“Forget the smoothies,” she says. “You’re both going in the casserole tomorrow!”

“You can’t make a casserole!” I snap. “I threw out your noodles!”

“Stew, then,” she says with an evil smile.

Humph.

The witch sits down in her rocking chair. “Spinny?” she calls, looking around the room. “Where is my cat? Here, Spinny-Spinny.”

Prince hurries over and curls up on the witch’s lap.

I’m shocked.

Traitor!

“Good kitty,” she says, her eyes closing.

I look at my watch. It’s now after 1:30 P.M. back home. Are my parents in a total panic? They must be!

Is there a chance Hansel and Gretel are in our house? Maybe Maryrose let them through. Maybe she explained everything to them about how the mirror works. So then maybe they can get help! Maybe Maryrose explained everything to Hansel and Gretel and then Hansel and Gretel told our parents the whole story, and now Mom and Dad are trying to figure out how to make the mirror work so they can come rescue us.

That would mean my parents would now know the truth about the magic mirror, but given the circumstances, I am not going to worry about that.

Any minute now, my parents will probably come bursting through the witch’s door to save us.

Any.

Minute.

Now.

Okay, now.

The door doesn’t open.

WAIT.

I look over at the witch.

Her eyes are closed. She’s asleep. With the key in her pocket.

The witch’s snores fill the cottage.

“Jonah, she’s sleeping!” I whisper.

“Finally,” he says. “We need to get out of here.”

“Why is Prince still sitting on her lap?” I ask, frowning.

“You mean Spinny.” Jonah scrunches up his face. “Barf. Is that not the worst name you’ve ever heard?”

“Better than Spinach,” I say. “Although, if he keeps sitting there, we’ll have to change his name to Traitor.”

“No! He’s no traitor,” Jonah tells me, nudging my arm. “Look!”

Prince is nosing around the witch’s lap. I watch him ease his snout into the pocket of the witch’s apron. Look what he’s doing! He slowly pulls out the black key with his teeth.

Best dog ever! Go, Spinny!

“Come here, Prince!” I whisper. “Good boy! Who’s the best dog? You are!” He really is good with keys.

Prince very gently jumps down and rushes over. He tries to stick his mouth between the bars, and I reach for the key. Oops. My hand collides with his nose, and the key flies out of my hands and lands on Patty’s toe.

She opens her eyes and feels her front pocket.

“Are you kidding me?” Patty yells, jumping up again. “You must be kidding me.”

She sniffs the air, scoops up Prince and the key, opens the cage, and throws him inside.

“Maybe Spinny will add some flavor to the stew,” she snaps.

“I thought you didn’t eat animals,” Jonah says.

She purses her lips. “I’ll make an exception.”

Prince howls.

The witch sits back in the chair and stuffs the key in her pocket. “Now, can I finally get some sleep?”