by Tom Percival
‘Cuddlers?’ asked Wolfie. Hansel poked his candy-cane staff at one of the plants. Two big bushy arms shot out and tightly cuddled the candy cane. The purring got even louder.
‘They’re not really dangerous,’ explained Hansel, ‘but it took me ages to get free after one of them got hold of me!’
As they ran on, Wolfie peered down to see Gretel hacking through the staircase with the axe. With a sudden crash, the bottom two floors, and the trolls, fell back down to the bottom of the tower.
‘At least we’re a good way above,’ thought Wolfie. ‘It’ll take her ages to catch up!’
Just then Gretel fired an arrow with a rope on it towards the floor they were on and started swiftly climbing up.
‘Gahh!’ muttered Wolfie.
‘What’s down there?’ asked Hansel, frowning.
‘Nothing!’ lied Wolfie, while he tried to work out what to do. ‘Actually, it’s trolls!’ he said, surprised at how easy he was finding it to fib. ‘Hundreds of them! We’ve got to hide!’ He shoved Hansel into a hollow tree trunk and whispered, ‘Stay out of sight!’
Wolfie’s heart raced. Gretel was nearly up to their level . . . What now? He spotted a couple of cuddlers right next to where she was going to climb over the handrail. He knew that he should warn her, but then the twins would definitely see each other again – and then what? He kept quiet and stood just out of sight.
As soon as Gretel heaved herself over the railing, the cuddler scooped her up into a huge, warm hug that completely surrounded her.
‘The trolls have gone!’ Wolfie whispered to Hansel a moment later. ‘Let’s go!’ He grinned as they ran up the last few steps. They were so close! It looked like everything was going to be all right! He’d never felt better. Suddenly a swarm of imps poured out of the door at the top of the staircase and came running towards them, roaring and waving a ragtag collection of weapons. The weapons were mostly held backwards or upside down, but they were still weapons.
To make things even worse, Gretel came running up the stairs and spotted Hansel.
‘This ends NOW!’ she yelled, pulling out her bow and sending arrow after arrow whistling through the air. Hansel ducked as the arrows flew overhead and thunked into the wall. The imps stopped where they were, looking nervous. For a moment nobody did anything, then something strange happened to Wolfie.
He knew what to do, and he actually felt as though he could do it. Time seemed to slow down as he watched Hansel and Gretel approach each other, their faces twisted in anger. Wolfie felt strangely calm. He had to rescue the cutting; he had to destroy the mirror. Nothing else mattered.
He climbed up the arrows that were stuck into the wall as though they were rungs on a ladder. Then he leaped into the air, caught hold of a vine and swung over the heads of the confused imps. He let go of the vine at full swing and flew through the open door into the room where the cutting was.
He sprang up immediately, his senses alert and tingling. There was the cutting from the Story Tree, floating in the air, suspended in a stream of powerful magic. Wolfie didn’t stop to think. He reached out to grab it – but as he did so, everything else faded into darkness. It was only then that he noticed the man from the magic looking glass in the shadows on the far side of the room, smiling horribly.
It had all been a trap.
Wolfie found himself alone in a strangely blank space. It was neither dark nor light, just empty. It was hard to tell if he was standing on something or floating in the air.
‘Where am I?’ asked Wolfie, but everything sounded strange, as though he was underwater.
‘I suppose you’re wondering where your precious cutting is?’ echoed the voice of the magic looking glass, though he was nowhere to be seen. ‘What you saw in that room was just a reflection, a copy. The real cutting is hidden here – in a world of my own creation – beyond anything you could imagine.’
‘Oh, I don’t know . . .’ replied Wolfie. ‘I’ve got a pretty good imagination. Do you have any greybows?’
‘Greybrows?’
‘Yeah, you know. Like a rainbow that’s just grey, not different colours.’
‘Er . . . well, no. But I could make some. I easily could!’
‘What about spider shoes?’
‘You mean shoes for a spider?’
‘No!’ laughed Wolfie. ‘I mean shoes that have spider legs and can walk around by themselves. Pretty cool, right?’
‘No!’ came the mirror’s voice. ‘Not cool. I’m not talking about any of that, I’m talking about a world of terror! A world of dread . . .’
Wolfie nodded. ‘Sorry . . . I talk too much when I’m nervous, or worried, or scared, and I just—’
The mirror interrupted him, sounding cross, ‘You’re doing it again!’
‘Sorry . . .’
‘Anyway . . .’ said the mirror loudly. ‘How about I offer you a chance to escape?’ Wolfie nodded eagerly. ‘So it’s agreed!’ the mirror continued. ‘If you manage to overcome your worst fears, you may go free and take the stupid tree cutting with you. And if you don’t . . . then you will be trapped here – forever!’
Trees shot up out of the nothingness and smoke poured into the blank space, creating a dark sky. Seconds later Wolfie was standing trembling in a small clearing, as the mirror’s echoing laugh faded away in the cool night air.
Wolfie glanced round, his heart racing. The reflection had said he would be trapped within a world of his worst fears, and Wolfie had many, many fears . . .
While he waited to be attacked by an army of giant zombie beetles with laser eyes and swords for legs, Wolfie noticed a movement in the bushes near to him. He was surprised to see a little old lady hurrying along with a small basket over one arm. She didn’t look particularly frightening . . . although one old lady had got really angry when he accidentally splashed mud on her dress, so you never could tell.
Another bush rustled, and in the darkness he saw his father, the Big Bad Wolf, creeping along behind the old lady. Wolfie’s heart sank, he knew exactly how this was going to end! Then Wolfie saw something that gave him hope. There he was in the bushes too – another Wolfie, though it looked like a different version of him. This Wolfie looked as though he needed a good bath and hadn’t ironed his clothes in FOREVER! Still, as long as the scruffy Wolfie could get to the old lady before his dad, then hopefully she’d be able to get away.
Wolfie watched as Scruffy Wolfie crept up towards the old lady and tapped her on the arm.
‘Do you need some help?’ he said kindly. The old lady nodded. ‘You should be careful in these woods,’ said Scruffy Wolfie. ‘Terrible things can happen.’
‘Oh, I know!’ replied the old lady. ‘I got lost, you see. Thank you for offering to help!’
‘Think nothing of it!’ replied Scruffy Wolfie. ‘It’s my pleasure!’ Something about the way he said this made Wolfie’s nerves jangle, and the next second . . . Scruffy Wolfie leaped forward and gobbled the old lady up in one bite.
‘NOooOOoOooOooooO!’ shrieked Wolfie.
Scruffy Wolfie turned to face him and grinned horribly. ‘This is your greatest fear,’ he said. ‘You’re a wolf! Deep down you know that it’s true – you can’t fight it forever.’
Wolfie’s heart pounded as the woodland scene melted away into nothing.
For a while everything went dark again, then large oak trees sprouted up and Wolfie found himself in a sun-dappled forest next to a path lined with pretty wild flowers. He frowned: this didn’t seem very scary. Then he heard the sound of a girl singing softly to herself as she skipped along the path. There was a rustling in the bushes next to him and his stomach churned as he saw a grey wolf-tail darting forward like a shark’s fin.
‘Look out!’ yelled Wolfie to the girl. ‘Run!’
But the girl didn’t seem to hear him.
Scruffy Wolfie emerged from the bushes and smiled at the girl as he leaned against a tree. ‘Your grandmother is ill in bed and has been asking for you,’ he said with a wicked gri
n. ‘Do hurry straight there!’
‘Don’t listen!’ shouted Wolfie. ‘It’s a trap!’
But it was no good. The girl thanked Scruffy Wolfie and ran off deep into the forest. Then the whole scene drifted away as though the trees were made of mist.
Moments later, Wolfie watched as an old wooden cottage built itself in the blankness next to him. Tall trees shot up around the edge of a small picket fence and, finally, a brightly painted door swung shut and the scene was complete. He crept forward and peered in through the window to see Scruffy Wolfie lying in bed wearing a really, really unconvincing granny disguise.
‘Seriously?’ thought Wolfie. ‘That disguise is terrible! It’s totally obvious that it’s a wolf!’
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the girl. Wolfie ran over and tried to block her path, but she just walked straight through him as though he wasn’t even there.
‘Wolves are wolves,’ sneered his father, appearing from nowhere behind Wolfie. ‘That’s all there is to it! And you are a wolf.’
‘No!’ shouted Wolfie. ‘I won’t let this happen!’
‘Too late,’ said the Big Bad Wolf. ‘It’s happening right now . . .’
The scene shifted again and now Wolfie was inside the house, right next to the bed where Scruffy Wolfie lay, pretending to be the girl’s grandmother.
‘My! What big slippers you have, Grandmother!’ said the girl looking around the room at the scattered possessions.
‘All the better to . . . er . . . keep my feet warm with?’ said Scruffy Wolfie, then shook his head and roared. ‘Oh, who cares about that rubbish! I’m hungry!’ He leaped out of bed, ripping off his granny disguise – a nightmare vision of claws and fangs. The girl jumped back, screaming, and for a moment Wolfie was paralysed with fear. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the scruffy version of himself leap towards the terrified girl.
‘No . . .’ he whimpered, feeling disgusted by how pathetic he sounded.
‘No!’ he repeated more forcefully, anger rising up inside him.
‘NO!’ he yelled as he sprang towards the evil Wolfie.
His mind raced – it didn’t have to be this way. He could be whoever he wanted to be. It doesn’t matter what his father thought, or how the people of Tale Town felt about wolves. He didn’t need to be on either side: he just needed to be himself.
‘I would never do that!’ he yelled, and then howled his loudest, most wolfish HOWL at the evil Wolfie and the Big Bad Wolf. They both tumbled backwards into nothing as the bedroom dissolved around him. This time the girl did see him. She smiled gratefully and then she too disappeared.
Seconds later Wolfie was back in the nowhere place with the cutting from the Story Tree floating in front of him.
‘No!’ screamed the magic looking glass. ‘I don’t understand! You should have been trapped forever! You should still be whimpering and screaming something like “Help, noooo! The giant ants are drinking my brains with a curly straw!” What went wrong? What did you see? What was your greatest fear?’
Wolfie grinned. ‘That I might be as bad as you are! But nobody’s going to make me do anything that I don’t want to!’ He reached out and grabbed the cutting. ‘So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll be taking this!’
As soon as Wolfie grabbed the cutting, he was transported back through the mirror’s glassy surface and into the Green Man’s palace. He looked around in confusion. Instead of being at the top of the tower, he was in the centre of a large hall which was filled with terrifying statues like the ones in the courtyard. Hideous, ferocious animals and wild-looking men and women surrounded Wolfie, their faces twisted in snarling rage. He watched as a sea of imps poured in from the doorway that led out to the tower.
Seconds later the reflection burst out of the mirror and lunged towards Wolfie, passing straight through him.
‘I can’t believe that you, a pathetic, feeble excuse for a wolf, could have beaten my magical trap!’ roared the reflection. Wolfie shrugged and was about to reply when he was distracted by a loud yell. He turned to see Hansel and Gretel burst into the room, still fighting bitterly. Behind them was a crowd of confused-looking trolls.
‘Stop it!’ yelled Wolfie. ‘I’ve got the cutting! We can get out of here!’
‘Great work, Wolfie!’ shouted Hansel. ‘Just let me finish this off . . .’
‘I don’t think so!’ yelled Gretel, swinging a huge branch at Hansel, who only just ducked in time. ‘Hang on! I won’t be a minute, Wolfie!’
‘Make them stop!’ commanded Wolfie turning to face the reflection. ‘Put things back to normal.’
‘Or what?’ asked the reflection.
‘Or . . . this!’ replied Wolfie, pulling out the glass hammer from under his shirt and waving it in the air. ‘Either you break the spell on them, or I break you and your magic!’
Wolfie wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. He’d never really done much negotiating before – unless it was to negotiate with one of his brothers by squealing, ‘Please stop twisting my arm, it’s really starting to hurt!’ Even so, he hadn’t expected the reflection to laugh.
‘Didn’t you hear me?’ added Wolfie. ‘This hammer will destroy you!’
‘Yes, yes, I know!’ chuckled the reflection. ‘I saw that you had it earlier. Why do you think I had the imps move the mirror to this hall?’
Wolfie frowned. ‘For a change of scenery?’
‘Look around,’ said the reflection. ‘You see all these statues? You see how wild and frightening they look?’
Wolfie nodded.
‘Well, all these statues will come back to life if you use that hammer. It was me that turned them into statues in the first place! Without my magic, you’ll be at their mercy!’ Again the mirror laughed. ‘So how about you give me back that cutting, and I’ll think about letting you and your friends leave in one piece. Deal?’
Wolfie looked at the terrifying beasts. There was one in particular that looked incredibly scary. It was a man with a beard made of thorny brambles that snaked through the air, the razor-sharp thorns glinting in the light. It was clear that he’d never survive if they were all freed. Perhaps if he made a run for it now, he could get out of here with the cutting . . . but what about Hansel and Gretel? They’d be enemies for the rest of their lives, and it would be his fault. But if he returned the cutting, there was no guarantee that the mirror man would keep his word.
Wolfie took a deep breath, and did the only thing that he could. He hurled the cutting at Hansel and Gretel. ‘Catch!’ he yelled as he dived towards the looking glass and swung the glass hammer forward as hard as he could.
Tiny shards of multicoloured glass spun through the air as the magic looking glass shattered. Glittering splinters scattered across the floor, along with a pair of shiny silver shears, which Wolfie lunged towards and grabbed. For a moment the reflection stood in the middle of the hall, looking shocked, angry and scared, then it too broke into millions of pieces, which blew away on a howling wind.
Wolfie braced himself as the entire hall shook with the power of the released magic. There was a sound like a frozen lake thawing, a rushing creak that became a roar. First one, then another of the statues eased back into life, and seconds later Wolfie stood in the middle of a seething mass of furious wild animals and monsters. He tried to bravely accept his fate – but Wolfie was terrified. The last thing he saw was Hansel and Gretel’s panicked faces as the army of creatures closed in around him.
‘Stop!’ rang out a voice with a deep woody echo. ‘All of you!’ Wolfie peered out through one half-closed eye as the creatures fell silent. ‘We have been rescued! The looking glass is gone!’ continued the tall figure with the thorny beard as he knelt down by Wolfie. ‘And I believe it is this brave young wolf who has saved us!’ As he spoke, the brambles and thorns in his beard died away and were replaced with brightly coloured flowers and ivy.
‘So you’re not going to do anything horrible to me?’ asked Wolfie.<
br />
The tall man with the floral hair and beard smiled. ‘Not at all! When I discovered that my magic looking glass had betrayed me, my friends and I tried to fight back, but the mirror cast a spell, turning us all into statues. I should imagine that we looked quite fearsome!’
‘Kind of . . .’ replied Wolfie, opening both eyes fully.
There was a sudden scuffle as Karpit ran over, wielding a rusty sword and waggling it around under the noses of the various animals and people. ‘You leave my friend alone!’ the tiny imp yelled as loudly as he could.
The Green Man laughed kindly. ‘You’re a very brave young imp! But don’t worry, we’re all safe now. The magic looking glass has been destroyed.’
‘And so has all of –’
‘– its magic!’ exclaimed Hansel and Gretel as they ran over, safely carrying the cutting from the Story Tree.
‘Well done, Wolfie, you –’
‘– totally saved the day!’
‘Only one more thing to do!’ said the Green Man. ‘We have some uninvited guests who have outstayed their welcome.’ He pointed through the doorway at a group of worried-looking trolls who were sneaking away. ‘I think it’s time that our “friends” left, don’t you?’
The assorted pack of wild animals roared in agreement and raced out of the room to help drive away the trolls.
‘And you can tell Hurrilan,’ the Green Man bellowed out of the window at the scattering army, ‘that my magic is not his to use!’