, huh, Prince? But remember, no chocolate.” Chocolate is totally bad for dogs. It hurts their tummies.

Ruff! Ruff-ruff!

I glance over to see where Prince is. He’s not even begging for candy. He’s a few feet away from the cottage, his paw up against a tree.

Ruff! he barks again.

Huh? Why would Prince be standing against a tree and barking like crazy? There’s no one behind it. There’s no one else around.

I walk over and look up at the tree. No squirrel. No one hiding in the leaves. So what’s going on with Prince?

“What’s wrong?” I ask Prince.

Ruff! Ruff-ruff! RUFFFFF! Prince barks.

“He’s trying to tell us something,” Jonah says.

I step even closer and stare at the tree. Hey, wait a sec. It does look a little different from all the other trees. But what is it? The trunk is made of brown bark and the long branches are full of big green leaves. It’s just a regular old tree.

I step closer to the tree and touch it. It feels different. Almost like the wind is making the trunk shake a little.

Jonah rushes over. “Abby, the tree is vibrating. I mean, the center of the trunk is vibrating.”

Huh? Why would —

I gasp. It’s the portal! “Yay!” I look at my watch. “That’s good timing. It’s five in the morning at home! We only have an hour left here, and we already found the portal!”

“I’ll bet you’re right,” Jonah says. Then he reaches over and knocks on the tree.

“Wait, Jonah!” I cry. “We can’t go home just yet. We have to make sure Hansel and Gretel will be okay first. Let’s get the jewels, and then we can go.”

“Oops,” Jonah says. “Sorry.”

The tree trunk starts to swirl. Purple sparks come off it.

It’s definitely the portal. But we can’t leave yet!

Hansel and Gretel’s eyes are both wide. They stare at the swirling purple haze in the middle of the tree trunk.

“That’s how you get to your house?” Gretel asks.

“Yes,” Jonah says. “When we’re ready to go, we knock two more times and just jump right in.”

“Does it hurt?” Hansel asks. He steps closer to the portal, peering in.

You can’t see anything, though. Just purple.

“Nope,” Jonah answers. “It’s like walking through air.”

“That’s amazing,” Gretel says, staring at it.