The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell Read Online Free Page A

better.
    “I disagree,” Conner told her. “I’ve seen how upset you get when people don’t invite you places, and you usually look like you would curse a baby, too.”
    Alex gave Conner a dirty look Mrs. Peters would have been proud of.
    “While there’s no such thing as a wrong
interpretation
, I have to say
that
is definitely a misread,” Alex said.
    “I’m just saying to be careful who you ignore,” Conner clarified. “I always thought Sleeping Beauty’s parents had it coming.”
    “Oh?” Alex questioned him. “And I suppose you thought Hansel and Gretel had it coming, too?”
    “Yes,” Conner said, feeling clever. “And so did the witch!”
    “How so?” Alex asked.
    “Because,” Conner explained with a smirk on his face, “if you’re going to live in a house made of candy, don’t move next door to a couple of obese kids. A lot of these fairy-tale characters are missing common sense.”
    Alex let out another disapproving grunt. Conner figured he could get at least fifty more out of her before they got home.
    “The witch didn’t live next door! She lived deep in the forest! They had to leave a trail of bread crumbs behind so they could find their way back, remember. And the wholepoint of the house was to lure the kids in. They were starving!” Alex reminded him. “At least have all the facts straight before you criticize.”
    “If they were
starving
, what were they doing wasting bread crumbs?” Conner asked. “Sounds like a couple of troublemakers to me.”
    Alex grunted again.
    “And in your deranged mind, what do you think the lesson of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ is?” Alex challenged him.
    “Easy,” Conner said. “Lock your doors! Robbers come in all shapes and sizes. Even curly-haired little girls can’t be trusted.”
    Alex grunted again and crossed her arms. She tried her best not to giggle; she didn’t want to validate her brother’s opinion.
    “ ‘Goldilocks’ is about consequences! Mrs. Peters said so herself,” Alex said. Although Alex would never admit it, sometimes arguing with her brother was amusing. “What do you suppose ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ is about?” she asked.
    Conner contemplated a moment and slyly grinned. “Bad beans can cause more than indigestion,” he answered, laughing hysterically to himself.
    Alex pursed her lips to hide a smile.
    “What do you think the lesson of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ is?” she asked him. “Do you think she should have just
mailed
her grandmother the gift basket?”
    “Now you’re thinking!” he said. “Although, I’ve alwaysfelt sorry for Little Red Riding Hood. It’s obvious her parents didn’t like her very much.”
    “Why do you say that?” Alex asked, wondering how he could have possibly construed that from the story.
    “Who sends their young daughter into a dark and wolf-occupied forest carrying freshly baked food and wearing a bright jacket?” Conner asked. “They were practically asking for a wolf to eat her! She must have annoyed the heck out of them!”
    Alex held back laughter with all her might but, to Conner’s delight, she let a quiet chuckle slip.
    “I know you secretly agree with me,” Conner said, bumping her shoulder with his.
    “Conner, it’s people like you who ruin fairy tales for the rest of the world,” Alex said, forcing the smile on her face to fade. “People make jokes about them, and suddenly the whole message is… is…
lost
—
”
    Alex suddenly stopped walking. All the color in her face slowly drained away. Something across the street had caught her eye, something very disappointing.
    “What’s the matter?” Conner asked, turning back to her.
    Alex was staring at a large house. It was a lovely home, painted blue with white trim, and had several windows. The front yard was landscaped to perfection; it had just the right amount of grass, patches of colorful flowers, and a large oak tree ideal for climbing.
    If a house could smile, this house would be