"Leave my grandmother alone!" Daphne commanded. Before Sabrina could stop her, the little girl had rushed forward and kicked the dumpy man in the shin. He cried out in pain and clutched his leg. Then Mrs. Grimm hit him on top of his head with her heavy, book-filled handbag, and he crumpled to the ground, groaning. Seeing how easily their leader had fallen to a little girl and an old lady, the two other thugs laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" the leader snapped as he crawled to his feet.
"Sorry, Tony," one of the goons said.
"Have you lost your mind?" Tony bellowed.
"What?" the goon asked defensively.
"You told her my name. We all agreed we were going to keep our identities secret."
The goon shrugged. "Sorry, Tony, I didn't think."
"Steve, you just did it again," the other thug pointed out.
"Shut up, Bobby!"
"Both of you shut up!" shouted Tony. "Why don't you idiots just give them our addresses and phone numbers, too?"
"Who cares?" Steve said.
"Because they can identify us to the cops," Tony complained as he turned his attention back to Mrs. Grimm. He raised his heavy crowbar above his head and snarled. "Now we have to do something drastic!"
"Easier said than done." The voice came from behind them.
Sabrina and Daphne turned to see Mr. Canis emerge from the shadows with Elvis close behind.
Steve laughed. "Look out-here comes her boyfriend."
"I'll make you an offer. If you run off now, no one will get hurt," Canis said. His voice was cold and hard, but the thugs just chuckled.
Even Sabrina could tell that frail old Mr. Canis wasn't going to be able to stop three thugs. He hardly looked strong enough to hold up the clothes he was wearing. No, the group was in big trouble. It was up to her. Sabrina searched around her for a weapon-a rock, a stick-anything she could use to fight the men. Unfortunately, the pathway was as clean of debris as it was of people.
"Girls, get behind Elvis, please," Mr. Canis said, taking their hands and pulling them back so that the Great Dane was between them and trouble.
"Enough of this. Get him!" Tony ordered, and Bobby and Steve lunged at Mr. Canis.
Sabrina was sure they had seen the last of the old man, but he caught both of the goons by the throat, one in each hand, and lifted them off the ground, holding them aloft as their feet dangled and kicked. Even more shocking was the loud, guttural growl the old man released when he tossed the thugs across the cold concrete ground. For ten yards they thumped and bounced, groaning with each painful smack against the pavement.
"All right, if that's the way you want to play it," Tony threatened. He pushed Mrs. Grimm roughly to the ground and swung his iron bar wildly at Mr. Canis. But the old man quickly stepped sideways and tripped him. He crashed to the pavement with his friends. Sabrina could hardly believe how agile the old man was, especially when Tony leaped up and rushed at him again, with the same painful results. She was doubly surprised.
"Hurry, girls-we should get to safety," Mrs. Grimm said as she got up and led them away from the fight. Elvis trotted along beside them, barking warnings at the goons not to follow. When they got to the car, Daphne climbed in but anxiously peered out the windows.
After several minutes, Mr. Canis was still not back. "We shouldn't have left him," Daphne said. "There were three of them, Granny! He can't fight them all." Tears were running down her cheeks. Before Mrs. Grimm could calm her down, the car door opened and Mr. Canis crawled in behind the wheel. He was completely unharmed and wearing a little grin on his face.
"See, lieblings? He's just fine," the old woman said. She turned to Mr. Canis. "The girls were worried about you."
The old man turned in his seat and looked back at Sabrina and Daphne. He was his same painfully thin, watery-eyed old self. Daphne leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. His face turned red with embarrassment.
"Don't you ever do that again!" she commanded as she hugged him tightly and then sat back into her seat.
Mr. Canis nodded in agreement.
"I, for one, am thrilled at what's transpiring," Mrs. Grimm said, taking out her notepad and pen. She began jotting notes frantically.
Sabrina was shocked. "Thrilled? We were almost killed."
"Killed? Oh, Mr. Canis, doesn't she remind you of Basil?" Mrs. Grimm tittered. Mr. Canis nodded.
"No, I think we have cause to celebrate," the old woman continued.
"Why, did you find a clue?" Daphne asked.
"No, not at all."
"Then what's to celebrate?" Sabrina asked.
"We're getting close to solving this case, lieblings. When they send the goons, the bad guys are getting nervous."
"So what now?" Daphne asked.
"We'll follow those hooligans back to their hideout."
"What? Why would we do that?" Sabrina cried, remembering Tony and his crowbar.
"Because they're going to lead us right back to their boss. Ladies, we're going on a stakeout."
Mr. Canis rolled down his window, stuck his head out into the cool night air, and put the car into gear. He seemed to instinctively know how to find the thugs' car. He trailed them at a distance (which was pretty great, considering the noise coming from Mrs. Grimm's old rust bucket), driving high into the hills overlooking Ferryport Landing. They passed no other cars, just a few deer that darted into the forest as soon as their headlights hit them. But Sabrina was in no mood to enjoy the scenery. Mrs. Grimm's sanity seemed to slip further away with every passing moment. Now the crazy old woman was stalking three dangerous men. It was clear to Sabrina that running away couldn't wait a second longer. They had to make a break for it the first chance they got.
Eventually Tony's car pulled into the empty driveway of a small mountain cabin. Mr. Canis pulled off the road as well, then turned the engine and lights off. As soon as they came to a stop, Mrs. Grimm fumbled through her handbag, taking out a pair of odd-looking binoculars with red lenses. "What are those?" Daphne asked.
"They're called infrared goggles. They help me see in the dark," the old woman said as she handed them to Daphne. "Want to take a peek?"
Daphne raised them to her eyes. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Terrifying!"
"What?" Sabrina looked out the window but saw nothing. "What do you see?" she asked nervously.
"You." The little girl giggled. "Here, take a look."
The older girl stuck out her tongue and took the goggles from her sister. When she looked through them, she saw the darkness illuminated in green light. She quickly spotted the three thugs going into the cabin.
"Is this really a good idea?" Sabrina asked. "Those men wanted to kill you at the hospital. If you don't care about yourself, shouldn't you at least be worried they might hurt us?"
"You are such a worrier. Let's sit for a bit and see who else turns up," Mrs. Grimm said. "Sabrina, would you mind letting Elvis out? He probably needs to stretch his legs."
Sabrina handed Mrs. Grimm the goggles and opened the door. Elvis lumbered out, causing the car to make noises that sounded like squeals of delight. It was the perfect time to run. The girls could use the woods for cover as they made their escape. But Daphne was leaning on the front seat asking questions.
"Granny Relda, are all the fairy tales true?"
"Almost all of them, but some are just bedtime stories to get kids to go to sleep. For instance, a dish never ran away with a spoon."
"How about the three little pigs?"
Mr. Canis shifted in his seat but said nothing.
"Yes, dear, they are real," Mrs. Grimm replied.
"How about Snow White?"
"She's a teacher at Ferryport Landing Elementary. We're going to enroll you two there in a couple of weeks. She's very sweet and, as you know, very good with little people like yourselves."
"What about Santa Claus?"
"I've never met him, but I have it on good faith that he is alive and well."
Sabrina poked her sister, but the little girl swatted her away, too caught up in the conversation to notice their perfect opportunity to make a run for it.
"I've got a question for you," Sabrina said. "These stories were written hundreds of years ago. How could all these people still be alive?"
"Magic," Mrs. Grimm explained, as if it were obvious.
"Yeah, magic. Duh!" Daphne said.
Sabrina shot her an angry look, but the little girl ignored it.
"Granny Relda, have you ever seen a giant?" Daphne asked.
"Of course, liebling, I've even been to the giant kingdom on a couple of occasions. The last time, I was nearly squished by the Giant Queen's toe." Mrs. Grimm laughed.
"Well, if there really are giants, how come we haven't seen any yet?" Daphne asked.
"Well, a long time ago the Everafter community decided that having giants running around Ferryport Landing was going to draw too much attention. Plus, giants are very unpredictable. They cause as much destruction when they're happy as they do when they're unhappy," Mrs. Grimm explained. "Once they get comfortable, it's impossible to move them, too. Imagine trying to plant seeds on your farm with a sleepy giant lying across it! So some folks came to our family and asked for help. Your great-uncle Edwin and your great-aunt Matilda dipped into our supply of magic beans-"
Sabrina coughed, hoping to get Daphne's attention, but the little girl shot her an angry look and turned back to the old woman.
"Edwin and Matilda planted a few and tricked the giants into climbing up the beanstalks. Once they were up in their home world, the cloud kingdom, Edwin and Matilda chopped the beanstalks down."
"What good did that do?" Daphne asked.
"Without giant beanstalks, there's no way for giants to come down here. Of course, not everyone was happy. In the old days, folks planted magic beans and climbed up the beanstalks just to steal the giants' treasures. It was dangerous, but if you were successful, you could make a fortune."
"Like Jack?" Daphne asked. "I know that story."
"You are correct, liebling. Jack robbed lots of giants and killed quite a number of them, too. In his day he was very rich and famous. They used to call him Jack the Giant Killer."
"Are you going to sit here and tell us that Jack was a real person?" Sabrina snapped.
"Now he works at a men's big-and-tall clothing shop on Main Street," Mr. Canis said.
"Granny, if all the beanstalks were destroyed, how did a giant get down here?" Daphne asked.
"Ah, liebling, that is the very mystery we are trying to solve," Mrs. Grimm said, taking out her notebook and flipping through her scribbles. "I believe someone planted a magic bean just to let a giant loose. We know his name is Englishman. We know he was going to videotape the giant. And we know he's got a bunch of goons working for him. There is one loose end, though. How did this Englishman get his hands on a magic bean? I was sure they were accounted for and locked safely away."
"And we have to figure out why this guy would want to let a giant loose in the first place," Daphne said. She jumped up and down in her seat like an excited puppy. It was obvious to Sabrina that her sister was falling in love with the old woman's stories.
"This is ridiculous," Sabrina grumbled.
Just then Elvis let out a low growl.
"Someone's coming," Mr. Canis warned as headlights flashed behind them.
"Everyone, get down," Mrs. Grimm urged.
They all squatted down and waited as a car passed by and parked on the side of the road. The old woman held her goggles to her eyes and studied it closely.
"Well, Sabrina, we've got more evidence for your theories. That's Mayor Charming's car," Mrs. Grimm said. "He and Mr. Seven are knocking on the cabin door."
Mr. Canis rolled his window down and sniffed the cool mountain air. His nose curled up as if he smelled something foul. Elvis had the same expression.
"Child, get the dog back into the car," Canis said to Sabrina.
"There's Tony. He's arguing with Charming about something," the old woman continued, still looking through her goggles. "Wait-there's someone else at the door."
"Get into the car, dog!" Mr. Canis shouted at Elvis. The Great Dane ignored him. He was busy sniffing the air and whining.
"Something's happening. Charming and Seven are running back to their car. Something has spooked them," Mrs. Grimm remarked. "And you won't believe who's with them!"
Sabrina braced herself. It was time to go. Canis was distracted by the dog, and the old woman was busy peering into her goggles. They wouldn't get a better chance. She grabbed her sister's hand and pulled Daphne out onto the road.
"What are you doing?" Daphne cried.
"We're getting out of here this minute!" Sabrina said.
Elvis let out another horrible whine. It was followed by an earthshaking thump that sent the girls tumbling to the ground.
"What was that?" Sabrina asked, trying to stand.
"Get into the car!" Mr. Canis ordered. His face was dark and serious.
"Forget it! We're not playing your crazy games any longer," Sabrina cried as she scrambled to her feet, then helped her sister do the same.
"Oh, dear! Lieblings, please, do as Mr. Canis says," Mrs. Grimm begged. "Something is coming."
"Something is coming? Is it a giant? Maybe it's the Tooth Fairy! The Easter Bunny? Do you really think we're that dumb? I don't want to hear another word about fairies and goblins and giants and Jack and the Beanstalk!" Sabrina raged as Elvis let out a shrieking howl. "I know the difference between reality and a fairy tale-"
Something fell out of the sky and stole the words out of her mouth. It was a monstrous hand that snatched the car off the ground. Sabrina couldn't believe what she was seeing, even though it was right there in front of her.
Her eyes traveled higher and higher. The hand led to a massive arm, then a bulging shoulder, and finally to an ill-shapen head. Boils as big as birthday cakes pocked its greasy skin. A broken nose zigzagged across its face, and one dead white eye seeped pus. Hairs as thick as tree trunks jutted out of the nostrils. It wore the hides of dozens of gigantic animals, including the head of what looked like a giant bear for a helmet. The dead bear's sharp fangs dug into the creature's bald scalp, threatening to pierce its brain. Its boots were made from hides, and tangled in the laces were several unfortunate saplings.
The giant lifted the family car up to its repugnant face and looked inside like a child inspecting a toy. With its free hand it picked its nose. "Where is Englishman?" it bellowed. "Why does he hide from me?"
The car was so high off the ground that Sabrina couldn't see what was going on inside it. The giant gave it a terrible shake, and she watched something fall out, landing with a clang at her feet. When she looked down she realized it was the old woman's handbag.
"You cannot hide from me, Englishman!" the giant shouted as it lifted its enormous leg and stomped down hard on the little mountain cabin, flattening it like a pancake. Pieces of timber and stone flew into the air, missing the girls by inches. Sabrina and Daphne gasped. Had Tony, Steve, and Bobby managed to get out?
The giant let out a sickening laugh. It stuffed the car into a greasy shirt pocket, lifted its other humongous leg, and walked away, carrying the remains of the mountain cabin in the treads of its boots. The earth shook violently with each step, and ripples spilled across the land, like the disturbance a stone makes when it plunges into a pond. Because of its mammoth stride, the giant completely disappeared over the horizon in no time. Only the distant rumbling of its footfalls remained.
The girls stood completely frozen while Elvis howled and barked.
"She was telling the truth," Sabrina gasped.
"You were a snot to her the whole time, and now we might never see her again," Daphne cried, reaching down to scoop up Granny Relda's handbag, then she turned and marched down the road.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to rescue our family," the little girl called back without stopping.
