smells like…
gingerbread
!” Alex said. She looked at her brother with large, excited eyes.
“Oh no,” Conner said.
Before he could stop her, Alex took off running into the trees, away from the path, toward the direction the aroma was coming from.
“Alex, wait!” Conner ordered. “Come back! You don’t know where you’re going!”
Alex bolted through the trees, jumping over boulders and bushes as she passed them. The scent became stronger and stronger the farther she strayed from the path. Conner was right behind her, urging her to turn around. Finally, Alex came to a halt, and Conner bumped into her. She had found exactly what she was hoping to see.
A small gingerbread house sat in between two large trees. White frosting covered its pointed roof, gumdrops were clumped around like shrubbery, and candy canes lined the path to the front door like a picket fence.
“Look, Conner!” Alex said, catching her breath. “It’s a gingerbread house, a
real
gingerbread house! Look how cute it is!”
“Whoa,” Conner said. “I feel like I may get diabetes from just looking at that place.”
“Let’s go inside!” Alex said, and stepped toward the house.
Conner grabbed her arm. “Have you lost your mind? Do the words
Hansel and Gretel cannibalism incident
mean anything to you?”
“I just want to peek inside for a second, only one second—”
The door of the gingerbread house slowly opened. Alex and Conner froze. A large, hooded figure squeezed out of the door and then raised its head to stare at the twins.
It was, undoubtedly, a witch, and although they hadnever seen a real witch to make a comparison to, she was more grotesque than they could have imagined. Her skin was wrinkled and pale with a yellowish tint. Her eyes were bloodshot and bulged out of her head. She was hunched over and had an enormous hump on her back.
“Hello, children,” the witch said. Her voice was high-pitched and crackly. “Would you care to join me for a bite to eat?”
It was impossible for the twins to hide their fear; they both stood still staring at her as if she were a rabid Tyrannosaurus rex about to pounce on them at any moment.
“No, thank you,” Alex said. “We’re just passing by.
You have a lovely home.
”
They slowly backed up, one foot at a time.
“Wouldn’t you like to see the inside?” the witch asked.
“The inside of whom?” Conner said, and Alex elbowed him.
“Don’t be silly, kiddies,
come inside
,” said the witch, losing her patience. She extended an inviting, shaking hand toward them. They noticed it was covered in burn marks, perhaps from the last time she’d had visitors.
“I thought the witch died at the end of ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ ” Alex whispered to Conner.
“Maybe she got hold of a fire extinguisher after they left,” Conner whispered back.
They continued backing slowly away from her.
“Thank you so much for the invitation, but we really need to get going,” Alex said.
“We’re on a really tight schedule,” Conner added. “We’re meeting a couple of dwarfs for coffee in a half hour, so we better get a move on!”
They quickly took off in the direction they’d come, but came to a jarring stop when the witch suddenly appeared in front of them with a
pop!
They tried running back the other way, but the witch just appeared in front of them again with a
snap!
They were trapped.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” the witch said. She seemed to grow taller, and her eyes bulged bigger as her patience ran out. “Now, be nice little chickies and follow me
inside
.”
“Alex, this is like one of those bad videos about strangers from the first grade,” Conner whispered to her. “Do you still have your kidnapping whistle?”
“You don’t want to eat us!” Alex told the witch. “We’ve been walking for a while, so we’re really dehydrated! We’re practically just skin and bone.”
The witch was definitely growing. Her hump shrank as her body rose
gingerbread
!” Alex said. She looked at her brother with large, excited eyes.
“Oh no,” Conner said.
Before he could stop her, Alex took off running into the trees, away from the path, toward the direction the aroma was coming from.
“Alex, wait!” Conner ordered. “Come back! You don’t know where you’re going!”
Alex bolted through the trees, jumping over boulders and bushes as she passed them. The scent became stronger and stronger the farther she strayed from the path. Conner was right behind her, urging her to turn around. Finally, Alex came to a halt, and Conner bumped into her. She had found exactly what she was hoping to see.
A small gingerbread house sat in between two large trees. White frosting covered its pointed roof, gumdrops were clumped around like shrubbery, and candy canes lined the path to the front door like a picket fence.
“Look, Conner!” Alex said, catching her breath. “It’s a gingerbread house, a
real
gingerbread house! Look how cute it is!”
“Whoa,” Conner said. “I feel like I may get diabetes from just looking at that place.”
“Let’s go inside!” Alex said, and stepped toward the house.
Conner grabbed her arm. “Have you lost your mind? Do the words
Hansel and Gretel cannibalism incident
mean anything to you?”
“I just want to peek inside for a second, only one second—”
The door of the gingerbread house slowly opened. Alex and Conner froze. A large, hooded figure squeezed out of the door and then raised its head to stare at the twins.
It was, undoubtedly, a witch, and although they hadnever seen a real witch to make a comparison to, she was more grotesque than they could have imagined. Her skin was wrinkled and pale with a yellowish tint. Her eyes were bloodshot and bulged out of her head. She was hunched over and had an enormous hump on her back.
“Hello, children,” the witch said. Her voice was high-pitched and crackly. “Would you care to join me for a bite to eat?”
It was impossible for the twins to hide their fear; they both stood still staring at her as if she were a rabid Tyrannosaurus rex about to pounce on them at any moment.
“No, thank you,” Alex said. “We’re just passing by.
You have a lovely home.
”
They slowly backed up, one foot at a time.
“Wouldn’t you like to see the inside?” the witch asked.
“The inside of whom?” Conner said, and Alex elbowed him.
“Don’t be silly, kiddies,
come inside
,” said the witch, losing her patience. She extended an inviting, shaking hand toward them. They noticed it was covered in burn marks, perhaps from the last time she’d had visitors.
“I thought the witch died at the end of ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ ” Alex whispered to Conner.
“Maybe she got hold of a fire extinguisher after they left,” Conner whispered back.
They continued backing slowly away from her.
“Thank you so much for the invitation, but we really need to get going,” Alex said.
“We’re on a really tight schedule,” Conner added. “We’re meeting a couple of dwarfs for coffee in a half hour, so we better get a move on!”
They quickly took off in the direction they’d come, but came to a jarring stop when the witch suddenly appeared in front of them with a
pop!
They tried running back the other way, but the witch just appeared in front of them again with a
snap!
They were trapped.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” the witch said. She seemed to grow taller, and her eyes bulged bigger as her patience ran out. “Now, be nice little chickies and follow me
inside
.”
“Alex, this is like one of those bad videos about strangers from the first grade,” Conner whispered to her. “Do you still have your kidnapping whistle?”
“You don’t want to eat us!” Alex told the witch. “We’ve been walking for a while, so we’re really dehydrated! We’re practically just skin and bone.”
The witch was definitely growing. Her hump shrank as her body rose
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