The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3) (24 page)

"No sign of it," Sheriff Hamstead said. "All that was there was an empty bassinet."

"Why won't they wake up?" Daphne asked.

"It's a sleeping spell," Granny explained.

"And a strong one at that," Mirror said as his face appeared in the reflection. "I'm sure we don't have anything in the Hall of Wonders that can break it."

"Then what can we do?" Sabrina said.

"These sleeping spells… some of them are fairly normal potions, sometimes poisoned flowers or apples, but overwhelmingly they are cast by someone with a vendetta against the victim," Uncle Jake said. "Luckily, even bad magic has a backup plan, and in nearly every case I've ever heard, the spell can be broken with a kiss."

Elvis hopped up on his back paws and licked Veronica on the face.

"Elvis, this is my mom," Daphne explained to the big dog. "You're going to love her."

"I kissed Dad on the forehead. Why didn't he wake up?" said Sabrina

"It has to be a romantic kiss from someone who truly loves them," Granny Relda explained.

"If one of them was awake then this would be no problem," Mr. Canis said.

"Wait, if that's how you break the spell, how are we going to wake them?" Sabrina said. "My parents love each other. They are the only ones that could wake each other up."

When no one answered, Sabrina thought she might cry.

"We'll find a way," Granny said as she took Sabrina into her arms.

"In the meantime, we should address the problem with Puck," Mr. Canis said. "He is growing weaker. If we can use the Vorpal blade to cut a big enough hole in the barrier, I'd like to take the car and get the boy to his people."

"I'll go with you," Hamstead said. "I happen to be between jobs at the moment."

"The Queen of Hearts won the election?" Daphne cried.

"By a landslide," Hamstead grumbled.

"Oh, dear," Granny said.

Sabrina stared down at her parents. She knew they would understand. "I'll go, too. Puck would never have been hurt if he weren't trying to help us find Mom and Dad. I owe it to him."

"Me, too!" Daphne said.

"Jacob, can I trust you in the house all alone?" Granny asked her son.

Uncle Jake smiled. "Probably not, but I'll keep the place safe."

* * *

Mr. Canis helped Granny Relda put Puck in the front seat of the car and then helped her in as well. When everyone had

squeezed into the jalopy, Uncle Jake waved and wished them all the luck in the world.

"You be careful among the Faerie folk," Uncle Jake said. "If you think this town is full of nuts, you haven't seen anything yet."

"We'll be careful," Sabrina said.

"Take care of my Elvis," Daphne said. The big dog leaped up to her window and gave her a farewell lick on the face.

Mr. Canis started the car and backed it out of the driveway.

"We're an odd group of people for an adventure, don't you think?" Hamstead squealed.

Granny smiled. "Pig and Wolf and Grandma. Who would have thought it?"

Even Mr. Canis laughed. Sabrina hoped he would never do it again. It was an obnoxious snorty sound.

Daphne hugged her sister. "This isn't exactly how I pictured our first Christmas in Ferryport Landing."

Sabrina gazed out the window as the car rolled down the road. Would they be able to save Puck? Would they find a way to wake their parents? And would the family Grimm ever get its happily ever after?

To be continued in

THE SISTERS GRIMM

BOOK FOUR 

ONCE UPON A CRIME

Michael Buckley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sisters Grimm series. He has also written and developed television shows for many networks.

The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. Michael lives in New York City.

This book was designed by Jay Colvin and Vivian Cheng and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Adobe Garamond, a typeface that is based on those created in the sixteenth century by Claude Garamond. Garamond modeled his typefaces on those created by Venetian printers at the end of the fifteenth century. The modern version used in this book was designed by Robert Slimbach, who studied Garamond's historic typefaces at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

The capital letters at the beginning of each chapter are set in Daylilies, designed by Judith Sutcliffe. She created the typeface by decorating Goudy Old Style capitals with lilies.