Home on the Range The Disney Chronicles: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Home on the Range The Disney Chronicles: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Official Promotion of the Story
Publisher(s)	Daniella Lara
Writer(s)	Daniella Lara

Summary

Lucky Jack sees a strange light coming from a cave in the forest. What he finds there is not what he expected. When he brings it along to show it to his friends, they're about to experience a new adventure.

Follow the cows, Buck, and Lucky Jack in their brand new journey of adventure. Experience how they meet new friends and fight terrifying bad guys. Starting with The One That Started It All.

Chapter 1: A Book?

Little Patch of Heaven, a farm unlike ours. Filled with peace and wonder, but also danger and noise when gunshots are heard. The residents consist of farm animals. Talking animals.

Our story, like so many others, is about five very special animals. One of them is a brown show cow named Maggie. Since her home was sadly taken away by Alameda Slim and the Willie Brothers Gang, she and a peg-legged jackrabbit, who also used to have a home of his own and lost it to Slim, now live in Patch of Heaven with the other animals, including two other dairy cows and a karate-kicking stallion. Today was a normal day for them, but they planned something for tonight.

"Are you sure everything's ready for tonight, Maggie?" Lucky Jack asked.

"One hundred percent sure. And I couldn't have done it without you," Maggie said.

"Ah, it was nothing," Lucky Jack said while looking around the room.

They added a few things for tonight. There was a table with snacks and drinks and multiple sleeping bags on the ground.

"I'm so excited for tonight's slumber party. We play games, tell ghost stories, eat s'mores, and so on. After my first slumber party with Mrs. Calloway and Grace, I'm prepared for everything," Maggie said with excitement and self-assuring.

"Hopefully, there's also something that I can do, and not only that silly nonsense," Lucky Jack said, motioning with his fingers.

Maggie giggled a bit. "Don't worry, Jack. It'll be fun for everyone... And horse and rabbit."

Lucky Jack smiled at that, then he realized something. "Oh, maybe I can go into town to see if I can find some decorations for tonight," he said with excitement.

Maggie couldn't help but roll her eyes with a smile. "Okay, see you later."

Lucky Jack walked out of the barn and went into town.

He had searched the whole day for decorations and even a few gemstones. Until the time he found what he wanted, it was nighttime. He walked happily back to the barn.

"Wow. Finally, after hours of searching, I finally have some," Lucky Jack said. Suddenly, he looked at the clocktower. "Uh-oh, better hurry or else I'll be late."

But suddenly, something caught his eye. In the star-filled blanket of darkness, a big star shone very brightly. Lucky Jack couldn't keep his eyes away from it, it was so beautiful to look at. Suddenly, the star began to shine even brighter and then it began to move. It flew very fast above Lucky Jack, and it began to descend somewhere in the forest. The impact caused a huge wave of light that everyone could see, but for the moment, only Lucky Jack saw it.

"What was that?" he asked himself. "It looked like it went towards the forest. I better check it out."

He walked towards the entrance to the forest and hesitated a little. He knew how dangerous the forest was, but he was too curious. So he gathered all his strength and went into the forest. Little did he know that two small yellow eyes were watching him.

While Lucky Jack walked in the forest, he looked around nervously. Something could sneak around in the forest, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Suddenly, he heard something rustling. He quickly searched for the sound. He heard another, this time, a bit closer. And then one more, and suddenly, it stopped. Lucky Jack was very aware of what might happen. He turned around and what he saw in front of him suddenly made him jump into the air with a yell and fell back to the ground. It was an owl.

"Dagnabbit, owl! Don't scare me like that again. I thought you were a coyote or something," Lucky Jack said.

"Hoo?" the owl said.

"Oh, I'm going to find out what kind of shiny thing I saw around here," Lucky Jack answered.

"Hoo?" the owl asked.

"A star went that way and impacted there. I'm going there to check it out."

"Hoo-hoo," the owl said.

"I know it's the cows' slumber party tonight, but I'm so curious about that star," Lucky Jack said.

"Hoo?"

"Me. That's who," Lucky Jack said and walked past the owl.

The owl shrugged and followed him.

After minutes of walking in the forest, they finally reached the cave. It was still in the same state. Lucky Jack was a little frightened because of the look of the cave at night. But still, with great determination, he went over to it.

When they approached the cave, Lucky Jack took a look inside. He and the owl went inside and looked around.

Lucky Jack began to think. "Hmm. I wonder where it is."

"Hoo," the owl said.

"It's not 'who', it's 'where'." They began to search through most parts of the cave. After a while, they found nothing. "Did you find anything?"

"Hoo," the owl said.

Lucky Jack sighed. "I swear I didn't see things. I saw a shooting star falling here. Did I let my imagination get the best of me?" Suddenly, a bright light shone through the cave. The owl saw it.

"Hoo-hoo. Hoo-hoo," the owl said.

"Not now, Mr. Owl. I'm trying to think," Lucky Jack said.

But the owl paid no attention to that, and instead, he used his talons to turn Lucky Jack's head to the direction of the light. Lucky Jack's eyes widened.

"Wow. It's coming from over there," Lucky Jack said and ran towards the light. When he got there, he couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw. The glowing light came from something that was at the top of a tower of rocks. Slowly, he approached the rock pile and turned his attention to his owl friend. "Wait here."

The owl sat on a branch of a tree while he watched how Lucky Jack climbed the rock pile. He climbed higher and higher until he was almost at the top. Suddenly, he slipped, which almost made him fall. One rock fell to the ground.

"Hoo!" the owl panicked.

But Lucky Jack regained himself and climbed further. He came closer and closer to the source of the light. The owl watched with big eyes. Lucky Jack finally approached the source and gave a little suspicious look. It was revealed to be a golden book with a strange insignia in the center. He picked it up and observed it.

"This... Is it? A book?" he asked himself.

"Hoo?" the owl asked.

Lucky Jack slid down the pile of rocks and went to his feathered friend.

"I don't get it. It's just a book." He looked at the book and saw the strange insignia. "Wait a minute. What's this? I've never seen a symbol like this before."

The symbol looked like one big circle with two smaller circles on the top. The big circle was a blue gemstone.

"Maybe Maggie knows. Let's go," Lucky Jack said, and together, they walked out of the forest and went back to their friends.

Meanwhile, the cows and Buck were already enjoying their slumber party. Buck and Maggie were having a pillow fight, Mrs. Calloway was looking at herself in the mirror, and Grace was making a few s'mores.

"Ah, isn't this delightful?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"It sure is," Maggie said, still playing with Buck.

"Wait till you all taste some of my self-made s'mores. This time, I put a secret ingredient in it," Grace said and came close to Maggie. "Do you know what the secret ingredient is?" she asked. Grace looked left and right. Maggie was about to say something, but Grace interrupted by whispering in her ear. "A secret."

"Um, I kinda had that thought you would say that," Maggie said.

"Say, Maggie, dear. Where's Lucky Jack?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"I don't know. He was looking for some decorations for the party, but he still hasn't returned yet," Maggie said.

"Oh, I hope nothing happened to him," Grace said.

"I hope so, too. I mean, he could be eaten by coyotes, clobbered by mean vultures, or killed by something so strange and so mysterious that we can't even explain," Maggie said, making Grace very nervous and making her tremble.

"Maggie. Don't say that. It's one of those things that can give us a heart attack," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Yeah, besides, Lucky Jack is a smart guy. I'm sure nothing's going to happen to him," Buck said.

Maggie began to think, and suddenly, the barn door opened, revealing the rabbit and the owl. The cows and horse let out a sigh of relief, knowing that their friend was okay.

"Lucky Jack, where have you been?" Maggie asked.

"Sorry I'm late. But I just saw the strangest thing," Lucky Jack explained.

"What strange thing?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"There was a star that shone very brightly, and suddenly, it fell down. It landed in a cave in the forest," Lucky Jack said.

"A falling star? Was there any damage?" Maggie asked.

"Not a crack. It fell on top of a pile of rocks. It glowed very brigthly. But then came the weird part, instead of a star, I found this." Lucky Jack showed her the book.

"A book?" Buck asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow. Mysterious," Grace said.

"And look at the insignia," Lucky Jack said and showed Maggie the cover of the book.

Maggie looked closely at the symbol of the book. Lucky Jack was right, this was an unfamiliar symbol.

"What do you think it could mean?" Lucky Jack asked.

"I have no idea." Maggie tried to open the book, but it wouldn't open. There was a lock on the right side. "It's locked. I don't even have a key for it."

"Why don't you use some type of object to open it?" Buck asked.

"I... Could try that. Wait here," Maggie said.

And with that, she walked outside and looked around. Then she went into a bush and picked up a stick. "Perfect!"

Maggie walked back inside the barn. "All right, guys. I found the perfect thing," she said to the others.

"How exactly is that going to work?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Easy. Watch this," Maggie said. Then she inserted the stick into the keyhole and pulled it as hard as she could, but it didn't open. "A little help here."

The others grabbed onto Maggie and tried to help her pull the book open. They pulled and pulled until the stick popped out of the keyhole, making them all fall to the floor, panting.

"That's one strong lock," Maggie said.

"Oh, my goodness, Maggie. Are you okay?" Grace asked.

"Uh, I'm fine, Grace. I've never faced a book like that before. And whatever is inside it, it must be something with really powerful magic," Maggie said while rubbing her head.

Lucky Jack looked at the insignia on the book and placed his hand on it. No one knew that the book felt Lucky Jack's hand, some kind of energy began to spark.

"Great, how do we know what's in it if we can't open it?" Buck asked.

"I'm not sure. We should go to Pearl, maybe she knows something about this book," Maggie said.

Suddenly, the book shot a pillar of energy through the roof. Lucky Jack quickly backed away. His friends noticed the pillar of energy.

"What's going on?" Grace asked.

"I don't know," Maggie answered.

"YOU WANT TO KNOW THE KNOWLEDGE FROM THIS BOOK, THAT I KNOW. BUT YOU NEED TO PROVE YOURSELF TO SHOW IF YOU'RE WORTHY!" a loud female voice spoke from the book, and suddenly, some kind of holographic circle with many kinds of symbols appeared in front of them. "CHOOSE WISELY AND DO NOT LINGER! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!"

With that, the cows, horse, and rabbit looked at each other in confusion while the holographic circle kept floating horizontally.

"Wha... What do you mean?" Mrs. Calloway said.

A burst of magic appeared in the center of the circle, showing a symbol.

"It looks like an apple." Grace looked at it curiously.

Maggie began to concentrate and kept looking at the circle and the symbol. She also noticed the other symbols on the circle. "I think we need to choose the matching symbol."

"Oh. There it is. I see it," Buck said and pointed at the apple symbol on the circle.

Maggie stepped closer and slowly placed her hoof on the circle. When she rotated the circle a bit, her hoof flinched back. But then she placed it back and rotated the circle so the apple symbol was in front of the big apple symbol. The big apple symbol exploded a bit and changed into a new symbol.

"Now it's a sun," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie began to think again. "I think we need speed and teamwork to win this challenge. Help me with this."

"I see the sun symbol," Grace said.

Maggie rotated the circle until the big symbol exploded again and took a new symbol. This time, it was a lamp. This time, Buck rotated the circle, and the symbol exploded again. The pillar of energy became stronger.

"Hurry, who knows what will happen if that pillar enlarges," Mrs. Calloway said.

The new symbol was a glass slipper.

"Hey, look. A glass slipper," Maggie said.

"Over there!" Lucky Jack said.

Maggie rotated the circle again, and the symbol exploded once more. The new symbol was a snow flake. Mrs. Calloway rotated it, and the symbol exploded. During the time, different symbols appeared. A rose, a butterfly, a jack o' lantern, a lion cub, a music note, a sea shell, and a chinese dragon. Finally, the last symbol was a medal with a cloud and a lightning bolt. Time was running out. Maggie quickly rotated the circle with the matching symbol in front, and all of a sudden, the pillar of energy disappeared. The cows, horse, and rabbit were covering their eyes from the light.

"You have proven yourself worthy, noble ones. Please, accept your reward," the female voice said, and in a flash, a key appeared. The animals looked wide eyed at the key. Maggie took it and examined it for a while.

"Wow, what was that all about?" Buck asked.

Maggie looked at the book again and slowly placed the key in the keyhole. The keyhole accepted the key and the lock opened.

"It's open," Lucky Jack said.

"I wonder what's in there," Grace said.

"Wait and see," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie opened the book and she saw a message on the first page of the book. She read it out loud.

Dear readers and adventurers,

You are in possession of the Book of Disney. This book is very special in its own way. It makes the world you are living now change forever. While you read it, it is just like you are experiencing the stories yourself. Experience these amazing adventures full of wonder and danger. Face the nefarious villains and bond yourself with the characters that are pure of heart.

Have fun.

Maggie raised an eyebrow and looked through the various pages of the book. Then her eyes widened. "Wait. This is a storybook."

"A storybook?" Mrs. Calloway asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You mean, a book with stories that tells about princes, princesses, and dragons and such?" Buck asked.

"When you say it that way, then yes," Maggie said.

"Oh, my goodness. Can you read one, Maggie?" Grace asked.

"Well, I don't know..." Maggie said.

"Please, pretty please," Grace said, and she looked at Maggie with puppy dog eyes.

Maggie, of course, couldn't resist. "Well, okay. Who knows. It might be fun."

"Places, everyone," Mrs. Calloway said while she laid on her belly.

The rest of the animals sat on their haunches or on their bellies. Lucky Jack also sat down.

"All right, let's read the first one," Maggie said and turned to the first story of the book.

Maggie read the title and then the story.

Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little Princess named Snow White. Her vain and wicked stepmother, the Queen, feared that some day, Snow White's beauty would surpass her own. So she dressed the little Princess in rags and forced her to work as a Scullery Maid.

"How awful," Grace said.

"My word. I may be prim and proper, but I would never do such a thing to my family," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie read further.

Each day, the vain Queen consulted her Magic Mirror,

"Magic Mirror on the Wall, Who is the fairest one of all?"

..and as long as the Mirror answered, "You are the fairest one of all", Snow White was safe from the Queen's cruel jealousy.

"Whoa, that Queen has a real problem," Lucky Jack said.

"You can say that again," Buck said.

"Oh. I hope that Snow White likes animals like us," Grace said with a cute smile.

"I think we're about..." Maggie said. But before she could finish, a large burst of magic, light, and energy was released from the book. It began to suck Maggie inside.

"WOW! HEY! AAAAAAAAHHH!" Maggie screamed.

"Maggie!" Lucky Jack yelled. He leapt towards Maggie and tried to pull her out. But he also got sucked in.

Buck tried to get both Lucky Jack and Maggie out of the book and he got sucked in, too. Soon, Mrs. Calloway tried and then Grace. But it didn't help, they all got sucked inside the book.

With all of them sucked in, the book quickly began to close, showing the cover. The cows, horse, and rabbit began to swirl around in some kind of vortex through space. It kept going faster and faster until a bright light shone at the end, covering the entire area with light.

Chapter 2: Where Are We?

Maggie slowly opened her eyes and saw a blurry gray image speaking to her. She couldn't hear what the blur said at first.

"Maggie. Maggie. Wake up, Maggie," said the blur.

Her vision became a bit clearer and saw that it was Lucky Jack. She rubbed her head. "Ow. What happened?"

"Thank goodness you're okay. You... Are okay, right?" Lucky Jack asked.

"Uh. A little. I really hit my head hard. Now I'm going to have a bump on my head," Maggie said.

But Maggie and Lucky Jack weren't alone. Around them, Grace was waking up, too.

"Ugh. What happened?" Grace asked.

"I don't know what happened, but I feel like I've been rolling in a barrel of cider," Maggie said.

Maggie, Grace, and Lucky Jack looked really confused and puzzled when they looked at their surroundings. "Whe-where are we?" Maggie asked.

They were in some kind of forest. And that was not the only strange thing, the sun shone very brightly at the day.

"I don't know, Maggie. Wasn't it normally night?" Lucky Jack asked.

"It was. We probably fell asleep and that book you found with all that magical energy must have been a dream... Or maybe... Maybe we're not in Patch of Heaven. I hope I'm right about the dream part," Maggie said.

"I can bite you awake if you want that," Grace said with a smile.

Maggie looked in Grace's direction. "Thank you, Grace. That would be really helpful."

Grace went closer to Maggie and bit her front leg very hard. Maggie's eyes went wide by that.

"OW! Not so hard," Maggie said with a firm look.

"Sorry," Grace said sheepishly. "When I'm this excited, I can bite really hard. I should have warned you about that."

"Hold on a minute. I'm still here. This isn't a dream," Maggie said.

Grace and Lucky Jack also knew that they were not dreaming and didn't need to be bitten or something.

"Then what is this? And where exactly are we?" Lucky Jack asked.

"I don't know," Maggie said. And suddenly, her eyes went wide, for she had seen something. "But I know now that we're definitely not in Patch of Heaven."

The others looked in the same direction as Maggie, and their eyes went wide as well. They saw a huge castle towering high above a small town.

"Hold on," Grace said suddenly and looked around. "Where's Buck and Mrs. Calloway?" she said with a gasp and great concern.

In another unfamiliar location, Buck slowly opened his eyes and tried to stand on his legs. He looked at his surroundings.

"What... Is this?" he asked himself.

They were in some kind of huge hall with a few pillars spread everywhere. Then he saw a familiar cow lying on the ground.

"Mrs. Calloway? Mrs. Calloway." Buck went towards her and tried to wake her up. "Wake up, Mrs. Calloway. This is no time for a beauty sleep."

Mrs. Calloway's eyes opened slowly, then she looked at her friend. "Buck? Wha... What happened?" Then she looked around. "And where are we?"

"I asked myself the same question. All I remember was that book that sucked us in and brought us here."

"So... We're not in Patch of Heaven?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Without a doubt, Calloway," Buck said.

"Where are Maggie and the others?"

"I don't know. But whatever this is, we must get out of here and find them," Buck said.

"Ugh, this place makes me shiver all over. This reminds me of the time Maggie and Grace and I went to go catch that Alameda Slim," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Brrr. I know that all too well."

"I wonder who lives here. Because this looks a bit like a castle," Mrs. Calloway said.

Suddenly, Buck's ear twitched, for he heard something. "Hear that? Someone's coming. We need to hide."

They quickly hid behind a wall, the sound came closer until they saw who or what made it. It was a creature they've never seen before.

Whatever it was, it was considered to be female. The creature was an icily beautiful woman with a serene, unfeeling face and a slender figure. She had pale skin, green eyes, red lips and seemingly penciled-on eyebrows. She wore a purple gown with long sleeves and a red rope belt tied around her waist. She also had a black balaclava that covered her ears, neck and hair, leaving her face exposed. She also wore a long black cloak that appears to be part of the cowl. The cloak is lined with red inside and the bottom of the cloak was lined with white fur. She had a high white collar attached to her cloak. She also wore a golden pendant that seemed to connect with the collar. She also wore orange-yellow high-heel pumps. To top off her appearance, she wore a golden crown atop her head with 5 spikes on the front and a jewel on the tip of the middle and tallest spike.

Buck and Mrs. Calloway couldn't help but stare. The creature passed them by and walked towards a room.

"What is that? It looks like a... Queen," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I don't know. Whatever that is, it gives me the creeps," Buck answered.

The creature went inside the room and the two animals appeared out of their cover.

"Come on. Let's check it out," Buck said and ran towards the room where the creature went.

"Buck, wait. What are you doing?" Mrs. Calloway whispered and ran after him.

The two animals went inside the room the creature went and saw it approaching a large mirror on top of a few stairs. She stood right in front of it, and suddenly... The creature began to speak.

"Slave in the Magic Mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee..." The creature raised her arms and a gust of wind made her cloak wave. "Speak!"

A bolt of lightning appeared on the mirror and then fire appeared. Buck and Mrs. Calloway covered their eyes from the lightning.

"Let me see thy face," the creature said.

The flames disappeared and instead a face appeared on the mirror with smoke appearing behind it. The two animals watched in awe.

"What wouldst thou know, my Queen?" the face asked.

"It is a queen," Mrs. Calloway whispered.

"Shh," Buck said.

"Magic Mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest one of all?" the Queen asked.

Buck paid close attention to all this.

"Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she's more fair than thee," the Mirror said.

"Alas for her. Reveal her name!" the Queen said while she crossed her arms.

"Lips, red as the rose. Hair, black as ebony. Skin, white as snow," the Mirror answered.

The Queen gasped and knew of whom the Mirror was talking about. "Snow White."

Buck and Mrs. Calloway looked at each other.

"A mirror that knows and sees everything?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Wait a minute. Snow White? That's the name Maggie read from that story," Buck said.

"So you're saying... We're in the book?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Yes. The story also mentioned a queen and a mirror. I think that creature over there is that same queen," Buck said.

"She doesn't look very friendly," Mrs. Calloway said.

"We better find a way out of here. If Maggie and the rest are in this place, then we better find them," Buck said.

"Okay," Mrs. Calloway said.

But suddenly, the Queen heard them and turned around.

"Who goes there?" she asked.

"Oh, no. We're discovered. Quick, Mrs. Calloway. We must hide. Follow me," Buck said.

Buck and Mrs. Calloway ran back to the halls, but the Queen went after them not fast and not slow. She may not have seen who the voices belonged to, but she didn't like intruders, especially if they were more fair than her.

"Whoever you are, you cannot hide from me! I will find you! And when I do, I'll decide your fate! That all depends if you are more fair than me," the Queen said with a frightening voice.

She appeared in the halls and started to search for them. Somewhere in those halls, Buck and Mrs. Calloway were hiding under a table.

"What are we going to do?" Mrs. Calloway whispered.

Buck began to think. And then he smiled.

"I've got an idea. I'll stay up to keep an eye on her and to make sure she doesn't find you," Buck said.

"You're leaving me?" Mrs. Calloway asked with a panicked look.

"Shh. It's only for a moment. If she finds one of us or both, who knows what will happen? You need to trust me, Mrs. Calloway," Buck said.

"O-okay. I trust you," Mrs. Calloway said.

"You stay here and be as quiet as possible. I will also try to find a way out of this castle," Buck said.

They hugged each other.

"Please, don't stay away for too long," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Hey, it's me. Remember?" Buck said and stood up.

Buck carefully got out of the hiding place and looked around. He saw the Queen still looking for them in every corner. She was too far away from Mrs. Calloway's hiding place. Good. That gave Buck a little time to find an exit. He walked fast, but silently. Suddenly, he saw a door. He squeed a little and returned back to where the Queen was.

"I know you're hiding here somewhere," the Queen said.

She walked further. She was heading towards Mrs. Calloway's hiding place.

"Are you here?" the Queen said and released a powerful gust of wind from her hands to blow away some furniture. This made Mrs. Calloway squeal.

The Queen heard that. "Got you!" she said and ran towards Mrs. Calloway's hiding spot.

"Oh, no," Buck whispered. He quickly lowered to the ground, grabbed a drinking cup from a table, and threw it against the wall. The Queen, who was very close to Mrs. Calloway, who was doing her very best to stay hidden, heard that.

"What was that?" the Queen asked and ran towards the sound.

In a flash, Buck ran straight to Mrs. Calloway. Mrs. Calloway hyperventilated a little.

"Come on, Mrs. Calloway. I found a way out. Follow me and stay hidden," Buck said.

He began to walk while Mrs. Calloway followed, but also made sure that the Queen didn't see them. Meanwhile, the Queen was where she heard the sound. She picked up the drinking cup and examined it.

"I've been tricked, but they won't escape me," she said and searched further.

Mrs. Calloway kept hiding while she followed Buck. After a few minutes of walking and staying hidden, they finally found the door that Buck found.

"Here it is. Okay, let's get outside before that Queen captures us," Buck said.

Buck slowly opened the door, and they both went through it. The Queen was still searching, but would find out soon that her search was for naught. Mrs. Calloway and Buck found themselves outside in a courtyard, glad that the worst was over.

"Phew, I'm glad that's over," Buck said.

But when they looked straight forward, their eyes widened.

Chapter 3: Meeting Snow White

Maggie, Lucky Jack, and Grace walked through the forest-like area into town. However, the town looked more like a ghost town to them since there weren't any signs of life... Yet.

"So let me get this straight. We're inside that book?" Grace asked.

"No doubt about it," Maggie said.

"I don't see any civilians here. I wonder where they are," Lucky Jack said while looking around.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," said Grace, who also looked around.

"Ah, come on, Grace. No one is going to hurt your pretty head. Not as long as Lucky Jack and Auntie Maggie are here," Maggie said.

Grace rolled her eyes a bit when Maggie called herself 'Auntie Maggie'.

"I still wonder where Mrs. Calloway and Buck are," Grace said.

"I hear you, missy. I sure hope nothing bad has happened to them," Lucky Jack said.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll find them," Maggie said.

Suddenly, a door slammed shut and the cows and rabbit heard the sound.

"Did you hear that?" Grace asked.

"Yes, someone closed his or her door. This is just like the time when I arrived for the first time in Patch of Heaven," Maggie said.

"Maybe we should show the folks here that we ain't dangerous," Lucky Jack said.

"Maybe I can do that," Grace said and skipped towards one of the houses. She knocked on the door. "Hello?! My name is Grace. And me and my friends mean no harm."

She waited for a response, but no one opened the door. Grace looked through the window.

"Is... Anyone there?" Grace asked.

Suddenly, the curtains were closed in front of her. She tried various houses, but all ended with the same result. She walked back towards her friends.

"That's strange. No one wants to come out. What if they're scared?" Grace asked.

"I'm sure they just want to be left alone," Lucky Jack said.

"I'm not sure why they're scared, but we need to go further. I think we should start at that castle. Let's go, everyone," Maggie said.

Everyone walked towards the castle. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped at one of the castle walls.

"I wonder who lives here," Lucky Jack said.

"A king? A queen? A prince? A princess?" Grace asked.

"Guys, focus. We've got two problems at the moment. We don't know if there will be a way back to Patch of Heaven and we don't know where Mrs. Calloway and Buck are," Maggie said.

"Don't panic, Maggie. There will be a way out. And we will find Buck and Mrs. Calloway," Grace said while placing a hoof on Maggie's shoulder.

Suddenly, they heard something. It was like someone was humming a song.

"Hear that?" Lucky Jack asked.

"I hear it, Jack," Maggie said.

"It sure sounds lovely. I wonder where it's coming from," Grace said.

"Only one way to find out. We'll climb over the walls," Maggie said.

"But how are we going to do that?" Grace asked.

Maggie thought a bit, and suddenly, an idea came up. "Wait here."

Maggie ran in the direction of the town. After a few minutes of waiting, she finally returned with a ladder.

"We'll use this ladder," Maggie explained and placed it against the castle wall. "Come along."

One by one, they climbed on the ladder while the humming went on. When they reached the top, they hung on it and they saw who or what was humming that song. They didn't know who that was, but by listening to the sound, they knew it was a girl. She was completely dressed in rags and wore clogs on her feet. She was washing a staircase in a courtyard while she was surrounded by white doves. She hummed on like she didn't have a care in the world. The cows and rabbit couldn't keep their eyes away from the creature.

"What is that?" Grace asked.

"It looks exactly like our owner, Pearl. Ollie said they're called humans, which is a word I know about, but never heard it," Maggie explained.

"I think she looks lovely. And she sounds lovely, too," Grace said.

"Hold on a minute. We don't even know if it's dangerous," Lucky Jack said while Grace curiously began to walk furthur.

"A girl who washes a staircase and hum a little song is dangerous? Really?" Maggie asked with narrow eyes.

"You got a point there," Lucky Jack said. "So what do we do?"

"We could..." Maggie looked at her friend, but saw that Grace was missing. "Where's Grace?"

They both looked around to find their friend. Suddenly, Lucky Jack's mouth went wide. He pulled on Maggie's tail and pointed at the direction where he was looking. Maggie looked in Lucky Jack's direction and her eyes went wide. They saw Grace walking straight towards the human girl. The girl was still scrubbing the staircase. She sighed a little, grabbed the bucket and splashed the water on it. When she turned around, she was completely surprised.

"Uh, hello?" Grace said nervously.

The girl screamed a little and fell to the ground while dropping the bucket. The yellow cow backed up a bit.

"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?" Grace asked.

"Grace! What are you doing?!" Maggie yelled while she and Lucky Jack appeared from the wall to the courtyard.

"Just saying 'Hello'," Grace said.

"By sneaking up on her? Look at what you did. You scared the poor thing," Maggie said after she and the rabbit fell from the wall to the ground.

"We're so sorry, miss. We didn't mean to scare ya. Can you forgive us?" Lucky Jack asked.

The human girl slowly stood up. She didn't expect any of that at all.

"It's okay, miss. We're not here to hurt you," Maggie said, trying to not scare her.

"W-why, you're animals," the girl said with a smile.

"Well, duh, what did you expect? Seven tiny little men?" Maggie said.

The other cow and rabbit looked at her with a puzzled look.

"Oh, my. I never met such strange different animals before, especially ones that can talk. May I... Touch one of you?" the girl asked.

The animals looked at each other until Grace broke the silence. "Um, sure... I guess."

The girl reached out her hand. The creature was still new for the animals, especially Grace. The girl's hand came closer to her. Grace hesitated a little, but then she brought her muzzle closer to the hand. The girl gasped a little when she felt the soft fur of the cow. She began to explore more of the soft fur and suddenly she caressed Grace behind the ear. The kind cow didn't know how, but she found it rather... Soothing and relaxing. She closed her eyes while she enjoyed the feeling.

"You have such soft fur. It feels so nice," the girl said while she scratched behind Grace's ear. The cow still enjoyed the feeling.

Maggie and Lucky Jack looked at each other.

"Does it feel that good, Grace?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, it absolutely does," Grace said.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"Oh, allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Maggie. This is Grace. We're cows," Maggie said.

"Pleased to meet you, miss. Sorry that I scared you earlier," Grace said.

"It's all right. I just didn't expect strange animals to come here," the girl said and looked at the cow she caressed. "Grace. That's a lovely name."

"And this is Lucky Jack, he's a jackrabbit," Maggie finished.

The girl stopped scratching and petting Grace and went to the rabbit. "Oh, he's so adorable."

Lucky Jack looked at his friends with a smirk. "Well, well, well."

"It's so nice to meet you all. My name is Snow White," the girl said with a curtsey.

"Snow White? That's a very nice name," Grace said.

"Thank you," Snow White said. "But where do you come from?"

"We're not exactly from here. We're from Patch of Heaven," Maggie explained.

"I never heard of Patch of Heaven before. What have you come to do here?" Snow White asked.

"It's kinda difficult to explain. You won't believe us," Maggie said.

"I'm talking to strange talking animals from a different land. I believe everything you say," Snow White said.

"Well, it all started with a book. I..." But before Lucky Jack could tell further, the door on top of the stairs opened and revealed a familiar horse and black cow.

"Phew, I'm glad that's over," Buck said.

The two looked in front of them and their eyes widened. Maggie, Grace and Lucky Jack had the same reaction. Snow White also couldn't believe her eyes.

"Buck!" Maggie yelled with joy.

"Mrs. Calloway!" Grace and Lucky Jack said.

The cows and rabbit went to their missing friends. When Maggie ran closer to Buck, she pounced and hugged him. Snow White watched them.

"There's more of them?" she asked herself.

"I'm so glad to see you, dear," Mrs. Calloway said while she hugged Maggie.

"Where have you guys been?" Buck asked while he hugged the rest of his friends.

"We were in a forest. We saw the castle and town from that spot. We thought you might be there after we separated," Maggie said.

"Well, you sure are in luck that me and Mrs. Calloway ended up in this castle," Buck said. Then he saw Snow White and gave a look of confusion and wariness. "Uh... Who is that?"

"Oh, this is our new friend, Snow White," Maggie said.

"Friend?" Buck asked.

"I know we've met her just yet, but she's very friendly. And I think she made a special bond with Grace," Maggie explained when she saw her kind friend and Snow White having a good conversation.

Buck and Mrs. Calloway walked along with the rest of their friends to the human girl. Grace was assertive enough to introduce her missing friends to her.

"Snow White, I'd like you to meet my two other friends. Buck and Mrs. Calloway."

"It's so nice to meet you," Snow White said with a smile.

"The pleasure is all ours, dear," Mrs. Calloway said. "Though I must say that your choice of clothes is a little...how shall I say it nicely?"

"Poor?" Snow White asked.

"I was gonna say 'in need', but okay," Mrs. Calloway said.

"It's okay. These are not my regular clothes. My stepmother wants me to wear them," Snow White explained.

"Your stepmother?" Maggie asked.

"The Queen," Snow White said.

Buck and Mrs. Calloway's eyes became as small as pinpricks. The Queen who was chasing them was her stepmother?

"I didn't know your stepmother had such bad taste in clothes," Mrs. Calloway said.

"She wants me to do all the work. Clean the windows, wash the stairs and such while she's busy with other things," Snow White said.

"Oh, my, she let you do all the work all by yourself?" Grace asked.

"That's just sick," Buck said.

"Don't worry, I'm very efficient when it comes to work. I'm sure she means well somewhere," Snow White said.

"A hard worker, huh? I like that," Maggie said.

"Wait a minute, so the Queen is your stepmother? Don't you have a mother?" Buck asked.

"No, sadly not," Snow White answered while looking down at the ground.

"What about a father?" Lucky Jack asked.

"Daddy isn't here anymore," Snow White said.

"Oh, you poor thing. That must have been devastating," Grace said while placing her hoof on Snow White's leg.

"It's okay," Snow White said while petting Grace.

"So your stepmother is a queen? Your parents must have been of royal blood, too. Does this mean...?" Mrs. Calloway asked with wonder.

"Yes. I'm a princess," Snow White said.

The cows, horse and rabbit looked wide eyed at their new human friend. Especially Grace, who had the biggest smile on her face.

"A princess, Maggie! She's a princess! She's a..." Grace said, but then Mrs. Calloway placed a hoof on her mouth to make her stop.

"I think we all get the picture, Grace." Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie began to think. "Wait a minute. Princess... Stepmother... Of course, now I remember. The first sentences of the story."

The other cows, horse, and rabbit nodded in unison because they remembered it, too.

"So, uh, Snow White. Can I call you Snowy?" Buck asked.

Snow White giggled and nodded.

"Aren't you tired that that Queen lets you do all the work?" Grace asked.

Snow White grabbed the empty bucket and walked towards the well. "Like I said, I'm very efficient with work. But still... I hope someday my wish would come true." She placed the bucket on the ground and pulled on the rope of the well. While she did that, a few white doves landed on the stone edge of the well. When the bucket came out of the well, Snow White carefully grabbed it.

"What wish?" Lucky Jack asked.

"Jack, you can't ask that. If someone tells you his or her wish, it won't come true," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Yeah. Especially when you're dreaming in your sleep," Maggie said.

"Can't you give us a hint, Snow White? I hope there's nothing wrong with that," Lucky Jack asked.

"Well... Want to know a secret?" Snow White asked.

The animals looked at each other and nodded quickly. They also didn't realize that she was also talking to the doves, who also nodded.

"Promise not to tell?" she asked.

And the cows, horse, rabbit, and doves gave one nod. And suddenly, she started to sing.

"We are standing by a wishing well." With that, the animals looked inside the well and so did the doves. "Make a wish into the well that's all you have to do. And if you hear it echoing, your wish will soon come true. I'm wishing."

And suddenly, her voice echoed in the well. "(I'm wishing.)" It made the doves a little scared, and the cows, horse, and rabbit flinched back a little. And then they came closer again.

"For the one I love to find me (to find me) today. (today.) I'm hoping (I'm hoping) And I'm dreaming of the nice things (the nice things) he'll say. (he'll say.)"

The cows, horse, and rabbit couldn't help but enjoy the song. None of them knew that a stranger was climbing over the castle wall. He was amazed that there were five creatures he never saw before, but he was more mesmerized by Snow White's beautiful singing.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh) (3x)"

And then she sang together with her echo before going further.

"I'm wishing (I'm wishing) for the one I love to find me (to find me) today."

"TODAY!" sang a new voice. It startled both Snow White and the animals.

It was the stranger who climbed over the wall. From what the animals could tell he was of the same species as Snow White. The only difference is that he is a male. And a very handsome one, too. He wore some blue clothing with white sleeves and grey pants. He wore boots, a red cape and a blue hat with a white feather.

"Oh," Snow White said with her hand covering her mouth.

"Hello," the stranger said while taking his hat off. "Did I frighten you?"

Then Snow White began running away from him. The doves were also flying away. Mrs. Calloway and Grace noticed this.

"Snow White?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Where are you going?" Grace asked.

The two cows followed the Princess in rags while the rest stayed with the male human.

"Wait. Wait, please. Don't run away," the male pleaded.

"What's the matter with her? He just said 'Hello'," Buck said to his friends.

Snow White ran inside the castle and closed the door. Mrs. Calloway and Grace opened the door to follow her. Snow White ran up some stairs that led to a balcony with drapes. The two cows were just in time to catch up to her.

"Whatever is the matter, dear? The boy didn't mean to scare you," Mrs. Calloway said.

"He just wanted to say 'hello'. Even if he startled us a little," Grace said.

"I... I..." Snow White said.

"It's all right. We're here for you. Why don't you go outside and talk to him?" Mrs. Calloway said while Grace placed her hoof on Snow White's back.

"I don't know if I can. What am I going to do? What should I say?" Snow White asked.

"Just open your mouth. Something will come out," Mrs. Calloway said.

Snow White was about to say something, but suddenly they heard singing.

"Now that I've found you Here's what I have to say"

Snow White looked outside and saw that the male who startled her was singing. She couldn't help but smile a little. Maggie, Buck, and Lucky Jack couldn't help but watch and stare at the male human who was singing his heart to the girl on the balcony. They actually enjoyed the singing.

"One song I have but one song One song Only for you"

Snow White watched for a few seconds and went back inside with her arms around her and a smile on her face. Mrs. Calloway and Grace heard it and smiled at each other.

"By listening to that song, I can tell that somebody likes you," Mrs. Calloway said with a smirk. "Go outside. You know it's improper not responding to a gentleman who gives his heart to you."

Snow White thought for a little and then nodded. She looked at her clothes to see if she wasn't dirty or anything. She also made sure her hair was fine.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure he thinks you're beautiful no matter what you wear," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I agree with Mrs. Calloway," Grace said.

Snow White smiled at that and slowly went outside on the balcony. She placed her hands on the balcony while she looked at the male human. Mrs. Calloway and Grace joined her by standing on their hind legs and placing their front hooves on the balcony to look and listen to the human. Three doves also joined the girl and the cows.

"One heart Tenderly beating Ever entreating Constant and true" sang the male human.

The animals kept listening and smiling. Suddenly, Maggie's smile vanished and her eyes were focused on one of the windows on the castle. A woman was holding the curtains while watching the scenery of Snow White and the male human. She didn't look very happy. She stared at them with a look that could kill. In anger and disgust, she closed the curtains. Maggie gulped in worry and focused her attention back to the male human.

"One love that has possessed me One love thrilling me through One song my heart keeps singing Of one love only for you"

While the male human was about to sing his final sentence, a dove flew on Snow White's hand and she gave it a kiss on the beak. Mrs. Calloway had the idea of what she was planning to do. Snow White sent the dove towards the man which landed on his finger. The dove blushed a little and gave a kiss on the lips of the man. Never felt the man so happy as he looked at the girl he was fallen in love with. Mrs. Calloway and Grace followed Snow White, who closed the curtains with a smile on her face. The animals in the courtyard all said 'awww'.

"Wow! I've never seen such romance in all my life," Maggie said.

"That was sooooo cute!" Lucky Jack yelled.

"Pfrt. Looks like some mushy stuff to me," Buck said, trying to act cool.

"Oh, come now, Buck. Don't you read romance novels?" Maggie asked.

"Not even one of them. I'm more into adventure and action," Buck said.

"Oh, yeah? How come you asked Pearl to borrow a few after you read 'Trot with the Wind'?" Lucky Jack asked with a smirk on his face.

Buck's eyes went wide after he heard that and blushed. "Be... Because I'm... Trying something new."

The animals giggled a little. The male human turned around and saw them. He walked towards them, and the cow, horse, and rabbit stared at him. He kneeled to their level and said one word. "Hello."

"Hello," Buck and Lucky Jack said, except Maggie, who said 'Hi'.

"I've never seen such strange animals like you here before. Not even talking ones," the man said.

"That's because we're not really from here, sir," Lucky Jack said.

"We come from Patch of Heaven. I know it sounds strange, but we ended up here because of a book that Lucky Jack found and we got sucked in," Maggie explained. The man nodded. "Have you got names?"

"I'm Maggie. These are my friends, Buck and Lucky Jack." While Maggie introduced herself and her friends, Grace and Mrs. Calloway came out of the door and walked towards their friends. "And this is Grace and Mrs. Calloway."

"Pleased to meet you all. My name is Prince Florian," the man introduced himself.

"Prince?" Grace said with wide eyes.

"Your Majesty," Mrs. Calloway said respectfully.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Can I ask you animals the name of the beautiful girl with the lovely singing voice?" the Prince asked.

"Sure. Her name is Snow White. We just met her a few minutes ago," Maggie said.

"Snow White. What a lovely name," the Prince said.

"Sounds like somebody has a bit of a crush," Maggie said with a smirk.

The Prince blushed a little and rubbed his neck.

"You're not the only one. Snow White likes you, too. The kiss with the dove thingy is proof," Grace said.

"We kinda noticed that, Grace," Buck said.

"I would like to spend more time with her, but for now I need to go back to my kingdom. It's an honor to meet you and your friends, Miss Maggie," the Prince said with a bow.

"The honor is mine, too, Your Majesty," Maggie bowed, and the rest of her friends, too.

"Please, call me Florian. Every friend of Snow White is a friend of mine," the Prince said and jumped on the wall again to get to the other side.

"That Prince sure is a nice feller," Lucky Jack said.

"He sure is. Right, Maggie?" Grace said. But when she turned to Maggie, she saw that she had an uncomfortable look on her face. "Maggie?"

The other animals noticed it, too. "Maggie? Is everything all right?" asked Mrs. Calloway, who came back to Earth, thanks to Grace.

"When Florian was singing, I saw a woman looking at him and Snow White through a castle window. I felt something from her. Something evil," Maggie said.

"Wait, did that woman wear a crown?" Buck asked.

"How do you know that?" Maggie asked.

"Because me and Mrs. Calloway saw her, too. That's the Queen. She tried to catch us. Something about deciding our fate," Buck said.

The animals gasped at that.

"That doesn't sound good," Lucky Jack said.

"What should we do, Maggie?" Grace asked.

"I don't know. I don't even have a clue of how to get back to Patch of Heaven, but it wouldn't hurt to explore more of this world and hang out with Snow White," Maggie said.

The animals nodded. After a few minutes, Snow White appeared along with a bearded man dressed in brown clothing, dark green sleeves and grey gloves. He also wore a hat with a red feather on top and he seemed to wear a scabbard with a knife in it.

"There you are, my friends. This is Humbert. He's a huntsman. Don't worry, he's very kind," Snow White said with a confident smile.

"Pleased to meet you. Though I didn't expect Her Majesty has strange talking cows, a horse, and a rabbit as friends," said the man named Humbert.

"Nice to meet you, too, Humbert," Maggie said.

"He's going to take me to a glade near the forest to pick some wildflowers. Would you like to come along?" Snow White asked.

"Oh, I'll be glad, too. I would like to pick some wildflowers, too," Grace said.

Maggie began to smile. "I know! We could have a picnic together."

"That's a great idea, Maggie," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I'll get the food!" Lucky Jack said with glee.

After half an hour, the cows, horse, rabbit, Snow White, and Humbert were ready to go to the glade, not knowing that they were being watched by the wicked Queen through her window.

Chapter 4: Into the Woods

Far away from the castle at the edge of the forest, the cows, horse, rabbit, and Snow White were enjoying themselves. There were a few clouds in the sky, but at least the sun was shining. Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, Grace, Buck, Lucky Jack, and Snow White enjoyed a great picnic, even Humbert was allowed to join. He wasn't that much hungry, but he took a sandwich that Lucky Jack made, which he found delicious. Maggie couldn't help but notice that something was on the Huntsman's mind. Sometimes, she asked if there was a problem, and the Huntsman answered 'no'. Maggie couldn't help but feel suspicious about him.

After the picnic, the cows, horse, and rabbit were 'chillaxing' like Buck would say while Grace and Snow White picked up some wildflowers from a glade near a river. Snow White sang a happy tune and Grace couldn't help but sing along. After Snow White met her prince, she couldn't help but smile every time she thought about him. Even Grace was happy for her. While the two talked about the Prince, Humbert stood next to his horse, watching over the Princess and her new friends. While our heroes were chillaxing, Maggie came closer to Mrs. Calloway for a conversation.

"Um, Mrs. Calloway?" she asked.

"Yes, Maggie?"

"Can I talk to you privately?"

"Sure." The two walked over to a few trees, meeting face to face.

"Mrs. Calloway, I don't want to be rude. But don't you sense anything suspicious on Humbert?"

"What do you mean?" the black cow asked.

"I think he's hiding something that he doesn't want us to know. I could see it on his face that something's troubling him. I even asked if there were any troubles in an attempt to help him, but he said there was nothing wrong. I'm telling you, Calloway, there's something not right and it makes me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs," Maggie said.

"Are you sure you're not overreacting about Humbert? Sure, he may look gruff, but he seems like a very kind person, and he sounds like one, too. Besides, if Snow White trusts him, then so do I," Mrs. Calloway said.

"But are we sure that we should put our trust in a huntsman? I mean, what if he's going to hunt us?" Maggie asked.

"I know. When I heard that he hunts animals sometimes, I wasn't happy with that. And neither was Grace. But he's a very gentle person, according to Snow White. So we should at least give him a chance and know him better. Don't you think?" Mrs. Calloway said.

"Weeeell," Maggie thought. "I guess you're right. Maybe I'm overreacting a skosh."

Mrs. Calloway smiled at that. The two suddenly paid their attention to Snow White and Grace, who were picking wildflowers and talking to each other about certain things. Snow White wore a court dress, consisting of a dark blue bodice with a high white collar; her short puffy sleeves are a lighter blue color than her bodice and the red cloth poking through exemplifying the "slashing" design, which was very fashionable in Tudor times. It involved cutting the cloth on the outside of the outfit and pulling through another layer of cloth from underneath. The long and shapeless yellow skirt had a white petticoat and it flowed right down to her ankles with tan pumps decorated with yellow bows. She also wore a brown cape with a red interior. Snow White's short black hair was styled in a bob and parted in the middle. And she wore a red headband with a bow.

"Those two sure know how to amuse themselves. It's almost as if they were meant to be close friends," Maggie said.

"They sure are," Mrs. Calloway said with a smile.

While Maggie and Mrs. Calloway had a conversation, Snow White and Grace were picking wildflowers and talking about various things. Snow White talked about her life and her interests. Grace also spoke about her interests and her life in Patch of Heaven, even about the dangers she and her friends faced.

"Wow, you faced a real outlaw? Weren't you scared?" Snow White asked.

"A little. But it didn't stop me from showing my side of kindness."

"Your world sounds wonderful. It sounds like we have a lot in common. I'm happy to call you and the others my friends," Snow White said with a smile.

"I'm happy, too," Grace said, returning a smile.

Then Snow White sang 'One Song', and Grace joined. Suddenly, they stopped singing, because a little bluebird was chirping. It looked like it was crying. The human girl and the yellow cow laid the flowers on the grass and walked straight to the little bird. "Hello there," Snow White said.

The baby bird saw them coming and chirped a little. "What's the matter?" Snow White asked while she scooped the bird in her hands.

"You can talk to forest animals, too?" Grace asked, amazed.

"Yes, just like you. Amazing, isn't it?"

Grace smiled and they both turned their attention to the little bird again. "Where's your mama and papa?" Grace asked.

The bird chirped a little more. "Why. I believe you're lost. Oh, please don't cry," Snow White said while comforting the bird.

Neither of them knew that Humbert was watching them from a few meters. He looked around to make sure no one else was around like he was planning to do something awful. Meanwhile, Snow White and Grace were still comforting the baby bird that was still crying. "Come on. Perk up," Snow White said.

"Won't you smile for us?" Grace asked, and the bird chirped and gave a small smile.

Snow White laughed a little. "That's better."

At that moment, Humbert took out his knife from his sheath and went closer to the human girl and the cow.

Meanwhile, Buck was 'chillaxing' in the heat of the sun in a tree with sunglasses on. "Ah. I never knew chillaxing in another world would be awesome. I should do this more often." He placed his hooves behind his head while resting on a branch. Suddenly, he lifted his sunglasses because he saw something strange. "Is that Humbert? Why is he sneaking up on Snow White and Grace? And what is that shiny thing in his hand?" he asked himself. He took a closer look and saw what Humbert was holding in his hand. His eyes went wide. His pupils became as small as pinpricks. "Oh, no. He's not going to... He wouldn't... Yes, he would! MAGGIE!" In a flash, Buck ran straight towards Maggie and Mrs. Calloway. "Maggie! Mrs. Calloway! Snow White. Grace. Humbert. HELP!" he shouted.

Maggie and Mrs. Calloway looked at each other and back to Buck with raised eyebrows. "Buck. I don't understand a word you're saying," Mrs. Calloway said.

Buck growled. "Humbert is going to kill Snow White and Grace!"

"WHAT?!" Maggie and Mrs. Calloway both said in unison.

"I knew something wasn't right about him. Come on, guys!" Maggie said and ran as fast she could. Mrs. Calloway and Buck ran after her.

Meanwhile, Lucky Jack was lying on his belly on a blanket, still 'chillaxing', but suddenly, Maggie grabbed him. Lucky Jack's eyes snapped opened while Mrs. Calloway ran after them.

"What's the matter?" Lucky Jack asked.

"No time to explain. We've got to stop Humbert before he does something to Snow White and Grace!" Mrs. Calloway said.

Lucky Jack raised an eyebrow. "Humbert? Pft. Nonsense, I'm sure he's just... WHAT?!" His eyes widened and his ears perked up in shock.

"Hurry!" Buck said while they all kept running.

Grace and Snow White were still with the baby bird. "Your mama and papa can't be far," Grace said.

"That's true. With a bird as young as this one, the parents won't leave it alone for long," Snow White said.

The bird chirped a little. "There they are." Snow White pointed to a tree.

The Huntsman came closer and closer with frightening eyes.

"Can you fly?" Grace asked, and the bird flew away. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" Snow White said.

Once they turned around, a shadow walked amongst them. Grace gasped and Snow White began to scream. The Huntsman was about to strike. Snow White covered her face with her arms and Grace clunged tightly on Snow White while closing her eyes and screaming for her life. At that moment, Maggie and her friends arrived in time, and all of them gasped loudly at the sight. The Huntsman held his knife high in the air, ready to strike, but suddenly, his hand shivered like he was trying to stop himself. Finally, he dropped the knife to the ground.

"I can't. I can't do it!" Humbert said while placing his hands on his face in shame and regret. He knelt down and grabbed the skirt of Snow White to cover his tearful eyes. "Forgive me. I beg of Your Highness and milady, forgive me."

"Forgive you? FORGIVE YOU?!" Buck yelled in anger while he ran closer to the Huntsman, who stood on his feet again. "You were going to murder two of our best friends! Two innocent beings!"

"And Snow White is a princess, for crying out loud! Were you seriously going to kill a harmless princess?! What did she ever do to you?!" Mrs. Calloway added.

"Was that what you were hiding from us? From me? An attempt of murder on us?! You can't lie to this cow!" Maggie said with a dangerous glare.

"I thought we could trust you. I thought you were our friend!" Lucky Jack said.

"Miladies, gentlemen. You don't understand this. I had to," Humbert said with regret in his voice.

"But why? Like Mrs. Calloway said, what happened that made you want to do this, Humbert?" Maggie asked.

"There was no other way. I was forced to do this," Humbert said.

"I don't understand," Snow White said in confusion while standing with her back against the wall. Grace was pretty confused about all that, too.

"She's mad, jealous of you! She'll stop at nothing!" the Huntsman explained.

"But, but who?" Snow White asked.

"The Queen."

"THE QUEEN?!" everyone said in unison.

"Yes, the Queen. She's extremely jealous of your beauty, Your Highness. And of you five as well." Humbert pointed at them.

The animals gasped at that.

"Your personalities might be different, but your beauty is just as radiant as that of Snow White. That's why she wants you gone. That's why she asked me to kill you," Humbert said while placing his hands in front of his face again.

"Oh, no. What do we do now?" Grace asked in fear.

"I don't know. This is big. Very big," Maggie said in panic.

"Well, we've got to think of something. Our lives depend on it, and most of all, the life of Snow White," Mrs. Calloway said.

"All right, all right. I'm trying to think," Maggie said while trying to think of a solution.

"Wait. I think I got it. What if we make the Queen 'think' we're dead?" Buck asked.

"And how are we going to do that? I don't think the Queen would be that stupid to believe it," Maggie said.

"Your friend is right. How are we suppose to do that? She wants me to bring her proof," the Huntsman said.

"Proof?" Lucky Jack asked.

"What kind of proof?" Maggie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Her..." Humbert hesitated a little, but with great pain, he said it. "Her heart."

Mrs. Calloway let out a horrifying gasp and spoke softly. "That's terrible. What an evil, wicked..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Lucky Jack had been thinking and finally had an idea. "Wait a minute! A heart is a heart, right? It could be any heart. Like, from a wild bear or a pig or something. She wouldn't see the difference."

The Huntsman was thinking about that plan. "That... Could work. That would fool her completely."

"Oh, but then the poor animal will..." Grace said with a look of sorrow.

"Shh. It's okay, Grace," Maggie said, comforting Grace.

"I promise you, milady. The death of the animal I will hunt shall not be in vain," Humbert said.

"We don't have a choice, Grace. It will give us time to flee," Mrs. Calloway said.

Grace took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I never wanted to do this," Humbert said pleadingly.

"I forgive you," said Snow White, who was still shocked about all of that.

"We forgive you, too. And thank you," Grace said.

"Now, quick, children, run. Run away, hide! In the woods! Anywhere! Never come back! Make sure she doesn't find you! Now, go. Go! Go!" Humbert yelled. With that, Snow White, the cows, horse, and rabbit ran away as fast as they could. "Run! Run! Hide! Everywhere!"

The deeper the company went into the woods, the darker and scarier it became for them. They had to force their way through vines first, much to Mrs. Calloway's distaste. They stopped at a tree with glowing yellow eyes. But it was revealed to be an owl that screeched loudly and flew away. By running into a different direction, they faced a cave where bats flew out.

Snow White, who was running in front, suddenly got stuck by branches. She gasped in horror, and the more she looked at the branches, the more they looked like horrifying hands that wanted to grab her. The same feeling also went through some of the animals like Mrs. Calloway and Grace for example. However, Maggie shoved the branches away from her friends and ran further.

"Is it me or is this forest getting scarier and scarier?" Lucky Jack said frighteningly.

Grace also got suddenly stuck by a bush that looked like hands or claws. But she knew how to get herself free. Then at some point, they stopped at a tree. The tree suddenly seemed to get a creepy face. Snow White and the animals screamed by this.

They ran further in the forest, but suddenly fell into a deep hole. Some kind of tree that looked like a crocodile opened its eye and watched the company fall. They all hung tight to a few vines to stop them from falling deeper.

"Goodness me. This forest is much worse than the forest back home," Mrs. Calloway said while holding on to a vine.

"Hold on, everyone! You, too, Snow White!" Maggie yelled.

Snow White pushed herself to hold the vine tight, but suddenly, a small crack was heard. The vine snapped and Snow White fell in the water below them. It didn't take long before the rest fell in the water, too. The waves of the water caused the logs that were floating on it to move, and suddenly, they looked like giant crocodiles that tried to eat them.

"My beautiful hat!" Mrs. Calloway yelled.

"Seriously, you're worried about your hat right now?" Buck said.

Snow White and Grace noticed the crocodile logs and screamed for their lives.

"Let's get out of here!" Maggie yelled.

The company came out of the water, and no sooner, they met another tree.

"That's it! I've had it with all these log crocodiles and evil trees!" Buck shouted and tried to charge at the tree. But the tree had a mind of its own, it raised its claws above its head and blew a big gust of wind from its mouth that blew Buck back to the company. The cows, rabbit, and Snow White fell like bowling pins to the ground when Buck hit them. Then he quickly sprang to his feet. "RUUUUUN!"

They ran further while leaves flew behind them. And now even more evil trees appeared in the forest while they ran. With a few bats flying around them, they began to scream, for they were being surrounded by more trees. The trees all looked menacingly at them and tried to grab them. Maggie tried to back them off in anyway she could, but there were still too many.

"What do we do now?!" Lucky Jack asked in fear.

More and more trees and scary looking eyes surrounded them until it became too much for the company. They all screamed in terror and collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 5: Animal Friends

Snow White and Grace couldn't help but cry because of this nightmare. The other animals were huddling close together, wishing that the nightmare would end. None of them knew that they were still surrounded by eyes. But those eyes were different. A family of bunnies and chipmunks appeared out of a hole and watched the cows, horse, rabbit, and the girl with curiosity and confusion. But they were not the only ones, an entire herd of forest animals appeared out of the shadows of the forest. Deers, squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks, quails, and even a few bluebirds. They all came closer towards the company, especially to the crying girl and cow.

One little bunny was more curiouser than the rest. It came closer to the girl and cow, and even sniffed at them. Snow White and Grace stood up from the ground and were a bit startled when they saw the bunny. The bunny got startled, too, and ran away with the other forest animals to their hiding spots. The other two cows, horse, and rabbit opened their eyes.

"Please, don't run away," Grace said.

With that, all the forest animals showed their heads.

"We won't hurt you," Snow White said, trying not to scare the forest animals.

"Uh, what happened? Where are all those scary trees and such?" Buck asked.

"Now, I don't even know if that was all real, but it was definitely scary," Lucky Jack said while he shook in fear.

"It's okay, Jack. Maybe it was just our imagination," Mrs. Calloway said.

"If that's true, then I guess we scared these little fellers," Maggie said.

"We're awfully sorry. We didn't mean to frighten you. But you don't know what we've been through," Snow White said as more of the forest animals took the courage to show themselves. "And all because we were afraid."

"It was so frightening. I never want to deal with that again," Grace said.

"Me, neither," Buck said while rocking.

"I didn't know you were scared about that whole ordeal." Maggie smirked at him.

"Me? What about you? I was totally not scared," Buck said with a cocky attitude.

"Says the horse that told us to 'run'," Maggie said with a raised eyebrow.

"Touché," Buck said.

"Maybe we were overreacting and let our imagination get the best of us," Mrs. Calloway said.

A familiar little bluebird flew from its nest to another branch.

"Oh, I'm so ashamed of the fuss I've made," Snow White said.

"So am I," Grace said. "And I sure hope Humbert will be all right when he faces the Queen again."

"Don't worry, Grace. Humbert sounds like a smart guy. He knows what he does," Maggie said with a smile.

"When things go bad, it's best not to think of the worst. We've got to think positively," Mrs. Calloway said to both Grace and Snow White.

The parents of the little bird flew at its side.

"What do you do when things go wrong?" Snow White asked the birds.

The adult birds twittered beautifully. Like they were singing.

"Oh! You sing a song!" Snow White said with a smile while clapping her hands with delight.

"What a good idea," Grace said with a smile.

"Wait a minute. Snow White can talk to forest animals, too?" Buck asked.

Grace nodded at Buck's question. The mouths of the newcomers went wide open.

The birds twittered yes.

"You don't think they're going to..." Buck said.

But before Buck could finish his sentence, Snow White also began to vocalize while the little bird mimicked her vocalizing. And then Grace began to vocalize, too, and the bird mimicked it, too.

"I think they do," Mrs. Calloway said while watching the scenery before her.

The little bird flew of the branch and landed on Snow White's finger while she vocalized with Grace. The bird began to mimic it. Its parents where nodding to each other, but when their child made a shrill note they shut their eyes very close from the sound. The cows, horse, and rabbit covered their ears and clenched their teeth from the loud note.

"Dude, that bird got some lungs," Buck said.

The little bird looked at its parents and Buck. Snow White and Grace couldn't help but laugh. The little bird smiled. And suddenly, Snow White began to sing.

"With a smile and a song Life is just like a bright, sunny day Your cares fade away And your heart is young"

While she sang, a male deer, a few raccoons and a family of quails heard it. A few birds twittered at that. Then all the forest animals began to come closer not only because of Snow White, but also because of Grace, who began to sang her next line of the song.

"With a smile and a song All the world seems to waken anew Rejoicing with you As the song is sung"

The forest animals, and even a tortoise, came closer to the company. A little chipmunk got more closer and wiggling its tail cutely when Grace sang.

"There's no use in grumbling When raindrops come tumbling"

Grace tried to pet it, but it ran away in a dash. But then it came back again with its little paws on Grace's hoof. Snow White was a bit busy with a fawn. She sang further.

"Remember you're the one Who can fill the world with sunshine"

She petted the fawn, who gladly accepted it. Then a bunny came closer to the duo and the other forest animals went to the rest of the company. Each of them petted the animal they wanted to while Grace and Snow White sang in a duet.

"When you smile and you sing Everything is in tune and it's spring And life flows along With a smile and a sooooooong"

The song ended and the animals were all smiling. Even the birds twittered happily. The cows, horse, and rabbit couldn't help but clap for Snow White and Grace.

"That was amazing!" Lucky Jack said.

Mrs. Calloway was busy petting a little chipmunk. "Oh, aren't you just the cutest thing."

"Wow, that was inspiring. I think that both your love for animals made your friendship even stronger," Maggie said. "Friends with a creature from another world. I gotta write a diary about that when we get back to Patch of Heaven," she said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Woohoo! Go, Snow White and Grace! Encore! Encore!" Buck said.

Snow White and Grace couldn't help but laugh.

"I really feel quite happy now. I'm sure we'll get along somehow," Snow White said.

"Everything's going to be all right," Grace said.

All the forest animals nodded at that.

"Isn't that supposed to be Mrs. Calloway's line?" Lucky Jack whispered to Maggie.

"I think it is," Maggie whispered back.

"I hope we don't have to stay in the forest," Mrs. Calloway said.

"That's right. We still need a place to sleep at night," Snow White said.

A bunny nodded at what she said.

"We can't sleep in the ground like bunnies," Maggie giggled.

The same bunny shook its head.

"Or in a tree like squirrels," Mrs. Calloway said.

The squirrels shook their heads.

"And I'm sure no nest would possibly be big enough for the six of us," Grace said.

"Maybe you know where we can stay," Snow White said to the birds. "In the woods somewhere?"

The birds twittered 'yes'.

"You do?" Grace asked.

The birds twittered once again 'yes'.

"Will you take us there?" Snow White asked.

The birds gently grabbed Snow White's cape and lead her further into the forest. The other forest animals also showed the cows, horse, and rabbit the way.

"Come on, guys. Follow the animals," Maggie said.

They went a little deeper in the forest. They were all happy that it wasn't dark and scary anymore. No evil trees or log crocodiles to worry about, just ordinary trees and the warmth of the sun. Oh, how it felt nice for them to see the light of day after that whole ordeal.

Chapter 6: Whistle While You Work

After a few minutes of walking, the company came to a stop. A few squirrels pulled on a few smaller trees to show Snow White, the cows, horse, and rabbit a pathway that led to a nice little cottage that was centered between a few trees across a tiny brook with a bridge. Rays of sunlight could be seen from the trees. Everyone awed at the sight.

"A cottage," Mrs. Calloway said.

"How lovely. It reminds me of our barn back home," Grace said.

"Oh, its adorable. Just like a doll's house," Snow White said.

"At least it's much bigger than a doll's house, or we wouldn't be able to fit in," Maggie said.

Grace giggled at that. Snow White took the first step to run towards the cottage while the rest followed. Taking the bridge was no problem, even if the brook wasn't that broad. They could easily jump over it if they wanted to. The other forest animals followed them. The tortoise walked very slowly, trying to keep up. But Buck seemed to help the little guy since it reminded him of Rusty back home.

"Come along, little buddy. Try to keep up," Buck said.

When they all approached the cottage, they admired it, especially Snow White.

"I like it here," Snow White said.

Then she went towards a tiny window and cleaned the dust to look what was inside. Lucky Jack and a raccoon did the same thing.

"Ew, the window is dirty. It's like it hasn't been cleaned for days," Lucky Jack said.

"Ooh, and it's dark inside," Snow White said.

"Um... I'm not really comfortable with that," Grace said.

"It's okay, Grace. It looks empty," Maggie said.

"Maybe we should knock on the door for sure," Mrs. Calloway said.

"All right, then," Snow White said.

Snow White walked towards the door and made sure her hair was right. She knocked a few times on the door, but there was no response. She tried again, but still no response.

"Guess there's no one home," she said.

"That's just great. What now?" Buck said.

Lucky Jack approached the door, too, and pushed against the door, which opened a little. "Hey, it isn't closed."

"Really? Who doesn't close the door when he or she leaves? That's totally not safe," Mrs. Calloway said with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe that person just forgot," Maggie said.

"Let's go check inside," Grace said.

Snow White slowly opened the door while it creaked. She looked inside and said, "Hello? May we come in?" But no one gave a response. The cows, horse, rabbit, and forest animals went inside before Snow White motioned them to be quiet. Silently, they walked inside the cottage and looked around. The tortoise was moving slower than usual. The cows, horse, rabbit, forest animals, and human girl still looked around.

"I wonder who lives here," Maggie wondered.

"I hope someone nice and fun," Grace said.

Suddenly, Snow White yelled 'Oh' with her hands raised in the air. It scared the forest animals, Lucky Jack, and Grace so much that they ran back outside while Maggie and the others stood in a defensive stance. Snow White remained in that position before she sat down on a little chair with an owl carved on it. "What a cute little chair!" she said with a smile.

The animals' eyes went wide by that. "A chair?! Seriously?! We thought it was a monster of some kind," Buck said.

"Oops. Sorry I frightened you," Snow White said with a blush.

The forest animals, Lucky Jack, and Grace poked their heads out of the opening, seeing there was no danger, after all.

"It's all right. Mrs. Calloway can get that excited as well," Maggie said.

"It sure is lovely, and look at the carvings," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I like it, too," Grace said.

Snow White looked at the other chairs. "Why, there's seven little chairs. Must be seven children. And from the look of this table, seven untidy little children," she said while she looked at the table that wasn't cleaned up.

"But how can it be children? They can't possibly live on their own," Grace said.

"Whoever lives here must be pretty small to sit on these chairs, maybe about Lucky Jack's size," Maggie said.

"Hey, I'm not 'that' small," Lucky Jack said.

Maggie walked towards the table. "Whoa. They sure didn't clean up before they left."

"How uncouth. This isn't healthy," Mrs. Calloway said.

They all looked at the table. The forest animals also weren't happy with the uncleaned table.

"A pickaxe. A stocking, too!" Snow White laughed while she grabbed the stocking.

"Maybe they're miners, it could explain the pickaxe," Maggie said.

"Or rock farmers!" Buck said while holding a pickaxe.

"Buck, I'm sure they're not rock farmers," Mrs. Calloway said.

Snow White looked inside a pot and grabbed something from it. "And a shoe."

The two adult birds both gave an astonished whistle, and the little bird did the same.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, buddy," Lucky Jack said.

Then they all walked towards the fireplace, which was very dirty. "And just look at that fireplace. It's covered with dust," Snow White said while placing a finger on it and looking at the dust she collected. She blew some of it away and it accidentally landed on Mrs. Calloway's face.

"Uh," Mrs. Calloway said and was on the brink of sneezing. "Ah. Aaah. AAAAHCHOOOO!" The dust landed on three squirrels. Each of them sneezed while the last one sneezed so hard he came inside a mug with a lid. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. Uh, this entire place is covered with dust. It makes me shiver," Mrs. Calloway said while feeling uncomfortable about the dusty place.

"And look, it gets even worse. Cobwebs everywhere. My, my, my," Snow White said while a squirrel accidentally got some cobwebs on its face.

"Oh, no," Mrs. Calloway said while she heard that and began to faint.

"What a pile of dirty dishes," said Grace, who looked at all the dishes that haven't been washed for probably days.

The birds whistled at that because they never saw so many unwashed dishes in their lives.

Snow White gasped. "And just look at that broom."

The forest animals were looking at certain things, too, until they and the newcomer animals looked at a broom that was covered in dust and cobwebs. A few quails tsked at the sight.

"This is a nightmare. A tragedy! Okay, this needs some serious work!" Mrs. Calloway said while she couldn't take the sight of an unclean house anymore.

"Why, they've never swept this room," Snow White said.

"This place is dirtier than the pig's enclosure on a summer's day," Maggie said.

"You'd think their mother would..." Snow White said, but suddenly gasped. "Maybe they have no mother."

An adult deer and a fawn shook their heads by that. Grace saw their response. "They don't?" The deers shook their heads again.

"So they're orphans," Mrs. Calloway said.

The deers nodded. The little fawn came closer to the adult deer that was probably its mother and rubbed its head against the deer's neck.

"That's too bad," Maggie said while she hung her head to the ground, knowing the feeling of losing a parent.

The adult deer licked the fawn's head in affection.

"But we can't just leave the place like this. Can we?" Grace asked.

"I know. We'll clean the house and surprise them. Then maybe they'll let us stay," Snow White said.

"I would be happy to help," Maggie said.

"Me, too," Grace said.

"Well, shoot. Count me in," Buck said.

"You can count on me," Lucky Jack said.

"And I would absolutely do everything to make this cottage stunning," Mrs. Calloway said.

"So how do we start?" Buck asked.

Snow White took off her cape and two birds grabbed it to hang it on a wooden extension. She began to think. "Maggie and Mrs. Calloway, you will help wash the dishes. Buck and Lucky Jack, you help tidy up the room. The rest of you help clean the fireplace. And I will use the broom."

"And what about me?" Grace asked.

"You can help me if you want," Snow White said.

"But I don't have a broom," Grace said.

"Neither does the rest of us, and there's only one broom," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie began to think. "Hold on. I got it. Be right back." She ran outside and fortunately found some logs sitting next an axe. She took the logs and broke them apart with her hooves, and then she put them back together by styling them into brooms. Then she grabbed them and went inside. "Tadaa!"

"Where did you get those?" Snow White asked.

"I just used the cow technique on a few logs. Now we all have a broom," Maggie said.

"The cow technique?" Snow White asked in wonder.

"Way to go, Maggie. I knew you would come in handy," Grace said.

"Well, I am that kinda awesome," Maggie said with a proud smile.

"Hey! That's my line!" Buck said, and the cows, horse, and rabbit each grabbed a broom.

"All right, then. Let's begin," Snow White said.

"You know what would make the cleaning much more fun? A song!" Grace said.

"I can help with that. All right. Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep," Maggie said while sweeping the floor and twirled her broom before sweeping further. "Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep."

"Seriously?" Buck said with a smile. "Are you gonna do that Sweep Dance Remix again? That's not even catchy."

Snow White raised an eyebrow at that. "What is a dance remix?" she asked.

Buck's eyes widened at that and went to Snow White. "Um, we'll explain that after we clean the place."

"Maybe the forest animals know a song, do you?" Grace asked.

The two adult birds twittered 'yes'. And suddenly, they began to twitter in a musical kind of way. And with that, Snow White began to sing and the cows, horse, rabbit, and forest animals began to clean up the cottage.

SNOW WHITE: Just whistle while you work (whistling) And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place

In the meantime, the forest animals were bringing the dishes to a table. The tortoise certainly was having fun. It got a tower of dishes on its back and none of it was about to fall. No sooner, Grace and even the rest of the gang began to sing along with the song.

GRACE: So hum a merry tune (humming) It won't take long when there's a song to help you set the pace

Maggie was helping the forest animals clean the dishes while she swept the room with her tail.

MAGGIE: And as you sweep the room Imagine that the broom

MRS. CALLOWAY: Is someone that you love and soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune

Suddenly, Mrs. Calloway's eyes went wide when she saw how the animals cleaned the dishes. A squirrel was cleaning some plates with a towel around its tail and the fawn was licking the plates clean before licking its fur. "Oh, no, no, no, no, dears! You must put them in the tub. It's for the best."

The animals stopped when they heard that and they looked at Snow White, who nodded. She knew that Mrs. Calloway was right, and so the forest animals obeyed them. They pushed all of the dishes into the tub.

SNOW WHITE: When hearts are high

GRACE: The time will fly

SNOW WHITE AND GRACE: So whistle while you work

The fawn used its tail to pull the lever of a water pump with a face on it to fill the tub with water.

During that time, Lucky Jack, Buck, and some other forest animals were busy with the room and the fireplace, sweeping, gathering dust, and such.

BUCK: Whistle while you work (whistling) Put on that grin and start right in to whistle loud and long

LUCKY JACK: Just hum a merry tune (humming) Just do your best, then take a rest and sing yourself a song

SNOW WHITE: When there's too much to do Don't let it bother you

GRACE: Forget your troubles, try to be just like a cheerful chick-a-dee

Meanwhile, Mrs. Calloway and Maggie were still helping with the dishes. Many of them were placed in a tower that almost seemed to fall down, but the cows were able to keep it balenced.

MRS. CALLOWAY: And whistle while you work (whistling)

MAGGIE: Come on get smart, tune up and start

SNOW WHITE, GRACE, MAGGIE, BUCK, LUCKY JACK, AND MRS. CALLOWAY: To whistle while you work

The forest animals pushed a few more dishes in the tub and washed them. Lucky Jack was holding a rug to help two squirrels get rid of the dust. Snow White saw that and quickly reacted. "Uh-uh, uh-uh! Not under the rug."

Lucky Jack and the squirrels got a little startled by that, so they thought of something else. Then Lucky Jack pointed at a mouse hole, the squirrels looked at the hole and began to smile. They swept the dust inside the hole, and the three gave each other a wink. But suddenly, the dust flew out of the hole and Lucky Jack and the squirrels hid under the rug. A mouse who lived in that hole came out and didn't look very happy. It chattered angrily at Lucky Jack and the squirrels and used a hind leg to push dust into their eyes to make them learn their lessons.

Meanwhile, Snow White was humming and cleaning an organ while squirrels and bunnies used their cute little tails to clean the rest of the room. Two squirrels were cleaning a mug. One of them picked it up and the mug made some kind of musical tune. It startled them that they quickly hid themselves. While Maggie used her tail to clean, Snow White waved with a cloth outside the window to get rid of the dust. When Maggie saw that, she came with an idea. She placed her tail outside the window and waved with it to get rid of the dust, too. There came too much dust from her tail that she began to sneeze.

Grace and another squirrel were busy to get rid of the cobwebs on the ceiling. The squirrels used their tails to get rid of them. That also looked like a job for Maggie. A chipmunk was doing the same thing while holding its balance on a cuckoo clock. It used a little too much force and fell into a sock. When it showed its head, it couldn't help but smile. Another chipmunk was helping Grace with a cobweb by rolling it into a ball. But suddenly, a spider appeared on the ball, which startled the chipmunk. The spider didn't look very happy. Grace saw it and went towards the spider. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Spider. But we must clean up the house. I promise I'll find you a new home." With that, the spider gave a smile.

The interior was almost clean and the birds were already beginning to place a vase with flowers on the table. They also gave the flowers some water. In the meantime, the forest animals and the newcomers were gathering the owner's clothes to wash them. Snow White, who was still humming, placed the clothes on the male deer. Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and Buck also carried a few clothes to go outside. One of the clothes made the deer almost fall. Outside, Lucky Jack and Grace were helping the raccoons with washing the clothes in a tiny pond. The other two cows, horse, and the deer were dumping the clothes in the water. A glove that the deer was about to drop landed on the head of a raccoon. A chipmunk was using the tortoise as a washboard. The reptile was ticklish of that experience. Then two birds grabbed the piece of clothing and the chipmunk accidentally got grabbed with it. The tortoise grabbed the chipmunk with its head by the tail and they both got pulled inside the tortoise shell. They raised their heads from it and smiled at each other while the birds were drying the pieces of clothing, tied the sleeves into a knot, and hung them on a cord from a tree just like the rest of the clothing.

Snow White and Grace gathered together while a bird landed on Snow White's finger and vocalized along with them.

SNOW WHITE: So whistle while you work

GRACE: So whistle while you work

Then Snow White vocalized, and Grace vocalized after her. The both of them harmonized while the other cows, horse, rabbit, and forest animals were cleaning the exterior of the cottage.

Chapter 7: The Bedroom

It was during the afternoon that the cows, horse, rabbit, forest animals, and human girl were done with cleaning the house. It looked much better. Why, even Mrs. Calloway was happy with the result. She even admired the beautiful carvings of animals on various wooden places.

"Ah, much better. Don't you think so, my friends?" she asked.

"It sure looks much cleaner than before," Maggie said.

"Those little squirts won't even know what happened," Buck said.

"I'm sure they'll be very happy about this when we tell them," Grace said.

Maggie looked sadly at the ground and Mrs. Calloway saw it. "Whatever is the matter, dear? Aren't you happy that whoever lives here will be happy about what we've done for them?"

"It's not that, Mrs. Calloway. It's about Snow White," Maggie answered.

Mrs. Calloway looked at her friend in confusion and then looked at the human girl with whom they became friends with. "What about her?"

"Don't you remember? The Queen is still after her, and she also wants to kill us, too," Maggie said.

"Oh, right," Mrs. Calloway said when she came back to reality.

"Well, if she ever find us, I'm ready for her," said Buck, who was ready to fight.

"You mean harm her? That's not nice," Grace said.

"She's right. After all, she's still Snow White's mother," Lucky Jack said.

"Stepmother," Buck corrected.

"A stepmother's love can be as deep and pure as any mother's. It is jealousy that made her wicked," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I still don't know, guys. Are you sure we're gonna be safe in here from that witch?" Buck asked while feeling uncomfortable.

"I sure hope so. I don't even wanna think about when she finds out we're here," Grace said.

Suddenly, Maggie rubbed Grace's head. "Don't you worry about that. That Queen Meanie doesn't know where we are. I'm sure she won't find us. Unless she has a mirror that knows and sees everything and asks if Snow White is still alive."

Suddenly, Mrs. Calloway remembered that she saw a mirror in the castle of the Queen and her eyes went wide. "Oh, no. She has a mirror like that."

"What?" Maggie asked.

"Buck and I saw it. It knows and sees everything," Mrs. Calloway said.

The cows, horse, and rabbit gasped in fear. "You mean, that running away was all in vain?" Maggie asked in shock.

"Wait a minute. Humbert gave us a chance to escape her. Meanwhile, he's searching for a different animal's heart and showing it to the Queen. So there could be a chance that she'll leave us alone when she sees the heart," Lucky Jack said.

Maggie thought for a minute. "Hmm... That could work. Let us all hope that she doesn't ask the Mirror to be sure."

The cows, horse, and rabbit cringed at the thought until their thinking was interrupted by Snow White, who was holding a candle in her hand. "Is everything all right?"

Maggie shook her head and gave Snow White a smile. "It's all right."

"Are you coming upstairs? I wanna see what's there," Snow White said.

"We'll be right there," Maggie said.

"Should we tell about her stepmother's mirror?" Buck asked.

"Maybe it's best if we don't. She has dealt with enough trouble. But we best protect her from the Queen if she finds us. Let us hope she won't come here," Mrs. Calloway said.

The others nodded and they arrived at the stairs. "Let's see what's upstairs," Snow White said. And with that, the cows, horse, rabbit, and forest animals followed her. The tortoise was having a little trouble with climbing up the stairs that he fell on his back. Buck saw it and went towards the tortoise.

"Need any help?" he asked.

The tortoise smiled and shook its head. He grabbed his tail and rolled backwards to stand on all four again. "Okay, if you need help, just call me," Buck said before he went upstairs. The tortoise bit on each part of the stair and dragged its body with it.

On top of the stairs was a door, Snow White opened the door and saw that they were in a bedroom. "Oh, what adorable little beds," she said.

Grace also couldn't help but smile. There were seven beds in the room. Mrs. Calloway was especially amazed about the beautiful wooden carvings of animals on the beds. Some of the forest animals began to sit on them.

"Those sure look cute," Maggie said.

"And look, they have their names carved on them," Snow White said.

They all looked at the names on the beds and began to read them.

"Doc," Snow White said.

"Happy?" Grace asked with a smile.

"Sneezy," Buck said.

"Dopey," Maggie said.

Snow White couldn't help but laugh. "What funny names for children."

"And to think our names were funny," Lucky Jack said.

The animals looked at him and read the rest of the names.

"Grumpy, Bashful, and Sleepy," Mrs. Calloway read.

"Maybe they're named after their personality," Grace said. "Doc is probably a doctor. Happy is probably fun and... Well, happy. That's an easy one. Sneezy probably sneezes a lot. Dopey..."

"I think we get the idea, Grace," Maggie said. "Like that Sleepy probably sleeps a lot."

Snow White began to yawn. "I'm a little sleepy myself."

Grace yawned, too, and jumped onto a bed. "Yeah, me, too. Maybe we better get some sleep and forget what happened before we got here."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Buck said and yawned.

"Yeah, I agree," Lucky Jack yawned, too.

The other animals yawned, too.

"It's been a long time since I had a good night sleep," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie knew they were right and she also was tired. Snow White placed the candle on a wooden board and laid herself on three of the beds, because she was too big for one. Grace cuddled close to Snow White, because many of the forest animals also slept in the beds. So Maggie decided to sleep with Lucky Jack while Mrs. Calloway was sleeping close to them. And Buck, he slept on a bed with his legs spread everywhere. A bird flew towards the candle and used its tail feathers to extinguish the flame. Some of the birds placed a blanket on both Snow White and Grace. All of them, including the forest animals, were sleeping peacefully on their way to Dreamland.

Chapter 8: Arrival of the Dwarfs

Nobody knew that the tortoise was still climbing in his own way up the stairs. He almost reached the top. Suddenly, some of the forest animals began to wake up. Also, Buck opened an eye, because they heard something. It sounded like... Singing?

"Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho," the singing continued.

"Maggie. Would you tell Grace to stop that singing and let us sleep?" Buck whispered.

Maggie, who was also awake, said, "Nobody's singing, I swear."

"Wait a second. If it isn't Grace, then who...?"

The singing got a little louder, and soon, the rest of the forest animals and newcomers woke up, except Snow White and Grace, who were sleeping like roses.

"Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!" the singing continued.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho. It's home from work we go."

The forest animals looked outside the window, and suddenly, they ran out of the room to the stairs.

"Hey, wait! What's going on?" Lucky Jack asked.

"And who's singing that amazing song?" Maggie asked.

"Come on! Let's follow them," Buck said.

The cows, horse, and rabbit followed the forest animals while the singing continued.

"Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho. It's home from work we go!"

When the tortoise finally reached the top, the other forest animals and newcomers ran downstairs while passing the tortoise, who was spinning in his shell. Now he had to go downstairs again, but that was no problem for him. Even when he fell on the staircase and bumped against the wall. The forest animals were running out of the door.

"Wait for us!" Maggie said.

The forest animals were hiding in a large bush while the cows, horse, and rabbit did, too. "Can somebody tell me what in tarnation is going on?!" Lucky Jack asked.

"Shhh," Maggie said. "Someone's coming."

"Who?" Mrs. Calloway asked. "Who would interrupt my beauty sleep?"

And suddenly, they saw who sang that song. The seven individuals who lived in the cottage. What they didn't expect was that these people weren't children, after all. They were known as 'dwarfs'. Seven dwarfs. All brothers to each other. Many of them looked funny, they wore similar clothing, but each in a different way and they all wore stocking caps. All of them had a beard, except the last one. The animals were totally surprised.

"Are those the ones who live in that cottage? They don't look like children at all," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Of course not. I mean, what child has a beard?" Buck said.

Maggie giggled a little. "They look a little funny."

"Shh. Don't let them hear you. We don't know what they're capable of," Mrs. Calloway said.

The dwarfs kept on singing and whistling until the first one pointed. "Look!" And as a result, the other ones bumped against each other. Maggie couldn't help but giggle, but Mrs. Calloway kept her shut.

"Our house! The lit's light... Uh, the light's lit," said the first one with the glasses.

When Mrs. Calloway heard that, she covered her mouth. "Oh, no. The lights. We forgot to turn them off," she said.

The dwarfs were hiding behind a few trees and each of them popped their heads out to look at their house. "Jiminy Crickets!" they all said.

"The door is open," said the one with the glasses.

"The chimney's smoking," said the fat one.

"Something's in there," said the sixth dwarf.

"Maybe a ghost," said the fat one.

"Or a goblin," said the fifth.

"A demon," said the one with the glasses.

"Or a dragon," said the sixth.

The animals listened to their conversations.

"They think monsters invaded their home," Maggie said.

Then the second one began to speak. "Mark my words. There's trouble a-brewin'. Felt it coming all day. My corns hurt," he said while pointing at his shoes.

"That one looks like he's in a bad mood. Better watch out for him," Buck whispered.

"Gosh!" said the fat one.

"That's a bad sign," said the fifth.

"What'll we do?" asked the fourth, the fifth, and the one with glasses.

"Let's sneak up on it," said the fat one.

The one with the glasses cleared his throat. "Yes. We'll, uh, squeak up... Uh, sneak up. Come on, hen...uh, men. Follow me." And they slowly sneaked towards the cottage. "Looks like that one stammers a lot," Maggie giggled. "Okay, everyone. Let's follow them, because Snow White and Grace are still inside."

"I don't think they want to cause any harm, Maggie," Lucky Jack said.

"Never judge a book by its cover, Jack. Now, come on," Maggie said.

And they all walked slowly towards another bush to watch the dwarfs' actions. When the dwarfs approached the house, they looked inside. The one with the glasses, who was probably the leader, motioned them to follow him. "Psst." he said. He slowly opened the creaking door and each of them popped their heads out of the opening. The last dwarf appeared out of one of the beards. The leader opened the door a little more and they all entered while their shoes squeaked. While they walked in, one of them accidentally stepped on the head of the last dwarf. The cows, forest animals, horse, and rabbit were silently walking towards the window to see better. The dwarfs all raised their pickaxes above their heads, prepared for anything. The last dwarf slammed the door behind him very hard. It was so loud that the dwarfs immediately reacted. They ran around and raised their weapons above their heads again. When they saw who closed the door, they motioned him to be quiet. The silly dwarf shivered a little while he turned his attention to the door and said, "Shh."

"That one doesn't look very smart, does he?" Lucky Jack said.

"Pst. Hey, guys," Buck whispered. "Me and Maggie are going upstairs to get a better look."

"Buck, wait!" Mrs. Calloway whispered, but Buck and Maggie ran inside the cottage. Then they went upstairs faster than the wind.

The dwarfs could hear the noise. "Did you hear something?" said one of them.

The animals ducked their heads.

"It was probably the wind," the fourth said.

"Careful, men. Search every cook and nanny... Uh, hook and granny... Crooked fan..." the leader stuttered until he gave up and said the next thing. "Search everywhere."

The dwarfs sneaked everywhere inside the cottage while their shoes squeaked. None of them knew that Buck, Maggie, and the bird family were watching them from above while Mrs. Calloway, Lucky Jack, and forest animals watched from the window. They even had to hide when the dwarfs came too close to the window.

"Should we talk to them?" Lucky Jack asked.

"No, Jack," Mrs. Calloway whispered. "They have pickaxes for Pete's sake."

Suddenly, one of the dwarfs' shoes squeaked too loudly, which startled the animals at the window.

"Shh! Quiet," the leader said, and they walked further until he looked at the floor and ceased every dwarf's movement. "Look! The floor, it's been swept!" They all looked in confusion.

"So now they noticed," Maggie said.

The second dwarf was checking one of the chairs. He rubbed his finger on it and saw that there was no dust. "Hah! Chair's been dusted."

"Our window's been washed," said the fat one, who was checking one of the windows.

"Gosh, our cobwebs are missing," said the fifth, who looked at the ceiling. Luckily, he didn't see the brown cow and the horse.

The dwarfs were confused, more than ever. "Why, why, why, why, the whole place is clean," said the leader.

"There's dirty work afoot," said the second one.

Two dwarfs were looking inside the sink. "Sink's empty," said one of them. "Hey, someone stole our dishes."

"Pft. Who wants to steal dishes?" Buck whispered.

"I know, right?" Maggie giggled.

"They ain't stole. They're hid in the cupboard," said the fat one.

The fifth grabbed one cup from the cupboard and looked inside with a sad face. "My cup's been washed. Sugar's gone."

"Well, they all needed to be washed, right?" Mrs. Calloway whispered to Lucky Jack.

The rabbit nodded. Two dwarfs were watching a giant pot with delicious soup inside that was being warmed in the fireplace. "Something's cooking," the fat one said and sniffed at the food.

"Oh, yeah. The soup Lucky Jack made with Snow White. It is deeeeelicious," Maggie said.

Buck quickly closed Maggie's muzzle.

The two dwarfs were too focused on the food. "Smells good!" the fat one said and grabbed a spoon to have a taste. But suddenly, the second one stopped them. "Don't touch it, you fools! Might be poison," he said.

"Why, that little... It's part of a family recipe," Lucky Jack said.

Suddenly, the steam hissed from the pot, startling the three dwarfs until it stopped. "See? It's witches' brew," said the second one.

The leader checked on the table that was nicely decorated with plates, glass cups, and cutlery and a nice bouquet of goldenrod flowers.

"Look what's happened to our stable... Uh, table," he said.

"Very nice, huh? Did it myself, of course," Mrs. Calloway said.

The fifth saw the flowers and grabbed them with a smile. "Flowers!" he said and sniffed at them.

The sixth looked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Look, goldenrod," the fifth said and put them in front of the sixth's nose.

The dwarf quickly pushed the flowers out of his face and walked away from them. "Don't do it. Take them away. My nose! My hay fever! You know I can't stand it."

"Oh, dear. I didn't know one of them had hay fever. Now I feel sorry," Mrs. Calloway whispered.

The dwarf began to have more trouble with his nose. He was on the verge of sneezing. "I can't... I can't... I... Oh. Ah..." All the dwarfs came close to him, knowing what was coming. "AAAAHHHH...!" Before he could sneeze, the dwarfs placed their fingers under his nose, making him raise high into the air. Maggie was almost on the verge of laughing, because of the dwarfs' funny reaction and when he was about to sneeze. When he wasn't going to sneeze anymore, the dwarfs put him on the ground and took their fingers away. The dwarf sighed in relief. "Thanks," he said with a smile. But he spoke too soon, and just like that, he released a loud sneeze. "AAAHCHOOOOOOO!!!!"

The sneeze was so powerful that it blew all the dwarfs away in a funny way. The second one was struggling against the wind. Not only them, but also the forest animals, cow, and rabbit at the window were blown away, screaming while it happened. Even Buck and Maggie were blown against the top wall. Buck was trying to struggle, but the wind was too strong. All the dwarfs, except the second one, were being pushed to the wall, making a few cups and pots fall from a shelf and fell on top of each other. Suddenly, their heads showed up and hushed the sneezing dwarf.

After that, Buck and Maggie landed back on the ground. Buck shook his head back to consciousness. "Wow, what was that?" he whispered.

"It was just a sneeze," Maggie said in a silent way.

"Shhh. Dude, that wasn't a sneeze. That was a hurricane," Buck said with disbelief in his eyes.

The forest animals, rabbit, and cow were walking back to the window after they were blown away. "Wow, that feller has powerful lungs to make a sneeze like that," Lucky Jack said.

After the dwarfs silenced the sneezing dwarf, he rubbed his nose. The second one approached him. "Ya crazy fool! Fine time you picked to sneeze."

"I couldn't help it. I can't tell. When you gotta, you gotta," the sneezing dwarf said in defense.

"He is right, you know," Maggie said to Buck. "When you gotta blow, you gotta blow." But suddenly, the dwarf felt something coming. "I... I... I gotta."

The animals immediately noticed his reactions.

"N... N... N... It's coming," the dwarf said and was on the brink of sneezing again.

"Hold tight, everyone. Here he goes again," Mrs. Calloway said, and they ducked. When the dwarf was about to sneeze, the other dwarfs quickly jumped onto him and tried to stop him.

"Don't let him," said one of the dwarfs.

"Stop him," said another one.

Suddenly, the head of the sneezing dwarf popped out. "Oh! Ah... Ah... AH!" The animals were very watchful. The dwarfs brought him back on the ground and kept trying to stop him.

"No, tie it tight," said one of the dwarfs.

"Don't let it go."

"Hold him tight."

"I'll tie it," said the fat dwarf.

"Make a hard knot."

The fat dwarf grabbed the beard of the sneezing dwarf and used it to tie his nose so he wouldn't sneeze again. "There, that will hold him."

"Tying his nose? Really?" Maggie said.

"Thanks!" the sneezing dwarf sighed with joy.

"Shh!" said the fat dwarf.

"Quiet, you fool! You want to get us all killed?" said the second dwarf.

Maggie saw everything and couldn't hold it any longer. "HAHAHA!" she laughed. But Buck quickly reacted and held his friend's muzzle.

The dwarfs heard that. "Did you hear that?" asked the sneezing dwarf.

"I sure did," the second dwarf said.

"Oh, no," Buck said.

"Oh, no," Mrs. Calloway said when she watched the whole thing.

But the bird family, who were with Maggie and Buck, winked at each other and the animals. And then, they tapped on the wood. The dwarfs were shocked when they heard that.

"Wha...wha...what's that?" asked the fat dwarf.

"That's it," said the leader.

"Sounded close," said the fifth.

"It's in this room right now," the second whispered.

The dwarfs began to feel uncomfortable when he said that. The birds looked at each other again and then they shrieked very loud, so loud that Buck and Maggie covered their ears. The other animals did as well, but the dwarfs... They froze in fear. And then, they yelled and ran around the room to hide. The sneezing dwarf hid in a big pot with a lid, the fat dwarf hid behind a chair, the fourth in a bucket with a broom, the seventh in a pile of logs, the second in a sack with potatoes, and the fifth under the staircase.

"Phew. Thanks, little guys. That was close," Buck said to the birds.

"Hey, they're pretty good at hiding. They should play 'hide and seek' more often," Maggie said, talking about the dwarfs.

"Will you be quiet?" Buck whispered.

The dwarfs all came out of their hiding spots and gathered together at the staircase. The leader was holding a candle. They all looked upstairs.

"It's up there," said the leader.

"Yeah. In the bedroom," said the fifth.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me they're going upstairs," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I think they are," Lucky Jack said.

"One of us has gotta go down and chase it up. Uh, uh, uh. Up. Down," the leader said, correcting his sentence.

All the dwarfs nodded at his plan. And then they looked at one dwarf: the seventh. As you know, the seventh was a funny looking guy who wore a green vest and a purple stocking cap. He just smiled while he didn't know that he was the one who had to go up.

"Him? He doesn't seem fit for the job," Maggie said.

"He looks more like a child than a man," Mrs. Calloway said.

The seventh looked behind him and then back to the dwarfs, but then he quickly looks back behind him. Maybe he knew that the dwarfs chose him to go upstairs, so he quietly walked away from them. But the second and the sneezing dwarf quickly grabbed him. The leader tried to give him the candle.

"Here, take it," he said while he shook nervously. The seventh tried to grab it while he was shaking, too. "Don't be nervous."

But the leader quickly grabbed the dwarf's hand and gave him the candle. And with that, the dwarfs pushed him upstairs. Buck and Maggie quickly ducked since they were standing at the top of the staircase. The dwarf walked up the stairs while they creaked. Suddenly, he turned around and looked down at his fellow brothers, who were waiting. They were also shaking in fear.

"Don't be afraid. We're right behind you," said the leader.

"Yes! Right behind you," said the other dwarfs.

"Yeah, sure they do," Buck said sarcastically.

The seventh dwarf nodded and gulped in fright. And so, he walked further up the stairs. When he opened the door, he peeked to see if everything was safe. While he did that, the other dwarfs quietly walked up the stairs.

"Oh, no," Maggie said when she saw that.

Meanwhile, the seventh opened the door a little further and took another look around before he quietly walked inside the room. But suddenly, the sound of someone moaning spooked him. He looked towards the bed and saw the sheets moving like a ghost. The dwarf froze for a moment before he screamed very loudly and ran out of the room. While that happened, the dwarfs were already waiting at the doors to strike.

"Here it comes!" yelled the second one. But suddenly, the seventh bumped into them and they all fell down the stairs. Then all of them except the seventh, whose head was stuck between his legs, ran towards the door while shouting.

"Hah. Look at them go," Maggie said while she looked.

"You can't even see them clearly," Buck said, not believing that the dwarfs were running that fast.

"Quick! Everyone into that bush," Mrs. Calloway said while they ran away from the window.

The six dwarfs ran in a flash out of the cottage. The leader quickly closed the door. Suddenly, Maggie dropped to the floor and went to the seventh dwarf who freed himself from his legs. Then he saw the cow.

"Hi there. I'm..." But before the cow could finish, the dwarf immediately ran away from her. "Wait!"

The seventh bumped against the door and tried to open it, but the others closed it from the outside, thinking that a monster was pursuing them.

"It's after us," said one of the dwarfs.

"Don't let it out."

"Hold it shut."

The seventh still was trying to open it, but with one hard pull he broke the door knob and crashed into the cupboard. All the pots and cups fell on top of him. The dwarf jumped out of the pile, completely dressed with pots, pans and cups, and ran towards the door opening. Buck dropped himself to the floor.

"Why do you always have to say 'hi' at the most inappropriate moments? Come on. Outside," Buck said, and they went outside.

Meanwhile, the cows, horse, rabbit and forest animals all hid in a bush while the dwarfs waited in a tree. The seventh dwarf was approaching and the dwarfs immediately saw it as a monster.

"Here it comes," said one of the dwarfs.

"Now's our chance."

"Get it now!"

When the seventh came close to the tree, the others immediately dropped themselves on him and hit him with their weapons.

"Oh, no. The poor guy," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Quick!"

"Give it to it!"

"Don't let it get away!"

While they hit him, the kitchenware came loose from the dwarfs body. When his face showed up, the second dwarf accidentally hit his head. But the leader quickly stopped them.

"Hold on there! It's only Dopey," he said.

"So that's Dopey. Kinda makes sense," Maggie said.

Then the dwarfs began to ask questions to Dopey.

"Did you see it?" asked the sneezing dwarf, and Dopey nodded.

"How big is it?" asked the fat dwarf, and Dopey motioned with his arms how big.

"Was it a dragon?" asked the second, and Dopey nodded.

"Has it got horns?" asked the sneezing dwarf again. Dopey put his fingers on his head and stuck his tongue out a few times.

"Was it breathing fire?" the second asked again.

"Was it droolin'?" asked the fat one again.

Dopey began to drool while they asked.

"What was it doin'?" asked the sneezing dwarf.

To that, Dopey laid his head on his hands and made a snoring sound. The leader seemed to understand what he tried to say.

"He says it's a, a monster asleep in our beds!" he said.

The dwarfs began to talk among one another.

"They think Snow White and Grace are monsters?" Lucky Jack asked.

"Dopey must have thought they were monsters. Or he wouldn't have screamed," Maggie said.

Then Dopey pulled on the shirt of the leader. "What is it, Dopey?" asked the leader.

Dopey pointed towards the cottage and then landed on all fours and then put his fingers on his head again, acting like a cow.

"What? A horse? Uh, a cow?" asked the leader.

Dopey nodded.

"That's strange we don't have a horse or a fow... Uh, cow," said the leader.

"Forget whatever else is in that house. There's a monster in our bed. I'll say we attack," the second dwarf said.

"While it's sleeping," said the sneezing dwarf.

"Yeah, while it's sleeping," said the fourth, the fifth, and the fat one.

"Oh, no," Mrs. Calloway said while putting her hooves in front of her mouth.

"Hurry, men. It's now or never!" said the leader.

"Off with its head," said the fat one.

"Break its bones," said one of the dwarfs.

"Chop it to pieces."

"We'll kill it dead."

When the animals heard that, they were in complete shock. "Come on. We gotta stop them," Maggie said.

"I can't believe they're going to try to kill Snow White and Grace," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I'll stop them," Buck said.

"No. I have a better idea. We'll see how far they go, and when they try to attack, we'll stun them in anyway we can. It'll be easy since there are only seven of them," Maggie said.

"Then let's go," Mrs. Calloway said, and they followed the dwarfs back to the cottage.

Chapter 9: Meet the Dwarfs

The door of the bedroom slowly opened and creaked. The leader of the dwarfs looked inside while holding a lantern. The other dwarfs looked inside, too, and silently they walked towards the bed. But then the same moaning sound that scared Dopey, froze the dwarfs in place. They stared at the living sheets with fear. A second moaning sound made them even more careful. The cows, horse, and rabbit stood at the opening, watching very carefully.

"Ha. No wonder they thought it's a monster. Snowy almost looks like a ghost," Buck said.

"Shh," the animals said to make sure the dwarfs didn't hear them.

"Jiminy Crickets!" the sneezing dwarf whispered.

"Gosh!" the fifth whispered.

"Gee!" said the fat one.

"What a monster!" the sneezing dwarf whispered again.

"It covers three beds," said the fifth.

The dwarfs gathered together. "Let's kill it before it wakes up," said the leader.

"Which end do we kill?" the fat one asked loudly.

"Shh!" the leader said and then the other dwarfs.

The leader motioned them to walk towards the bed.

"Oh. We gotta stop them now," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Not yet, Calloway," Maggie said.

"But what if they..." Lucky Jack said, but couldn't finish it.

"Shh! Trust me," Maggie said.

The dwarfs kept walking silently towards the bed. They all took a position to attack at the right moment. Maggie looked as if she were about to charge at the dwarfs, ready when they attack.

"I can't watch this," Mrs. Calloway said while covering her eyes with her hat.

The leader slowly grabbed the sheets and quickly threw them away. The dwarfs began to strike, but the moment they saw what was under the sheets they ceased their attack and lowered their weapons.

"Phew," Maggie said when she saw their reactions. "They didn't kill her."

The others sighed in relief. The dwarfs stared at the human girl and the yellow cow, who were sleeping peacefully next to each other. It was almost like the dwarfs had never seen a girl before. The leader couldn't help but smile. "Well, eh, ah..."

"What is it?" asked the fat one in confusion.

"Seriously, they've never seen a girl before?" Buck asked.

"Maybe this is all new to them. Just like when we met Snow White," Mrs. Calloway said.

The leader answered the question of the fat dwarf. "Why, it... It's a girl!"

"At least that one's smart," Maggie said. "Kinda like you, Calloway," she said with a smirk.

"And where exactly are you trying to go with this?" Mrs. Calloway asked with a raised eye brow.

Maggie giggled a little. "Nothin'."

Dopey saw the yellow cow, who was sleeping with Snow White. He pointed at her.

"Is that the cow?" the leader asked.

Dopey nodded first and then shook his head.

"Well, it's a very strange kind of cow. I don't remember them being yellow," the leader said, a bit amazed and confused by the sight.

"Aw, it's so cute how they sleep like this together," the fat dwarf said.

The sneezing dwarf was leaning while watching the human girl and cow sleep with a smile. "She's mighty purdy, and that cow, too."

"They're beautiful. Just like angels," the fifth dwarf said. The sneezing dwarf nodded at his words.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Mrs. Calloway said with a smile.

But then, all the nice things stopped when the second dwarf spoke. "Angels, hah! She's a female! And by the looks of that heifer, she's a female as well! And all females is poison! They're full of wicked wiles!"

Mrs. Calloway frowned when she heard that. "Well, I never. Hmph."

"Who does he think he is? I'll show him a thing or two," Buck said.

"Easy, Buck. Don't let his words get to you," Maggie said, trying to calm the horse.

The fifth was a bit confused at the words of the second one. "What are wicked wiles?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I'm agin 'em," the second answered.

"Shh! Not so loud. You'll wake them up," the leader whispered.

"Aw, let them wake up! They don't belong here nohow," the second dwarf said.

Buck still wasn't amused by the dwarf's attitude, but then Snow White and Grace began to move. The dwarfs noticed that.

"Shh! Look out," the fifth said.

"They're movin'," the sneezing dwarf said while holding on to the fifth dwarf in fear.

"They're wakin' up," the fat one said.

"What'll we do?" asked the sneezing dwarf.

"Hide," said the leader. The dwarfs ran around the room and all hid behind the bed where Grace and Snow White were sleeping.

Grace yawned cutely. "Did you say something?"

Snow White opened her eyes and said, "No." Then she stretched her arms wide and yawned, too. "Oh, dear. I wonder if the children are..."

But before Snow White could finish her sentence her eyes went wide. Grace took notice of that. "What's the matter?" she asked. Then she followed the girl's gaze and saw a long set of eyes. Grace and Snow White yelled a little and quickly grabbed the sheets to cover themselves like they were naked or something.

"Oh!" they yelled.

The heads to which the eyes belonged disappeared out of sight, along with the stocking caps they wear. A few seconds later, the heads popped out again. But this time, they showed their noses, too. When the girl and the cow saw that, they realized there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Oh, my. I think those are the seven people who live here. They don't look like children at all," Grace said.

"Why, why, you're little men!" Snow White said with a smile and lowered the sheets she was holding. Grace did the same thing.

The so-called little men looked at each other and suddenly stood upright. They were most of all surprised that the strange cow they saw talked.

"They sure look cute, but where are Maggie and the others?" Grace asked.

Suddenly, Snow White took notice of the missing animals at the opening of the room. "There they are." She pointed to them. The dwarfs watched in her direction and were even more surprised that there were more strange animals in their house. The animals were just standing at the opening.

"It's okay. Come join in," Snow White said.

"There's nothing to worry about," Grace said.

Maggie and the rest of her friends entered the room, and for the very first time, they met eye to eye with the dwarfs. The dwarfs looked at each other again, not knowing what to say about all this. They were also surprised when they saw Buck and Lucky Jack.

"Hello. How do you do?" Maggie asked.

The dwarfs were a little startled when she talked and looked at each other again without a word to say.

"She said, how do you do?" Snow White said.

"How do you do what?" said the second dwarf, who was the first to speak.

"Oh, you can talk! I'm so glad!" Snow White said. "Now, don't tell me who you are. Let us guess."

"Oh, I love that game. You start first, Maggie," Grace said.

"Well... If I'm not mistaken, you're Doc," Maggie said to leader dwarf.

The dwarf couldn't help but chuckle. "Why, why, why, yes. Yes! That's true."

Then Snow White tried to guess one and chose the fifth dwarf. "And you're, you're Bashful," she said charmingly.

And just as his name says, the dwarf's face became as red as a tomato and he played with his beard. "Ooooooooh, gooosh!" He chuckled a little and tied his beard in a knot. The other dwarfs and animals couldn't help but chuckle.

The fourth dwarf began to yawn and it was Lucky Jack's turn to guess. "And you're, without a doubt, Sleepy."

The dwarf stopped yawning and said with a sleepy voice and a chuckle, "How'd you guess?"

"Because you were yawning. And the droopy eyes gave me the hint," Lucky Jack said while he chuckled along with the rest.

Mrs. Calloway was looking at the dwarf she chose to guess. "And you?"

The dwarf was on the brink of sneezing, but the second and Dopey were holding their fingers under his nose, stopping his sneeze.

"And you're Sneezy," Mrs. Calloway said with a giggle, and the rest of the dwarfs chuckled.

The two dwarfs put their fingers away and Sneezy sighed in relief. But he still released one sneeze. It was so funny that the dwarfs and the animals started to laugh very hard.

"Hey, Sneezy. That was one heck of a sneeze you made downstairs. You totally got my respect," Buck said.

"T-t-thanks," said Sneezy, who didn't expect to get a praise for his sneeze, especially from an animal. Even though his hay fever worked like a handicap, the powerful sneezes he made could be of good use in times of need.

"Yes, then you must be..." Maggie said to the fat dwarf.

"Happy, ma'am. That's me." He pointed to himself and then he pointed to the silly dwarf next to him. "And this is Dopey. He don't talk none," he said and laughed. Dopey was just being silly as always.

"You mean, he can't talk?" asked Grace, who was laying on the bed like a cat.

"He don't know. He never tried," Happy said and then every animal and dwarf began to laugh.

"Oh, you poor thing," Grace said.

"That's too bad," Snow White laughed.

Then Snow White, the cows, Buck, and Lucky Jack looked at the only dwarf that hadn't been named yet. He already gave them the stink eye. Buck smirked a little.

"Let me guess. You must be Grumpy," he said in a fake grumpy voice.

And with that, the dwarfs began to laugh. Doc gave him a nudge with his finger. "Oh, yes! Yes!"

The laughter died down and Grumpy began to speak. "Hah! We know who we are." Doc nodded at what he said. "Ask them who they are and what they're a-doin' here."

Doc showed his serious face. "Hmph! Yeah! What are you and who are you doin'?"

"That last part doesn't sound very right," Grace said.

"Uh, what are you..." Doc stuttered. He tried to find the right words and his friendly face was shown again. "Who are you, my dears?"

"Oh, how silly of us. Allow me. My name is Maggie. This is Mrs. Calloway, Grace, Buck, and Lucky Jack."

"My eyes and ears do not deceit, uh, deceive me, do they? Are you really talking animals?" Doc asked.

"Yes, we are. Mrs. Calloway and Grace and I are cows, Buck is a horse, and Lucky Jack is a jackrabbit," Maggie said.

The cows, horse, and rabbit all nodded at that.

"Oh, I see. So where do you come from?" Doc asked.

"We're from Patch of Heaven. I'm sure you've never heard of that, but it's kind of a long story. We could tell you more about it later," Mrs. Calloway said.

Doc nodded at that. "And who are you, my dear?" he asked the human girl.

"I'm Snow White," she answered.

"Snow White?" Happy asked in amazement.

"The Princess?" all the dwarfs asked.

"Yes," Snow White said.

"Wait. You know who she is?" Buck asked.

"Of course we do. Everybody knows of Snow White and her kindness. Her father was a great man," Happy said.

Doc chuckled. "Well... Well, my, my dear Quincess... Uh, Princess. We're, uh, we're honored. Yes, we're, uh, we're..."

But before Doc finished, Grumpy tried to finish it in his words, causing Doc to fluster. "Mad as hornets!"

"Mad as hornets! No, no, we're not. We're bad as cornets... No, no, as bad as... What was I sayin'?"

"Nothing! Just standin' there sputterin' like a doodlebug!" Grumpy said.

When Grumpy said that, the two began to argue.

"Oh! Who, who, who, who's butterin' like a spoodledug? Who's... Uh, gutter..." Doc said.

"Aw, shut up and tell them to get out!" Grumpy said.

With that, Buck got mixed in the conversation. "Hey! You can't throw us out like common stray animals!"

"Oh, I can't, eh? You invaded our house just like that! We don't want any strangers in our house, not even talking animals like you," Grumpy said.

"We? I think you're the only one who doesn't want us in. We cleaned the entire house just for you guys, for the love of Pete! You should thank us for doing that!" Buck shouted.

"So what? I don't want all of you in the house, even if the wolves are chasing you!" Grumpy said.

"That's it!" Buck yelled and pounced on Grumpy.

The two began to hit one another, but Doc, Bashful, Maggie, and Lucky Jack stopped them. Doc and Bashful held Grumpy while Maggie and Lucky Jack held Buck.

"Calm down, nelly," Lucky Jack said.

"There's no way to stoop to that ruffian's level," Maggie said.

"Who are you calling 'ruffian', missy?" Grumpy said.

"Grumpy, don't," Bashful said.

"Now look what you did. That's what you get when you try to send nice people and animals away," Doc said.

"He attacked me!" Grumpy said.

"You started it, you ungrateful midget!" Buck said.

"Everybody, STOP!" Mrs. Calloway said. "Arguing is not the way. Grumpy, why don't you want us in?"

"Because I don't want to," Grumpy said, being the stubborn dwarf he was.

Buck and Grumpy were released and avoided eye contact. Snow White and Grace were very silent at that moment until Snow White decided to speak. "Please don't send us away!" she pleaded. "If you do, she'll kill me."

The dwarfs' eyes went wide when she said that. "Kill you?"

"Who will?" Happy asked.

"Yes, who?" Doc asked.

"My stepmother, the Queen," Snow White answered.

"THE QUEEN?!" the dwarfs said.

"Yes, the Queen. She wanted her and us killed, too, because we're more beautiful than she is," Mrs. Calloway said.

"She's wicked!" Bashful said.

"She's bad!" Happy said.

"She's mighty mean!" Sneezy said.

"She's an old witch!" Grumpy shouted and began to make sudden gestures at Sneezy while he spoke. "I'm warnin' ya. If the Queen finds them here, she'll swoop down and wreak her vengeance on us!"

Sneezy was completely silent when he did that. Grace wasn't that comfortable, either. But Snow White tried to look at the bright side. "But she doesn't know where we are."

"She don't, eh?" Grumpy reacted quickly. "She knows everything." The animals hated to admit it, but Grumpy was right about that. The evil Queen Grimhilde had certain ways to know things.

Grumpy then made gestures at Maggie when he spoke, and what he said began to frighten her a little. "She's full of black magic. She can even make herself invisible. Pfft!" Grumpy hit his fingers on Maggie's nose. She covered it after that. "Might be in this room right now."

The cows, dwarfs, horse, and rabbit were very uncomfortable at the moment.

Dopey raised Happy's beard, and Happy gave him a hit on the head. Grace giggled at that.

"Oh, she'll never find us here. And if you let us stay, we'll keep house for you," Snow White said.

"Not for him," Buck whispered in Snow White's ear, talking about Grumpy.

"I heard that!" Grumpy shouted.

"Please, Buck. I know he acts rude, but I'm sure he has a good heart hidden inside," Snow White said.

"Yeah, right," Buck mumbled under his breath.

"We would like to help. We could wash and sew and sweep and cook and..." Mrs. Calloway said, but then she got startled by the dwarfs.

"COOK?!" the dwarfs said.

"Can you make dapple lumpkins... Uh, lumple dapplins?" Doc asked.

"APPLE DUMPLINGS!" they all corrected his words.

"Eh, yes! Crapple dumpkins."

"Yes, and plum pudding and gooseberry pie..." Snow White said.

Then all the dwarfs, except Grumpy, began to cheer. "Gooseberry pie? HOORAY! THEY STAY!"

"Thank you. Thank you very much," Grace said.

"It's our pleasure, Miss Grace," Happy said.

Then Maggie sniffed at the air. "Um, Snow White?"

"Yes, Maggie?"

"Weren't you cooking something downstairs?"

Chapter 10: Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum

Downstairs, the pot with soup began to boil. Snow White quickly jumped out of the bed with a loud "OH!" She ran downstairs and went to the pot, grabbed the cloth, pulled the pot away from the fire, took off the lid, and grabbed a spoon to taste the soup. The dwarfs and the animals looked downstairs and began to sniff the soup.

"Ah! SOUP! Hooray!" they all said and ran downstairs, but Dopey's head got stuck.

The animals and dwarfs ran and sat on the table and grabbed forks and bread. Mrs. Calloway, Grace, and Lucky Jack were more dignified than Maggie, Buck and the dwarfs. At that moment, Dopey got free and also ran downstairs. He accidentally fell on the floor, but still went towards the table. The dwarfs, cow, and horse were arguing a little while Dopey accidentally fell from a chair. The other two cows and rabbit were watching from the sides.

"Now, now, everyone. There's no need to argue, there's plenty enough for everyone," Grace said.

"Look at them go. It's like they haven't eaten in weeks," Lucky Jack said.

"Buck and Maggie aren't doing any better," Mrs. Calloway said.

But suddenly, everything stopped because of the voice of a certain human girl. "Uh-uh, uh-uh! Just a minute." And everyone turned their attention to Snow White.

"Supper's not quite ready. You'll just have time to wash," she said.

"Wash?" the dwarfs all asked. "Wash? Wash? Wash?" They talked among each other.

"Hah! Knew there was a catch to it," said Grumpy, who threw his spoon away and folded his arms.

"Why wash?" Bashful asked.

"What for? We ain't goin' nowhere," Happy said.

"'Tain't New Year's," Doc said, and the dwarfs shook their head at that.

"You mean, you didn't wash your, um, what are those again?" Maggie asked.

"Bands... Uh, hands," Doc said.

"Yeah, don't you wash them before you eat?"

The dwarfs shook their heads.

"Well, you should, dears. It's clean and proper to wash before you eat, then your food won't get filthy and you won't get any diseases. Uh," Mrs. Calloway said, thinking of that thought while shaking her hoof a little.

"Mrs. Calloway is right. You work in a mine. Is that right?" Grace asked.

The dwarfs nodded.

"Then it's totally normal to wash your hands before you eat," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Darn. Guess you get fifteen bits from me, Calloway," Maggie said.

"We didn't even bet," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Oh, okay," Maggie said.

"Oh, perhaps you have washed," Snow White said.

"Perhaps we.." Doc thought and then nodded. "Yes! Perhaps we have."

"But when?" Snow White asked with a look of suspicion.

"Yeah, when?" Lucky Jack could smell the lie from him.

"When? When. Uh, you said whe..." Doc began to stutter. "Why, last week. Why, recently!"

The other dwarfs nodded at that. "Yes, recently!" they said in unison.

"Oh, recently!" Snow White said.

Mrs. Calloway didn't trust it. "Well, if that is so, why don't you show your hands?"

"A good idea, Mrs. Calloway. Let me see your hands," Snow White said.

The dwarfs' eyes went wide, they hid their hands behind their backs and walked backwards.

"Let me see your hands," Snow White said while she walked towards them.

Doc slowly brought his hands from behind his back and showed them to Snow White. As suspected, his hands were very dirty.

"When did you say again? Recently?" Lucky Jack asked with a cocky attitude.

"Why, Doc, I'm surprised," Snow White said.

Doc looked at his hands and brought them back behind his back while chuckling nervously.

"Come on, let's see them," Snow White said.

Bashful nervously showed his hands too and quickly hid them behind his back with a red face.

"Oh, Bashful, my, my, my," Snow White said.

Snow White faced Sneezy next. "And you?"

Sneezy showed his hands without trouble and Snow White tsked at that. Happy tried to rub his hands against his sides to have no dirt, but when he showed them, it was a worthless effort.

"Worse than I thought," Snow White gasped.

Dopey quickly showed his hands, but his long sleeves covered them quickly.

"Oh," Snow White said.

Sleepy had his hands tucked underneath his beard and showed them.

"How shocking!" Mrs. Calloway gasped, and Snow White tsked again.

Sleepy saw his dirty hands and quickly hid them under his beard again with a smile that says 'nothing happened'. Grumpy looked at his own hand which were, without a doubt, just as dirty.

"Goodness me, this will never do," Snow White said.

Grumpy folded his arms again with a sour look.

"March straight outside and wash, or you'll not get a bite to eat," Snow White commanded like a mother.

"She sure is bossy," Maggie whispered to Mrs. Calloway.

"Well, she is right and you have seen their hands," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Maybe it's best if we wash them, too," Lucky Jack said.

"Yes, it's more polite," Grace said.

The dwarfs looked at each other and Doc motioned with his head to go outside. One by one, they all went outside. First Doc, then Bashful, Sneezy, Happy, and Dopey, who made a twirl. But then his spot in the line was taken over by Sleepy, Lucky Jack, and the cows, except Buck, making him walk at the end of the line. Grumpy was just staring at them with a sour expression. The dwarfs and animals went outside, except Dopey, who accidentally walked into a wall. But he quickly ran outside with a silly smile.

"Hah!" Grumpy said with no care.

"Hey, shouldn't you go outside, too?" Buck asked.

"And what about you?" Grumpy asked.

"Who, me? Uh-uh. Nobody tells me to go wash my hooves," Buck said.

But they didn't notice that Snow White was right behind them until they turned around.

"Well, aren't you going to wash?" Snow White asked them.

"Hmph, fine," Buck said, and Grumpy turned his back to Snow White like he didn't hear her.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Snow White asked in a teasing way.

Buck couldn't help but snicker. But when Grumpy heard that, his eyes went wide. He turned back to Snow White and stuck his tongue out. Snow White just smiled after that. Buck already went outside while Grumpy went outside against his will. But first, he bumped with his big nose against the door, causing Buck and Snow White to laugh. Part of his stocking cap was on his nose because of that.

"Oh! Did you hurt yourself?" Snow White asked.

Grumpy threw his stocking cap over his head and grunted. He walked outside and slammed the door with a hard thud. He sat on a barrel next to Buck, who was sitting like a dog on the ground. He grabbed a piece of straw and put it in his mouth.

"Hah, women!" Grumpy said.

"Excuse me. There's more than one woman here. Even if they're bovines," Buck said.

"You again. Hah, you're a male horse and your voice is too raspy for a female. The same goes for that old rabbit," Grumpy said.

"Why, you..." Buck mumbled under his breath and was ready to pounce on him again. But he got interrupted by a voice.

"Courage, men, courage," Doc said.

Grumpy was just looking at them, and Buck watched, too.

"Don't be nervous," Doc said while the dwarfs came close to a tub filled with water. The animals had no trouble with coming closer, it was water, after all.

"Are you guys okay? 'Cause if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're all scared of water," Maggie said.

"It's all right, Maggie. Everything's going to be just fine," Doc said.

The dwarfs all looked at the water in the tub with curiosity. Happy twirled his finger in the water. "Gosh, it's wet!"

"Water is always wet, silly willy," Maggie said.

Sneezy also put a finger in the water, but he quickly took it out. He shook his finger and sputtered. "It's cold, too!"

"Well, it's better that than nothing," Lucky Jack said.

"We ain't gonna do it, are we?" Bashful asked.

"We have to, Bashful dear," Mrs. Calloway said.

"It's very polite... Um, if you want it, that is," Grace said.

"And it'll please the Princess," Doc stuttered.

"Ha. I'll take a chance for her," Happy said.

"Me, too!" Bashful, Sneezy, and Sleepy said.

Grace smiled at that, but then she saw that Grumpy and Buck were just watching. "Aren't you two going to wash?"

"You can't make me, missy," Grumpy said.

"I wasn't planning to wash, anyway. Besides, my hooves aren't that dirty," Buck said.

"But you must, Buck. I don't want germs on anyone's food," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Hah! Her wiles are beginnin' to work. But I'm warnin' ya, you give 'em an inch, and they'll walk all over ya!" Grumpy said.

"Oh, don't make it so difficult, Grumpy. It's just washing hooves and hands," Maggie said.

"Well, maybe they should wash themselves entirely since they work in a mine. Maybe we should, too, just in case," Grace said.

"But is it really that smart to wash ourselves in front of these gentlemen?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Oh, don't act so shy, Calloway. You know us animals don't wear clothes," Maggie said, smiling a little.

Mrs. Calloway groaned a little. "Hmph, says the cow who dosen't think."

Grace smiled at that while the dwarfs looked confused.

"Forgive me for that, gentlemen. Some of us do have standards," Mrs. Calloway said.

"That's quite all right, Miss Calloway. And don't listen to that old warthog." Doc said, glaring at Grumpy. "Come on now, men and ladies."

"How hard do ya scrub?" Sneezy asked.

"Will our whiskers shrink?" Sleepy asked.

"Of course not," Maggie answered.

"Do ya get in the tub?" Happy asked.

"Do ya have to wash where it doesn't show?" Bashful asked.

The cows and rabbit's eyes went wide by that.

"Now, now, now, don't get excited. Here we go," Doc said and started to sing.

"Step up to the tub 'Tain't no disgrace Just pull up your sleeves and get 'em in place Then scoop up the water and rub it on your face and go brrr, brrr, brrr"

While he sang, the other dwarfs, rabbit, and cows grabbed the soap and washed their hooves and hands and then rubbed their faces.

"Pick up the soap Now don't try to bluff Work up a lather And when you got enough Get your hands and hooves full of water and you snort and you snuff and go brrr, brrr, brrr."

The dwarfs, cows, and rabbit scooped up the water and rubbed it on their faces and sputtered like Doc to get the foam off. And they kept doing that while he sang. Sleepy suddenly saw a fly that flew in his face and landed on the soap to wash itself, creating a big bubble that soon popped.

"You douse and you souse Rub and you scrub You sputter and splash all over the tub You may be cold and wet when you're done But you gotta admit it's good and clean fun So splash all you like 'Tain't any trick As soon as you're through You'll feel mighty slick"

Doc splashed a bit of water on his face and rubbed it off, Buck and Grumpy weren't exactly pleased.

"Bunch of old nanny goats. You make me sick going brrr, brrr, brrr," Buck said, blubbering with his mouth and spit in their direction.

Meanwhile, Doc was washing the heads of the dwarfs, cows, and rabbit with a brush. When he was about to scrub Dopey's head, Dopey ducked probably because he didn't want his head to be scrubbed. Doc tried and tried, but Dopey kept dodging and then he hit Dopey on the head, causing him to fall in the tub while sputtering. And Doc just washed Dopey's rear end. Some of the cows and Lucky Jack couldn't help but giggle. Buck and Grumpy were still watching. This time, Grumpy had something to say about this.

"Hah! Next thing you know, she'll be tyin' your beards, ears, fur, and tails up in pink ribbons and smellin' ya up with that stuff called, uh..."Perfoom." Hah!" he said and spit in another direction.

Buck cringed at the thought of having his mane and tail tied up in pink ribbons and smell like perfume. Happy washed the foam from his beard and shook his head causing his beard and the water to splash on Doc and Mrs. Calloway's faces. Doc wasn't very happy since he already got his glasses cleaned. Maggie and Sleepy grabbed some towels to dry every part of their body, they even shook themselves dry like dogs.

Dopey had a bit of trouble with water in his ears. Lucky Jack tried to help him in anyway he could. Dopey tried to slap the water out of his ears, but it didn't work. Then he tried to shake his head, but the water sloshed in his head. But then he blew on his finger and the water came out of his ears.

Sneezy was trying to look for a towel, but instead grabbed the clothes of Bashful. Grace accidentally did the same thing, but with his beard. Bashful didn't exactly look happy about that.

"A fine bunch of water lilies you turned out to be," Grumpy teased.

Doc readjusted his glasses, but when he heard that, he turned his attention at Grumpy. Mrs. Calloway heard that, too, and did the same thing.

"I'd like to see anybody make me wash if I didn't wanna," Grumpy challenged.

"And the same goes for me," Buck said.

With that, Doc and Mrs. Calloway glared at them. Then Doc cleared his throat and motioned for the dwarfs, cows, and rabbit to come closer. They huddled close together and Doc began to whisper things. Happy looked at Grumpy and chuckled. Maggie did the same thing. Dopey looked, too, but Happy brought him back down. When they finished, Doc grabbed up his belly, whistled like nothing was wrong and walked towards Grumpy and Buck. The other dwarfs, cows, and Lucky Jack did the same. They walked around Buck and Grumpy and stood there, whistling for a few moments. Grumpy and Buck didn't like where this was going. It was very suspicious.

"Get them!" Doc yelled, and they all pounced on the grouchy dwarf and the horse, causing the barrel to break.

Half of the dwarfs and the animals held on to Grumpy while the other half held on Buck. The two were struggling to get free. "Hey, let go of me!" Grumpy shouted.

"Get them over at the tub. Get them over at the tub," Doc commanded while they brought them to the tub.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Buck shouted.

"Let me loose, you fools! Let me loose!" Grumpy shouted.

"Don't let them get away!" Mrs. Calloway commanded, too.

"Get them up on the tub. Get them up! Hang on to them! Bang them! Pound them!" Doc kept commanding. "Get them up on the tub! On the tub. That's the tub. That's the tub. Don't, don't, don't, don't get excited! Don't get... Don't get up... Don't get..."

Dopey was pushing Sneezy in the air in an attempt to help, but then Sneezy fell on him and caused him to bump into Mrs. Calloway.

"Oof!" Mrs. Calloway said, and the two rolled backwards.

She was a little dazed from the rolling. Dopey was cutely clinging on to her. She shook her head when she saw that and pushed him off.

"Get the soap!" Mrs. Calloway said.

Dopey nodded and quickly ran to get the soap. When he grabbed it, it slipped out of his hands.

"Hey, steady, everyone," Maggie said while they were busy with Buck and Grumpy.

"We'll get them there. We'll get them," Happy said.

And Dopey was still struggling with the slippery piece of soap. When it once again slipped out of his hands, it landed with a thud on his head and then on the ground. Dopey saw it and try to crawl towards it.

"Never say die. Never say die," Happy said.

"You don't..." Grumpy shouted.

"You wouldn't..." Buck shouted.

Then Dopey pounced at the soap, but it bounced against Doc's behind and right into his mouth. Dopey started to hiccup and bubbles came out of his mouth. He tried to look for the soap, but hiccuped again, causing him to jump. He was completely confused and felt at his belly, but then he hiccuped more, causing more bubbles to come out of his mouth.

Meanwhile, the cows, dwarfs, and rabbit were laughing while they washed Buck and Grumpy. They scrubbed their heads, their teeth, their faces, and even Grumpy's beard and Buck's mane and tail. The two didn't like it one bit.

"What's the matter, Buck? Scared of a little water?" Maggie asked in a teasing way, and everyone laughed. Even Grace had a bit of fun in this.

"A little bit here. And now there. That's it," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie began to sing further.

"Now, scrub, good and hard It can't be denied That they'll look mighty cute as soon as they're dried"

And then everybody sang.

"Well, it's good for the soul And it's good for the hide to go..."

And they all pushed Buck and Grumpy into the tub.

"Brrr, brrr, brrr!" Grumpy and Buck sputtered.

During that time, Dopey still got the hiccups. A lot of bubbles escaped. Then he tried to close his mouth and hold his breath. His head became very red and then suddenly he hiccuped again, causing him to launch into the air and fall with a hard thud on the ground. Another hiccup released a bubble that made his stocking cap float. The bubble popped and the cap fell on his head again. The dwarfs were tying Grumpy's beard in blue ribbons while the cows and rabbit styled Buck's mane and tied it along with his tail in pink ribbons. The two of them were getting very angry.

"Now doesn't that look gorgeous on you both? Simply gorgeous," Mrs. Calloway teased.

"Ain't they sweet?" Bashful asked.

Sneezy sniffed on both Grumpy and Buck. "Smells like a petunia." The dwarfs, cows, and rabbit began to laugh.

"They should be a male couple," Happy said.

Then they laughed some more and placed a flower wreath on Grumpy's head while Maggie did the same with Buck.

"They sure are cute," Maggie said and kissed on both the dwarf and horse's head.

Then everybody laughed very hard.

"Wait till I get my hooves on all of you!" Buck shouted in anger and embarrassment.

"You'll pay dearly for this!" Grumpy shouted.

But no one felt threatened, they were having good fun.

Suddenly, they heard the familiar voice of a human girl. "Supper!"

They all heard that and smiled.

"Supper!" Doc said.

"Food. Hooray!" everybody shouted and threw Grumpy and Buck into the tub.

The two sputtered and raised from the water. Buck spit some water out of his mouth. He had his flower wreath around his neck while he leaned on his hoof. "Ah, horsefeathers."

Grumpy had his wreath hanging on his nose and just glared with one big 'Hah!'

Chapter 11: Music in Your Soup

Snow White clanged with her spoon against the pot. "Supper!"

Everybody, except Grumpy and Buck, ran inside and sat on the table, filling their bowls with soup.

"Oh, goodie. I haven't been this hungry since that picnic," Maggie said.

"Feel free to take as much as you want, y'all. Me and Snow White made it with a very special recipe," Lucky Jack said.

"Then let's get on with it," Happy said.

They all put their bowls on the table and began to eat. Everyone, except Mrs. Calloway, Grace, and Lucky Jack, was slurping the soup noisily. Happy was the first to have a smile on his face.

"Gee, Lucky Jack. This is the best soup ever," he said.

"Why, thank you, Happy. That's mighty kind of you, but could you..." But before Lucky Jack could say something, they all slurped further. And then Happy began to sing, everyone still eating and slurping while he did that.

"With a spoon and a bowl With the music in your soul You can cheer things up with the zub, zub, zub Of the music in your soup

With a gulp With a grin, hahah Get a wiggle on your chin You can make things hum with a zum, zum, zum Of the music in your soup"

And then everybody, except Lucky Jack, Mrs. Calloway, and Grace, sang along and kept slurping. Bashful even tied his beard on his head to eat better, and Dopey drank his entire bowl in one gulp, and Maggie did the same. Then the brown cow burped loudly. "Ah, that was good!" she said, and the dwarfs laughed.

"Swing that spoon Gotta keep on dippin' Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp Scoop up that soup Gotta keep on sippin' Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp Till the bowl is dry And your face is drippin'"

Then they all clinked their bowls to each other, filled them again and continued with eating.

"Let her rip! Let her roar! To the first and the second And the third encore"

Maggie was drinking her soup like a pig, much to Mrs. Calloway's shock.

"Dear, why are you eating like that? That's definitely not like you and unladylike," she said.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Calloway. I didn't realize how hungry I was," Maggie said.

Mrs. Calloway groaned a little while Grace and Lucky Jack looked at each other and shook their heads.

Meanwhile, Doc used some bread to dip in the soup and shoot it right in his mouth. Sneezy used two spoons to eat more soup while Happy was just eating normally in his way. Dopey used his tongue to lick the soup like a dog and even panted like one. And then he licked his face off. Suddenly, a familiar horse went inside, looking like his normal self. He still wasn't happy about what happened a few moments ago. He smelled the soup and saw that his stomach was growling, so he went towards the table to sit. But also a certain grouchy dwarf walked inside, he smelled the soup, too, and his mouth began to water already. He looked around to see if no one saw him and slowly crawled towards his chair. When he reached the table, he kept sniffing at the food. Then he sat on his chair and saw Buck tasting the soup. He had a smile on his face. He still didn't like Grumpy because of his attitude, but he couldn't help but say the next thing.

"Oh, boy. You've got to taste this, Grumpy," Buck said while he also began to slurp.

Grumpy raised an eyebrow. He looked at the soup, took his spoon, and dipped it into the bowl. He sniffed at it and then he tasted it. Then his eyes went wide and quickly grabbed the bowl closer. He ate the soup and slurped very loudly. Mrs. Calloway, Lucky Jack, and Grace couldn't take it anymore. It made them lose their appetite.

"Please. Please!" Snow White said, but no one listened. Then she grabbed a spoon and clinked it against her bowl. When the dwarfs, Maggie, and Buck heard the clinking, they stopped immediately. All except one. Grumpy was still slurping very loudly until Sleepy made him stop. He gave him a few nudges, and Grumpy was about to hit him. But Sleepy showed him why he did it, and Grumpy already knew the answer.

"Thank you, Snow White. I didn't know how much more I could take from that," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Where did you learn to eat soup that way?" Snow White asked.

"Oh, guess it just come natural," Bashful said.

"Hah. Anybody can do it," Happy said.

"With practice," Bashful said again.

"I'm sorry, boys. But slurping like that isn't good table manners," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Yeah, it is kind of annoying," Lucky Jack said.

"We're sorry, guys. But the soup is so delicious," Maggie said.

"Hahahah. Yes, but you don't understand. This is the way ladies and gentlemen eat soup," Snow White said while she sat down.

"Ladies and gentlemen?" the dwarfs asked.

"Yes, it's the most proper and fine way of eating," Mrs. Calloway said.

"It's a lot better than slurping," Grace said.

"Fine," Buck said.

"Now watch. Spoon in the hand, bending the wrist, into the bowl, and out with a twist," Snow White explained while demonstrating it.

"Spoon in the hand, bending the wrist, into the bowl, and out with a twist," the dwarfs, cow, and horse said while doing the same thing.

"Fine! That's perfect!" Mrs. Calloway said with a smile.

"Perfect?!" the dwarfs, Maggie, and Buck said and they did exactly how Snow White showed them, but they slurped again while doing it.

Mrs. Calloway's mouth hung wide open, and Lucky Jack closed it for her. Snow White was about to gasp, but then she shook her head with a smile.

"Well, at least they're improving," Grace said.

So Mrs. Calloway, Grace, Lucky Jack, and Snow White ate their soup on the proper way while the others kept doing the same thing.

"So, you arrived here because of a book?" Doc asked Maggie.

"Yes, it was very weird. Although, we had these other experiences like catching this wanted outlaw I know named Alameda Slim, and..." Maggie said, but got interrupted.

"Wait. Who's Alameda Slim?" Happy asked.

"Oh, it's a long story. You see, I used to live at an old farm called Dixon Ranch, and I pretty much had a family of cows, most of them were Longhorns. But then Slim showed up and took the whole herd, and my owner, Abner, couldn't afford to keep the place. Including me," Maggie answered.

"That's awful," Snow White said.

"I know. He did the same to Lucky Jack's home as well. But in the end, we did return home after we caught Slim," Maggie said.

"So how are you going to get back home if you want to leave? Not that you have to leave, that is," Bashful said.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure if we're gonna get back home, but we're not gonna give up till we find a way back," Maggie said.

"And what's it like living there?" Doc asked.

"Oh, it's not so bad. We've been owned by Pearl herself. She's the ruler of Patch of Heaven, along with the Sheriff. I could just imagine how they're doing back home without us. Boy, have I got a story to tell the other animals there when I get back. That is, if me and my friends ever get back. We lost our homes once, we can't lose another one." Maggie started to worry. Her friends were also a little worried.

Doc saw her expression. "Don't worry, Maggie. I'm sure you'll find a way somehow."

"Yeah. And when you do, you're welcome here anytime. You and your friends. Just like Snow White," Sleepy said, and Snow White smiled at that.

Mrs. Calloway smiled at that, too. "Thank you all so much. You seven are great. The rest of the animals back home would like you if they ever met you." Then she turned her attention to Snow White. "Pearl is kinda like you, Snow White, and not only because she's an owner. She's very kind, caring, and gentle. You'd like her."

"I sure would be delighted to meet your owner someday," Snow White said.

"And we would love to come back as much as we want. That is, if Grumpy wants that," Grace said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Grumpy said while he kept eating.

Buck heard that again. "Really? Aren't you even a teensy bit happy about anything?"

"Not one bit," Grumpy said.

"Well, you should be. Prepare yourself, Mr. Frowny Face, I'm gonna turn that frown upside down," Maggie said with glee, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Really? I'd like to see you try," Grumpy challenged.

"Oh, you bet I do. Because tonight, we're gonna party... Happy style!" Maggie said.

"A party?! Hooray!" the dwarfs yelled, and they kept eating.

In his enthusiasm, Dopey slurped so powerful that his spoon was coming closer to his mouth. When doing it again, the spoon suddenly went into his mouth. When he was about to take another sip, he noticed that his spoon was not in his hand. He looked at his hand and then in his sleeve. He was very confused right now. Then he looked at his bowl of soup and thought it might be in there. So he tried to search inside the soup until suddenly, he started to hiccup again, making bubbles come out of his mouth and something metallic clinked. He hiccuped again, and as a result, he accidentally pushed the bowl away. He rubbed his belly and heard the same metallic sound again. He realized that his spoon was in his belly. The silly dwarf tried to get everyone's attention by pointing inside his mouth in panic, and then he hiccuped again. The dwarfs, cows, Buck, Lucky Jack, and Snow White noticed that.

"Wha-wha-wha... What's the matter with Dopey?" Happy asked.

"He swallowed his spoon," Lucky Jack answered.

"Oh, the poor thing," Grace said.

Dopey kept on hiccuping, making him jump into the air. He tried to hold on tight to his chair, but it didn't work. Both him and the chair jumped into the air while he hiccuped. He kept doing the same thing.

"Hey, get him!" Doc said.

"I got him!" Happy said as he tried to grab Dopey, but failed.

The other dwarfs, cows, horse, and rabbit ran over to catch Dopey. They grabbed the chair, but it went into the air again. They brought it down, but then Dopey went into the air again. Maggie caught him. Sneezy and Sleepy helped her.

"It's okay. I got him," Maggie said, but another hiccup sent Dopey, Sneezy, Sleepy, and Maggie into the air, and then they fell back on the floor.

Happy was standing on a chair. "Open his mouth. I'll get it," he said while he pulled up his sleeve. Sneezy opened Dopey's mouth very wide while Happy stood ready with his arm. "Say 'Ah'."

"Aaaaaaaaah!" Dopey said and hiccuped again, causing to release a bubble that contained the spoon.

"There it is," Grumpy said.

"Grab it!" Buck said.

"I got it!" Happy said.

But when Happy tried to grab it, the bubble popped and the spoon fell back in Dopey's stomach.

"No, no. That'll never work. Turn him upside down. Snake it... Shake it out!" Doc corrected.

Buck and Grumpy held Dopey upside down while trying to shake the spoon out, but it didn't work. Then Grumpy tried by slapping on Dopey's behind.

"Here, I'll get it. Bend him over!" Happy said.

Grumpy and Sneezy bended Dopey over while Happy pulled the underside of his vest aside.

"That's it. There," Happy said and took a few steps backwards. "Ready?"

"Ready!" the dwarfs and animals said in unison.

"Clear the way!" Happy said, and then he ran very fast towards Dopey. Then he got close enough, he quickly gave Dopey a hard kick in his behind, causing both the spoon and the piece of soap to come out of his mouth.

They all stared at it with a smile. Even Grumpy pointed at it with a smile. Snow White ducked and the soap and the spoon both clung against the wall.

"Hooray!" everybody shouted.

Chapter 12: Curious, Tricked, and a Disguise

Back in Patch of Heaven, the farm had never been so silent before. Not a single sound was heard. Until suddenly, the gate opened.

"Maggie! Guys! I'm here!" said a voice.

It belonged to a cow with a tan coat. Her name was Becky. She came inside with a few snacks of her own. She searched everywhere around the farm for her friends until she saw light coming from the barn.

"They must be in there," she thought and went towards it. "I'm sorry I'm a little late! Rusty wanted to come, too, but he's working on a new act for the upcoming dog show! I even brought some snacks in case if we ran out!" she called.

But still no answer, Becky felt a little worried when she came closer to the barn.

"Hello? Maggie?" When she opened the door, she saw that no one was there. There were only sleeping bags and a table with snacks. "Where are they? Hello?! Anyone here?!"

She looked around and still found no one. "I hope it's not a joke. Or maybe it's a surprise, it's not even my birthday."

But then she saw a book on the ground. She raised an eyebrow and picked it up. She looked at it with curiosity and even saw the strange symbol on the cover.

"I've never seen this book before," Becky said to herself.

She looked around again and then at the book again. "It wouldn't be bad to read a little. I'll look for Maggie and the rest later," she opened the book and read the message.

Dear readers and adventurers,

You are in possession of the Book of Disney. This book is very special in its own way. It makes the world you are living now change forever. While you read it, it is just like you are experiencing the stories yourself. Experience these amazing adventures full of wonder and danger. Face the nefarious villains and bond yourself with the characters that are pure of heart.

Have fun.

"What does that all mean?" Becky asked and turned to another page. She read the title. "Hmm... 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'? Is this a storybook?"

She began to read a little part of the story, but no sooner, a light engulfed the book. The burst of magic and light appeared again and it tried to suck Becky into the book. "Hey! What is this? No!"

She tried to escape, but the power got stronger and she was sucked inside the book with a scream. "AAAAAAAHHH!" And with that, the book closed again.

A blinding light appeared inside the castle and Becky landed on the ground with a thud. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Ow, my head." But then she looked around and saw that she wasn't in the barn. "What? Where am I?"

She kept looking around. Only torches were the only light in the darkness of the castle. She felt a little uncomfortable. "Am I in a castle? It looks a bit creepy, even for my taste," she said.

Suddenly, she saw a light coming from a room. "Ah, some light. Maybe there's someone who can help me," she said, and she walked towards it.

When she arrived at the room, she saw that there are blue curtains with stars closed. She went towards one, took a small look, and suddenly her eyes went wide. Right in front of her, was a very strange creature she had never seen before. It was the evil Queen of whom Becky had never heard of. "What is that?" Becky asked herself.

The Queen was standing in front of her magic mirror with a casket in her hands with her back against Becky. This time, our cow friend really needed to look out.

"Magic Mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?" she asked.

And with that, the Mirror began to speak, much to Becky's surprise. She was even surprised that both the strange creature and an object could talk. "Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the seven dwarfs dwell Snow White and her animal friends, fairest one of all."

At that, Becky became interested, the Mirror mentioned 'animal', but who was this Snow White?

"Snow White lies dead in the forest. The Huntsman has brought me proof," the Queen said while she opened the casket and showed it to the Mirror. "Behold, her heart."

"What? It can't be. Did she command someone to kill this Snow White? That can't really be her heart, could it?" she thought to herself.

Then the Mirror spoke again. "Snow White still lives, the fairest in the land. 'Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand."

Becky raised an eyebrow at that, but the Queen didn't look very happy when she heard that. Because the Mirror was always right. Always.

"The heart of a pig! Then I've been tricked," she said with venom in her words, closed the casket, and walked away.

"I gotta follow whatever that is, but I can't let it see me. Who knows what she is capable of," Becky said. She followed the Queen. She silently followed her down a few stairs that led to a creepy dungeon where rats were running around. Becky felt a little uncomfortable about that place and the rats. But luckily, the disease-spreading rodents were crawling away from the Queen. Becky became even more uncomfortable when she saw that the dungeon was filled with cobwebs and skeletons. Now she was definitely sure that that creature was very dangerous. The Queen opened a door in front of her and walked inside, Becky quickly followed. When she walked inside, she quickly hid under a table right next to her, just in case. She saw that she was in a laboratory with test tubes, flasks, and books and all that stuff. There was even a raven sleeping on a skull with a hole on the top. When the Queen closed the door, the raven woke up and noticed her.

The Queen looked at the casket in disgust. "The heart of a pig! The blundering fool!" And she threw the casket hard on the ground causing it to open. The heart rolled out in the process and went towards Becky. When she saw the heart, her eyes went wide and tried to scream. But her hoof prevented that. The raven got a little startled until the Queen spoke once more.

"I'll go myself to the dwarfs' cottage in a disguise so complete no one will ever suspect," she said while walking towards a bookcase.

Becky became even more curious. She saw different kinds of books on the shelf. The titles were Astrology, Black Arts, Alchemy, Witchcraft, Black Magic, Disguises, Sorcery, and Poisons. The Queen grabbed the book 'Disguises' and opened the book. She searched through the pages.

"Now, a formula to transform my beauty into ugliness. Change my queenly raiment to a peddler's cloak," she said and finally found what she was looking for.

It was a formula named 'Peddler's Disguise'. Becky was as quiet as possible while the Queen read the ingredients. "Mummy Dust to make me old. To shroud my clothes, the Black of Night," she said and grabbed a test tube with some kind of black liquid and a glass filled with a different kind of liquid. She released one drop into the glass and the entire liquid substance became as black as the darkness. Becky kept watching how she added various ingredients to make some potion.

"To age my voice, an Old Hag's Cackle." The Queen went to a retort with a red liquid. She opened the valve of the bunsen burner and the liquid began to bubble. But while it did, the liquid cackled like a witch. It scared Becky a little. Several drops ended in the glass with the black liquid. It immediately turned red and the Queen grabbed the glass again. She went towards some kind of brown kettle. "To whiten my hair, a Scream of Fright." She opened the valve and a white liquid came out of it, changing the red liquid into green. It also released a ghost-like cloud that let out a terrifying scream. Becky became more uncomfortable than usual.

The Queen went to a window with bars and raised her glass. "A blast of wind... To fan my hate!" She summoned a large gust of wind that almost blew away the raven. Even Becky was doing her best to not get blown away. "A thunderbolt...!" A terrifying lightning bolt appeared outside and the drink began to bubble and release a bit of smoke. "...to mix it well," she finished. She looked at the glass with the green liquid. "Now. Begin thy magic spell."

She drank the entire substance in one gulp and suddenly she dropped the glass, making it break on the floor. Becky was watching every detail and it shocked her. The Queen tried to gasp for air and her entire world started to spin. Thunder and lightning stroke everywhere. Her black hair turned to white while trying to gasp for air. Becky didn't dare to look and sometimes couldn't help but sneak a peek behind her hooves.

The Queen looked at her hands that began to change. "Look. My hands." Her hands became terrifying and skeletally. The thunder showed the bones in her hand. Green liquid along with darkness and bubbles appeared and suddenly disappeared. And just when Becky thought it was over, she was wrong. For at that moment, she heard a completely new voice.

"My voice," the Queen spoke with a raspy voice. "My voice."

And all of a sudden, she began to laugh maniacally. That laugh made the cow shake in fear. "A perfect disguise." The Queen turned herself around and she no longer had her so-called beauty. Instead she had an ugly witch face with one tooth, a wart on her nose, long white hair, and creepy green eyes. She also didn't wear her queens clothes, she was completely dressed in black.

The sight made Becky tremble all over. She would sure have nightmares from that. Even the raven was scared to death and fell inside the skull he was standing on. The poor bird looked through the skull's eyes, thinking he was safe in there.

"And this time, no one can stop me from achieving my goal," the Queen, turned Witch, said.

Suddenly, a spider came too close to Becky and she shrieked a little, but quickly covered her mouth. The Witch heard that and had a suspicious look. She was about to say something, but she had other plans. She walked towards a table with a few potions. She grabbed a blue one and dropped a few drops on the floor. The drops released a cloud of smoke, it even came close to Becky. And suddenly, she was visible again. Becky noticed this. "Oh, no," she whispered.

The spider was still there and Becky waved her hoof at it. "Go on. Shoo!" she whispered, and the spider walked away.

But suddenly, everything was silent. Very silent. She didn't like that. She carefully looked around to see if the Witch was there, and suddenly, she got grabbed by the tail making her scream. She heard the same maniacal cackling from behind her. She turned around and it was just like she feared, the Witch got her by the tail. She was discovered.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? A cow?" the Witch asked.

"Wh-wh-who are you?" Becky asked.

"And a talking one, too. This is getting very interesting."

"I'm warning you. I can use all my strength, and it's more than a match for you," Becky said, trying to be brave.

"You use cow skills?" the Witch asked in surprise.

"You bet I do. Take this!" Becky tried to charge the Witch, but she pushed her back.

"The potion I used didn't only show me where you are, it also drained all powers," the Witch said.

"Who are you and how do you know so much about all this?" Becky asked.

"I am Grimhilde, the ruler of this kingdom and I know everything. And you? You must be one of Snow White's new animal friends."

"What new animals?"

"Don't take me for a fool! There were three cows like you, a horse, and a rabbit, too," the Witch said.

"Three cows? Horse? Rabbit? Wait. Maggie and her friends are here?" Becky asked in wonder and shock.

"So you do know them. That's good," the Witch said and came closer to Becky.

"Wait. Stay back! What are you going to do?" Becky asked in horror.

The Witch grabbed her tightly and went to a corner. She grabbed a chain with a neck cuff that was attached to the wall and put it on Becky. There was no escape this time. The cow tried to break free, but it didn't help.

"Let me go! I don't have anything to do with this," Becky ordered.

"Oh, you won't leave. Not yet, at least. I have great plans for my stepdaughter and those friends of yours. I already know what to do with the girl, but I still need to think of what to do with the animals," the Witch said.

"No, you can't hurt my friends!" Becky said.

"I'll be the judge of that, dearie," the Witch said and walked towards her book.

"And now... A special sort of death for one so fair," the Witch said and looked through the pages. "What shall it be?" she asked silently until... "AH!" And it frightened both Becky and the raven. "A poisoned apple! Sleeping Death."

The Witch chuckled and began to read a page about the poisoned apple. There was a picture of an apple with a skull on the front, and while she read, Becky became more fearful. "One taste of the Poisoned Apple, and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping DEATH."

With that last part, she smiled in a scary way towards the camera. Her face disappeared, which only showed her creepy eyes.

Chapter 13: The Yodel Party

In the dark of the night, the only light in the forest came from the cottage. There, the forest animals came to the window because a certain series of sounds attracted them; music. The forest animals began to dance while they looked inside.

Inside, everybody was having the time of their lives. The cows, horse, rabbit, and dwarfs yodeled and danced. Doc was playing a double bass-like instrument that was shaped like a swan called a swanette, Bashful played a concertina, Sneezy played a lute that was shaped like a duck, and Grumpy played on an organ with pipes in the shape of various animals. Happy was first dancing with Dopey, then he went solo for a few seconds and then he danced together with Maggie in a similar way as with Dopey. Snow White was happily clapping her hands.

ANIMALS AND DWARFS: Ho-la-la-ee-ay Ho-la-la-ee-ay Ho-la-la-ee-ay-ee-la-ee-ay-ee-lee-ay Ho-la-la-ee-ay Ho-la-la-ee-ay Ho-la-la-ee-ay-ee-la-lee-ay-lee-o-lee-ay

Doc began to yodel, and then Bashful. Sneezy did a very long and hilarious yodel, and Lucky Jack and Dopey couldn't help but stare at his Adam's Apple that was going up and down. Grumpy played a few notes on the organ, and Happy cleared his throat when he was about to sing.

HAPPY: I'd like to dance and tap my feet But they won't keep in rhythm You see, I washed them both today And I can't do nothing with 'em

ANIMALS AND DWARFS: Ho hum, the tune is dumb The words don't mean a thing Isn't this a silly song For anyone to sing?

Happy danced in a funny way and finished with a pose. Then Mrs. Calloway took the chance to sing a verse while Grumpy played a few notes on the organ. "Allow me. I'll show you how a lady does it."

"You go, Calloway!" Maggie cheered.

MRS. CALLOWAY: I live on this lovely farm Called Little Patch of Heaven But when the children are not good I always loose my hat, get it?

ANIMALS AND DWARFS: Ho hum, the tune is dumb The words don't mean a thing Isn't this a silly song For anyone to sing?

Mrs. Calloway then began to dance in a graceful way while the animals and dwarfs sang. Then Grumpy kept playing the organ while Dopey played in the percussion instruments. He knocked on a few owl heads. Then he launched a barrage of drumsticks on a drum, making them go into the air and went through his sleeves towards another drum. He used the last to give a soft slap on a cymbal. Meanwhile, Sneezy and Maggie were pushing Bashful towards Snow White. He was already shy, it made the dwarfs and the animals laugh.

"Come on, Bashful. You got it!" Maggie encouraged Bashful.

"I..." Bashful was about to sing, but then he giggled and turned a deep shade of red.

The animals and dwarfs were laughing with that. Grumpy was a bit annoyed by that and he restarted his notes on the organ to give Bashful a second try. Bashful danced a little, and then he was about to sing. But he blushed once more, hiding his face behind his beard.

"Oh, G-gosh!" he said.

The dwarfs and animals laughed louder. Grumpy became very impatient and played a shrill note on his organ. With that, Bashful finally began to sing.

BASHFUL: I chased a polecat up a tree Way out upon a limb And when he got the best of me I got the worst of him

Bashful began to snicker and hid his face behind his beard again while blushing. Meanwhile, Sleepy was playing a flute shaped like a fish.

ANIMALS AND DWARFS: Ho hum, the tune is dumb The words don't mean a thing Isn't this a silly song For anyone to sing?

Dopey was playing on the cymbal and Snow White gave it one kick. Happy was walking merrily towards Snow White and began to yodel. And after that, Snow White vocalized in a high note. Sleepy began to yawn while a fly buzzed around his head and inside his mouth. When he saw it, he tried to slap it away. Then Doc asked Snow White to dance with him and she happily accepted it. Then she danced with Bashful, Sneezy, Buck, Lucky Jack, and back to Doc once more. Dopey was playing on the percussion instruments while his eyes rolled around and around. Suddenly, the same fly who annoyed Sleepy sat on Dopey's ear. When he felt the fly, he used the drumsticks to try and hit it, but hit the percussion instruments instead like a professional.

Maggie heard that and looked at Dopey. "All right, Dopey! ROCK ON!"

"Yeah!" Buck yelled.

All of a sudden, Dopey got tired from trying to get the fly. Then the fly sat on Sleepy's nose while he played the flute. Sleepy saw the fly and was about to hit it, but Dopey gave him a cymbal in an attempt to help him catch the fly. Then when Sleepy tried to slap it, the cymbal in his hands slammed against his face and he shook like crazy. That might keep him awake for a while. In the meantime, Snow White was dancing along with Doc, Happy, and Grace. Grumpy was still playing on the organ until a note began to stick and Grumpy fixed it quickly. Then he played in sync, causing all the pipes of the organ to make a sound until a little bird popped out of an egg and made one chirp.

Snow White was dancing with Bashful while Maggie did her silly dance from the last party she and her friends had in Patch of Heaven. The dwarfs and animals laughed and cheered at that. Mrs. Calloway and Grace soon joined her and the three of them did some sort of line dance, then they did a curtsey to which the others cheered. The cows walked away and then it was Buck's turn to show off. He danced karate style in his immature, but silly way. Then he posed as a strong manlike horse.

"Jump back, kiss myself!" he said and kissed his muscle. And Snow White couldn't help but giggle at his actions.

As he walked away, too, Lucky Jack was next. He danced in his own silly way, but suddenly fell, due to his wooden peg leg. Everyone laughed very hard at that and Doc and Bashful helped him back up again.

"This happens all the time," he said.

The dwarfs continued to laugh, cheer, and dance as they got back together. The forest animals were also having a great time. Meanwhile, Dopey was wearing a long coat and stepped on Sneezy's shoulders.

"Watch out. Be ca... Watch... Watch... Watch... Watch..." Sneezy said and was on the verge of sneezing. "Ah!"

Dopey prevented it by putting his foot under his nose.

"Thanks," Sneezy said.

Dopey put the rest of the coat around Sneezy and closed the buttons. And so, the two went towards the dance floor for their great opportunity to dance with Snow White. Dopey happily snapped his fingers while Sneezy did the walking. Everybody was yodeling again and laughed when they saw the tall Dopey. Snow White and Dopey bowed to each other, but then Dopey was about to fall and everybody laughed even more. Then Sneezy grabbed him by the back and pulled him back straight.

And then the couple started to dance while everybody else danced and played on their instruments. Dopey was having the time of his life while Sneezy struggled to follow Snow White's steps. Doc played solo on the lute for a moment while Dopey danced around Snow White. Dopey had to pull on the coat for once because Sneezy was struggling with keeping up. The dwarfs and the animals laughed at that. The couple did some kind of Russian dance while the rest clapped their hands and hooves. Bashful made a few notes on the concertina and Maggie used two drumsticks to knock on the owl heads and then on the cymbal.

Everybody did various things while playing on instruments, dancing and clapping their hooves and hands. Dopey and Sneezy were dancing like crazy, they were a perfect team together. Everybody cheered them on. But suddenly, everybody stopped the music because they heard someone sneezing. It was Sneezy, who was hidden underneath Dopey's coat. He showed his head and tried to warn everybody. And then Dopey closed the coat.

"Oh, boy. HE'S GONNA BLOW!" Buck shouted.

"TAKE COVER!" Lucky Jack shouted.

While Sneezy struggled to hold his sneeze, Snow White covered her ears. Doc, Happy, Maggie, and Mrs. Calloway searched for something to hide. Grace, Bashful, Sleepy, Buck, and Grumpy hid behind the organ, the forest animals ran away from the window, and Lucky Jack, who was desperately trying to hide, took an umbrella and used it as a shield. Sneezy was still struggling, but it didn't take long. In a worthless attempt to stop him, Dopey, being a good friend, held his finger in front of his own nose.

"AAAAAAHH! ACHOOOOOOOO!" Sneezy yelled. His sneeze inflated the coat and launched Dopey to the ceiling.

The top of the coat slowly landed on the ground and revealed a smiling Sneezy. Every animal and dwarf laughed at that. Snow White also laughed when she sat on a chair and looked at the ceiling. There, sat Dopey on a small wooden beam, smiling and wiggling his ears. Everybody kept laughing. Dopey came down by spinning around a pillar. Snow White gave a few last laughs while the forest animals appeared again at the window.

"Hoo-wee! What a party," Maggie said.

"That was fun," Snow White said.

"You can say that again," Lucky Jack said.

"Now you do something," Happy said to Snow White.

"Well, what shall I do?" Snow White asked.

"Oh, we could play games. How about 'Pin the tail on the cow'?" Maggie said.

"Or 'Horseback riding'?" Buck said.

"Tell us a story," Sleepy said while scratching his behind.

"Yes, tell us a story," the dwarfs said.

"That sounds fun," Maggie said.

"A true story," Happy said.

"A love story," Bashful added.

"Oh, that would be lovely," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I would like that, too," Grace said.

"Well, once there was a princess," Snow White began to tell her story.

"Was the princess you?" Doc asked.

"Obviously," Buck answered.

"And she fell in love," Snow White continued.

"Was it hard to do?" Sneezy asked.

Snow White chuckled by that. "Oh, it was very easy. Anyone could see that the Prince was charming. The only one for me."

The dwarfs and animals got a little closer. Sneezy sat on a chair while Maggie laid herself on her belly with her hooves folded underneath her.

"Was he strong and handsome?" Doc asked.

"Was he big and tall?" Sneezy asked.

"There's nobody like him anywhere at all," Snow White said.

"Did he say he loved ya?" Bashful asked.

"Did he steal a kiss?" Maggie asked.

And suddenly, Snow White began to sing. "He was so romantic, I could not resist."

Happy and Doc looked at each other and nodded. The other dwarfs and animals began to like it, too. And with that, they came closer to her while she sang further.

"Some day my prince will come Some day we'll meet again And away to his castle we'll go To be happy forever I know"

While she sang, the dwarfs listened in a dream-like state. Dopey rubbed his nose while he listened. The cows, horse, and rabbit also couldn't help but feel relaxed. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway smiled affectionately while they listened. Lucky Jack couldn't help but smile as well. Grace was very amazed at her human friend's singing, it matched her own. Buck was listening, too, but then he looked behind him and saw that Grumpy was leaning against the organ with his back against the company.

The grumpy dwarf looked behind him with the same frown as always. "Hah! Mush!" he said and looked back at the wall.

"Some day when spring is here We'll find our love anew"

Meanwhile, the forest animals were cuddling each other. Males with females, of course. Grace couldn't help but smile at the adorable scene. Sleepy was on the brink of sleeping until he woke up by a high note from Snow White. He placed his hand on his cheek again and kept listening with a smile.

"And the birds will sing And wedding bells will ring Some day when my dreams come true"

Chapter 14: We'll be Comfortable

At the end of the song, everyone sighed dreamily. Suddenly, they came back to reality by a cuckoo clock. This particular clock had a squirrel with a hammer hitting an acorn, and instead of a cuckoo, a frog came out of the little door. The time was eleven o' clock at night.

"Is it that late?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, my goodness! It's past bedtime. Go right upstairs to bed," Snow White said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired from that party," Grace yawned.

"Me, too," Buck said.

Snow White brought the dwarfs to the stairs while the animals followed. Dopey was happily hopping in front of them. But suddenly, Doc grabbed him.

"Wait! Hold on there, men!" Doc said and threw Dopey back to the other dwarfs. "The, uh, Princess and the lovely ladies will sleep in our beds upstairs."

"Oh, we appreciate that, but what about you guys?" Snow White asked.

"Where will you sleep?" Grace asked.

"Oh, we, Buck, and Lucky Jack, of course, will be quite comfortable down here in... In..." Doc explained. He tried to say something until...

"In a pig's eye!" Grumpy finished.

"In a pig's eye... Sty. No, no! I mean... We'll be comfortable, won't we, men?" Doc asked his fellow dwarfs, much to Grumpy's displeasure.

"Oh, yes. Mighty comfortable," they all said.

"Now, don't you worry about us," Doc said.

Meanwhile, Dopey looked behind his back and saw a pillow on a couch. He slowly walked towards it so he could sleep on it.

"We'll be all right, ma'am," Happy said.

"Go right on up now, my dears," Doc said.

The two male animals looked at each other and turned to the others. "Don't we have a say in this?" Buck asked.

"Yes, boys?" Grace asked them.

Both Buck and Lucky Jack couldn't resist that. "That, uh... That it is a great idea for the girls to sleep in the beds upstairs," Buck said.

"Yeah. We'll be comfortable down here," Lucky Jack said.

"Oh, you guys are so sweet. Especially you, Buck and Jack," Grace said and gave them a kiss on the cheeks.

Buck and Lucky Jack froze and fell to the ground with hearts surrounding them. The dwarfs were a little envious.

"Well, if you insist," Snow White said.

"We really appreciate this. Thank you," Mrs. Calloway said.

The others thanked them, too.

The girls went upstairs. "Good night," they said.

"Good night, Princess and girls," the dwarfs, Buck, and Lucky Jack said.

At the top, Grace and Snow White took another look at them. "You're sure you'll be comfortable?" Grace asked.

And with that, the dwarfs, Buck, and Lucky Jack answered, "Oh, yes. Very comfortable."

"Well, pleasant dreams," Snow White said while she and the cows went into the bedroom.

"Pleasant dreams," the dwarfs, Buck, and Lucky Jack said in unison.

When they closed the door, the dwarfs, Buck, and Lucky Jack quickly ran towards the couch. Dopey saw them coming and held his pillow tight. They all jumped on Dopey and pulled very hard on the pillow. Each one of them wanted the pillow desperately.

"Let go!" Lucky Jack argued.

"I saw it first!" Grumpy argued.

No, I did!" Buck argued back.

Doc tried to stop them. "Now, men, don't get excited. Remember, share. It's share and share alike."

But it got even worse, they kept pulling. Dopey couldn't help but watch.

"Look out, it'll rip. It'll rip!" Doc warned.

But it was too late. They pulled so hard that the pillow ripped and released a lot of feathers in the room. Dopey somehow got a big feather. He placed it on the couch and pushed on it. It made a squeaky sound. Dopey laid his head on the feather and slept.

The cows were preparing themselves to go to bed. Moonlight was shining through the window.

"Boy, what a night," Maggie said.

"It sure was," Grace added.

"I didn't have this much fun since that last party we had back home the other day," Mrs. Calloway said.

"It was so nice of the dwarfs to let us sleep in their beds," Snow White said.

"They're so sweet," Grace said.

"I hope Buck and Lucky Jack will be all right downstairs," Maggie said.

"Don't worry, Maggie. I'm sure Doc and the boys will help them get comfortable," Mrs. Calloway said, and then she yawned. "Let's get to bed."

"Wait. I haven't said a prayer yet," Snow White said.

"Go ahead, girl," Maggie said.

Snow White knelt at one of the beds and put her hands together to say a prayer. She closed her eyes and spoke. "Bless the seven little men and my new cow, horse, and rabbit friends who have been so kind to me. And... And may my dreams come true. Amen." She bowed.

The cows smiled at that. "Oh, that was so sweet, dear," Mrs. Calloway said.

Snow White smiled back, but then she knelt again. "Oh, yes! And please make Grumpy like me."

"Did you hear what she said?" Grace asked.

"She has a point, he has been nothing but rude to us," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Luckily, we taught him a little lesson while we washed. You know, Buck does have a few things in common with him," Maggie said.

"Grumpy might be... Grumpy most of the time, but I'm sure somewhere behind that rough exterior hides a heart of pure gold," Grace said.

Back downstairs, Grumpy was going to sleep in the cauldron at the fireplace against his wishes.

"Hah! Women!" Grumpy said.

He tried to get very comfortable, but then he felt something poke his back. He reached for it and saw it was a spoon.

"A fine kettle of fish!" he complained. He threw the spoon away and spit inside the fireplace, causing the last bits of burning coal to hiss.

He tried to get comfortable again, but the many snores of the dwarfs made it difficult for him. Bashful slept in the drawer of a sideboard and rested his feet on another, Happy slept in a cupboard above Bashful. Each time he snored, the doors opened and closed. Doc slept on a huge sack in the sink. While he snored, a drop of water from the water pump came closer to his mouth. One last snore caused the drop of water to fall into his mouth and he gurgled. Sneezy was sleeping with Dopey, using his buttocks as a pillow. Suddenly, Dopey got a bad dream and whimpered like a dog, causing Sneezy to wake up. Sneezy gave one pock on Dopey's buttocks and he calmed down again. Then Sneezy grabbed Dopey's behind and shook it a little so he could lay his head better. Sneezy fell back to sleep again. Buck slept on the floor with the rug on his back. Whenever the horse snored, the rug lifted off of him and fell back on his back every few seconds. Lucky Jack slept next to Sleepy, who was sleeping on a pile of logs, not too far from Grumpy. The rabbit was shaking like a leaf in his sleep, for he was cold. When he couldn't take it anymore, he looked over to Sleepy and carefully crawled onto him, then he used his beard to cover himself. But of course, the dwarf didn't mind.

Suddenly, a fly flew towards Sleepy and landed on his nose. The dwarf touched his nose to get the fly away and slept further. But no sooner, the fly returned and landed on his nose again. It circled around and fell asleep. It snored quietly.

Outside, everything was quiet. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked. Everybody had a peaceful night... Except one cow, who had recently arrived in the enchanted world.

Chapter 15: A Special Sort of Death

In the creepy lab, the Witch stirred the cauldron with a huge bone while the raven looked. And poor Becky still had a neck cuff with a chain around her neck. The Witch cackled a little.

"Boil, cauldron, boil. Boil, cauldron, boil!" she said.

The liquid in the cauldron was yellow and smoke shaped like skulls appeared out of it.

"Death within thy depths I see, for one who dares to rival me." The Witch held a test tube with blue liquid. She dropped the liquid in the cauldron and it became blue. "Brew the magic recipe, boil, cauldron, BOIL!" she yelled, and a large cloud of smoke appeared.

She grabbed an ordinary apple attached on a string and dipped it inside the brew. "Dip the apple in the brew. Let the Sleeping Death seep through!"

She drew the apple back and it was covered in the strange brew. She wickedly smiled at it. And suddenly, the apple had a skull on the front. "Look! On the skin! The symbol of what lies within," she said.

The raven covered himself with his wings in fear. Becky also couldn't help but feel frightened when she saw the skull-shaped apple.

"Now, turn red..." And then the apple became as red as blood. "...to tempt Snow White. To make her hunger for a bite," the Witch said and chuckled.

The disguised Queen looked at the raven and showed him the apple. "Have a bite?"

The raven got scared and tried to get away from the apple. The Witch chuckled a little and pulled it away from the bird. But then... She looked at her cow prisoner. Tension began to rise for Becky when the Witch came closer, and like lightning, she quickly showed her the apple.

"How about you? Have a bite?!" the Witch asked.

When Becky saw it, she screamed in terror and tried to escape, but the chain and collar around her neck made it impossible. The old hag brought it closer to her to frighten her even more. She cackled in amusement at the sight.

"It's not for you. It's for Snow White," the Witch said with venom in her words.

"Why? Why do you want to kill your own stepdaughter? Whatever did she do to you?" Becky asked, trying to reason with the Witch.

"Oh, she did plenty of wrong in my eyes. She stole my beauty," the Witch said.

"Is that what's so important to you? Being beautiful for everyone and everyone, who's more beautiful than you, dies?" Becky asked.

"Yes. My radiance is the only light this kingdom needs," the Witch answered.

"And you wanna prove that by disguising yourself as an ugly witch and killing her with an apple?"

"I won't stay ugly for long, once I erase Snow White and every animal that dares to challenge me from the face of the planet."

"It won't work."

The Witch's eyes went wide. "What did you say?"

"I said it won't work. Subjects don't praise their queen for their beauty, it's the things they do like kindness, loyalty, and bravery. And with the way you described your stepdaughter earlier, I think she has proven to be more queen in her personality than you in your body," said Becky.

The Witch felt challenged and insulted. "You dare to challenge a queen?" she said with hate and rage in her voice.

She grabbed the chain and brought Becky closer to her frightening face which made the raven caw loudly. Her horrifying green eyes staring into the soul of the cow. "I would kill you right this instant for such an insult!"

Becky still felt a bit frightened by the sight of the Witch, but she kept a straight face. "But that can wait," the Witch said and released the chain. "I have great plans for your friends. Their beauty is evenly matched with Snow White's."

"My friends will stop you," Becky said.

"Your friends won't ever recognize me, and neither will Snow White," the Witch said.

The Witch looked at the apple. "Just imagine. When she breaks the tender peel to taste the apple in my hand, her breath will still, her blood congeal. THEN I'll BE FAIREST IN THE LAND!" She cackled very loudly, which made Becky tremble in fear. But then the Witch stopped cackling because she thought of something. "But wait!"

Becky then became very interested when she heard that and even more with what the Witch was about to say next. The Witch was in deep thought. "There may be an antidote. Nothing must be overlooked."

The Witch walked towards her book and went through a few pages until she found what she feared. "Oh! Here it is!"

"Well, well, well. It's seems there might be a chance to stop your plan, after all," Becky said with a smirk.

"SILENCE!" the Witch snarled angrily.

Then the Witch read the Poison Apple Antidote. "The Victim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by Love's First Kiss."

"Just a kiss from the one you love? Is that possible?" Becky asked herself.

"Love's First Kiss," the Witch said like she didn't believe there was such a thing. "Bah!" She closed the entire book while she laughed.

Becky was uncomfortable again and the Witch looked at her again. "No fear of that. The dwarfs and the animals will think she's dead. She'll BE BURIED ALIVE!" And with that, the Witch cackled very loud and evilly.

The raven hid behind a skull while the Witch placed the apple in a basket with green apples and normal apples. She cackled even more and grabbed the basket. Then she walked towards Becky and opened the lock for the chain. She grabbed it and pulled Becky with her like a dog on a leash.

"Come along, dearie," the Witch said.

"No. Let me go!" Becky said while she tried to break free without success.

The Witch still kept cackling while she dragged Becky towards a trapdoor on the floor. The raven watched from behind the skull.

"BURIED ALIVE!" the Witch yelled and cackled while she closed the trapdoor slowly. The Witch and Becky went deeper into the dungeons to the catacombs. She opened a cell with a key. She threw Becky inside it and attached the chain to a wall again. She still cackled and locked the cell door while putting the key in her pocket.

"You'll never get out, not even to warn those friends of yours. There's a possibility that you're going to die in this cell when I return... IF I return," the Witch said while chuckling and then she looked at a skeleton on the ground. It looked like he was trying to grab the empty jug of water that was also on the ground. Becky saw it, too, and cringed in shock.

"Thirsty? HAVE A DRINK!" she said, and she kicked the jug into the skeleton, smashing it to pieces. The Witch cackled even more while a little spider appeared out of the jug.

Becky became even more frightened. The Witch went into a raft and used a large stick to steer it.

"Wait! NO! You can't do this!" Becky shouted while shaking the bars, but the Witch didn't answer back. She was gone while Becky was all alone in a dark and creepy cell that could possibly mean her death. She feared that thought.

She sat with her haunches on the cold floor, looking down. "No. My friends. They're somewhere out there and there's nothing I can do to help. I'm sorry, Maggie." And then she cried softly into her hooves. Never in her life had she felt so helpless and scared.

Outside, in the darkness of the night, the Witch emerged from the catacombs and steered the boat towards the shore. It was very misty that you couldn't see anything else, but it was no match for the Witch. She popped out of a bunch of reeds and went further on her way to face the one who dared to rival her.

I hope our dear girl and animal heroes will be fine.

Chapter 16: Beware of Strangers

It was morning, the sun shone through the window. The eyes of the cows and Snow White slowly opened. Mrs. Calloway yawned cutely and looked around. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway had slept apart while Grace slept with Snow White. The soft fur of the yellow cow helped Snow White sleep even better.

"Good morning, girls. Good morning, Snow White," Mrs. Calloway said.

The other two cows and Snow White said their 'Good morning' to Mrs. Calloway.

"Did you all sleep well?" Snow White asked.

"Yeah. It was good," Maggie said, stretching a bit.

"We should sleep like this more often," Grace said.

"I know, right?" Maggie said.

Snow White sniffed the air because she smelled something. Something delicious.

"Do any of you smell that?" Snow White asked.

The cows sniffed, too. "Mmmm. It smells good. It's pancakes," Grace said.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs," Maggie said and went out of the bedroom.

"What are pancakes?" Snow White asked.

"What? You don't know what pancakes are?" Maggie asked in shock.

Snow White shook her head.

"Why, it's one of *the* best food," Grace said.

"We'll show you, dear," Mrs. Calloway said and went out of the bedroom with the rest following.

While they walked down the stairs, they saw that all the seven dwarfs and Buck were sitting on the table. Lucky Jack had woken up earlier to make everyone some breakfast. He was indeed baking pancakes. He flipped them now and then. The dwarfs and Buck were waiting patiently.

"Just a few minutes, boys, and the first ones are ready," Lucky Jack told the dwarfs and Buck.

Snow White and the cows took their seats on the table.

"Good morning, everyone," Snow White said.

"Good morning, Princess. Good morning, girls," the boys said.

"Did you all sleep well?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Like I said, we were very comfortable," Doc said.

"And you, Buck?"

"I slept great! Thanks for asking," Buck said while he stretched a bit.

"What about you, Jack?" Grace asked.

"It was a'ight. It was difficult at first, but luckily I fell asleep," Lucky Jack answered.

Sleepy rubbed the rabbit's head. Then Lucky Jack went back to get the first pancakes. Once he got them and began to walk back to the table, he suddenly slipped on a wet spot on the floor, causing him to fling the pancakes into the air.

The others gasped. Some of them covered their eyes, not wanting to see a nasty accident.

The careless rabbit looked up and sprang to his feet. "Dagnabbit!" And just before the pancakes could hit the ground, he caught them just in time with his ears, arms, and right foot, which was his peg leg.

"This happens all the time," he said.

Amused, Dopey and Happy clapped their hands in approval while the others sighed in relief.

"Oh, the poor thing," Snow White giggled.

Lucky Jack then regained his balance and returned to the table with the pancakes. "Here you go, everyone. Enjoy," he said and went to check the other pancakes.

They each took a plate of the fresh batch. Of course, the cows, horse, and rabbit knew about pancakes, but to Snow White and the dwarfs, it was a new experience. Snow White took the first bite and her eyes went wide in wonder.

"Say, this is delicious," Snow White said.

When the dwarfs heard that, they quickly grabbed their forks and started to eat.

"My compliments, Lucky Jack. Does it come from your world?" Doc asked.

"They sure are," Lucky Jack said.

"These pancakes really are delicious," Sneezy said.

"It makes me smile even more," Happy said.

Grumpy also took a careful bite and he got the same reaction like when he tasted the soup.

"I'm glad y'all like them, 'cause I'm making some more," Lucky Jack said.

"Hooray!" the dwarfs yelled.

"So, what are you guys gonna do after breakfast?" Buck asked.

"Well, we have to go back to the mine to dig more jewels. We need to do our work," Bashful answered.

"What kind of jewels?" Mrs. Calloway asked with intrest.

"Oh, the usual. Diamonds and rubies," Happy said.

Mrs. Calloway's eyes sparkled like diamonds when she heard that. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

Then the black cow snapped out of it and cleared her throat. "Pardon me. Um... And what do you do with those?"

"Actually, we don't know why we dig 'em for. We just keep digging for them," Sleepy explained.

"Well, maybe you could use some to pay for food and such things or sell them in exchange for money," Maggie advised.

"That's... Not a bad idea, actually. We keep a few and then use some for things that we need. Why didn't I think of that before?" Doc said.

The other dwarfs nodded, but Grumpy had no reaction on that.

"Gee, I wonder why," Grumpy said sarcastically.

"Oh, I would love to see the mine with all those diamonds," Mrs. Calloway said.

"And if you'd like, we can help you," Lucky Jack advised.

"Are you sure, folks? I mean, working in the mine isn't something for you. It's very hard work," Doc said.

"Gimme a break. Do you know how many bad guys I can fight in one day?" Buck asked.

"And I'm kind of an expert in jewels. Lucky Jack and I can help you find them easily," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I would love to come, too. And maybe Buck and Grace, too," Maggie said.

"Um, actually, I think I wanna stay with Snow White to watch over the cottage," Grace said.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

Grace nodded. "I can help Snow White with some things and she wouldn't be all alone."

Snow White smiled and petted her head. "Oh, thank you."

"All right, then. Anyone else?" Mrs. Calloway said.

"I don't see anything else I can do around here, so count me in," Buck said.

Doc looked at the animals. "Very well, then. Thank you for your support."

"Then what are we waiting for? Patch of Heaven miners are on duty!" Maggie said.

When they finished breakfast, the dwarfs and the animals, who wanted to come with them, were ready to leave while Snow White and Grace stayed in the cottage. The other forest animals were sleeping outside, and when they heard the door, they walked away. Mrs. Calloway, Grace, Snow White, and Doc were the first to step out. Mrs. Calloway inhaled the fresh air.

"Now, don't forget, my dear. The... The old Queen's a sly one, full of witchcraft. So beware of strangers," Doc said seriously.

"Are you sure you two are gonna to be fine?" What if the Queen finds you?" Mrs. Calloway asked worriedly.

"We’ll be okay. I'm sure that the Queen won’t find us here... I hope," Grace said.

"Don't worry. We'll be all right," Snow White said with a comforting voice. Then she took Doc's stocking cap from his head and gave him a kiss, she did the same to Mrs. Calloway. "See you tonight." And Grace gave them a hug.

Mrs. Calloway giggled while Doc was completely surprised. He giggled a bit before trying to be serious again.

"Uh, yes. We... Well, c'mon, men and ladies." Now, both he and Mrs. Calloway went on their way. The other dwarfs and animals were waiting to say goodbye to Snow White and Grace. First came Bashful. He took off his stocking cap.

"Be awful careful. 'Cause if anything'd happen to you two, I, I..." he said, but got interrupted by a kiss from Snow White and a hug from Grace.

"Goodbye," Snow White said.

"Oooooh, gosh!" Bashful said and giggled. His face was once again as red as a lobster.

Grace giggled at that.

The other dwarfs were watching with a smile and the animals giggled. Grumpy looked, too, with an unamused look.

"Hah! Disgustin'!" he said.

Lucky Jack came next. "Be careful, but have fun."

Grace hugged him. "We will."

Suddenly, Lucky Jack also got a kiss on his head from Snow White. He blushed a little, but cleared his throat and went on his way.

"Have fun," said Maggie, who came out of the door.

"We will," Grace said while she hugged her.

Then Snow White gave the brown cow a kiss on her head. Maggie giggled a bit and went on her way as well.

And then came Sneezy, who took off his stocking cap. "And be sure to watch out... To wa... To wa... To wa... Watch out," he gasped.

Sneezy was trying to hold it, but Grace gave him a hug and Snow White gave him a kiss.

"Thanks," Sneezy said and walked, but he was on the verge of sneezing for sure.

Dopey appeared from the door. Dopey was tugging softly on Snow White's dress to ask for a kiss.

"AHCHOOOOOOOO!" Sneezy sneezed.

Dopey was blown back inside while Grace got hit against the wall of the cottage. Snow White could feel the powerful sneeze, she was lucky she wasn't blown away. She giggled a little.

Maggie looked back at Sneezy. "Bless you, Sneezy!" she called out.

"Thanks!" Sneezy called back.

Snow White saw Grace, who was still against the wall. "Oh, my goodness. Are you all right?"

Grace shook her dizziness away. "I'm fine. I’m not hurt."

And suddenly, Dopey appeared again. He gently tugged on Snow White's dress and on Grace's tail. He opened his arms first.

"You want a hug, too?" Grace asked.

Dopey nodded. Grace happily hugged him. Then he looked at Snow White and pursed his lips while his eyes were closed. Snow White grabbed him by the ears and gave him a kiss on his head. Dopey began to smile. You could easily see that he was happy, even if he had one tooth. He happily went further while he was in his own dream world.

"Heh heh. I guess somebody likes you," Grace said to Snow White. Snow White giggled a little.

Then Dopey shook his dizziness away and he quickly ran back inside through the window.

Grace and Snow White were finished with giving Sleepy a hug and a kiss. Buck came outside, too, to say goodbye.

"Now if anything dares to threaten you, just kick 'em to the curb," he said.

Snow White and Grace looked at each other and giggled. "Okay, we'll try," Grace said and gave him a hug.

The horse couldn't help but blush when Snow White kissed him on his head. "Oh, please," he said and began to walk out.

Suddenly, Dopey was back tugging on Snow White's dress and Grace's tail again. He opened his arms again, but he couldn't wait for a second kiss from the Princess, either.

"Dopey? I thought you already went with the others," Lucky Jack said in confusion.

"I guess he wants another kiss and a hug," Maggie said.

"Well... All right," Snow White giggled.

Grace hugged him and when he pursed his lips again, Snow White gave him another kiss on his head.

"But that's the last..." But before Snow White could finish, Dopey ran off in a flash, much to Buck's wonder and confusion.

"Wha..." he asked.

Even Snow White and Grace were confused. And suddenly, Dopey appeared again on the exact same spot. At that time, he pursed his lips again. But Snow White guided him towards the others.

"Oh, go on. Run along," she said with a smile.

"C'mon, feller. Keep up," Maggie said.

"Yeah, before he gets too much," Buck said and walked along with Lucky Jack, Maggie, and Dopey.

Meanwhile, the cows, horse, rabbit, and dwarfs were on their way.

"I can't wait to see your mine, Doc," Maggie said.

"I can't wait to see all the jewels that lie inside," Mrs. Calloway said with sparkling eyes.

"I can touch them already," Lucky Jack said.

Buck and Maggie looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"You can touch them?" Doc looked at Lucky Jack in confusion.

"It's an expression. It means that gems are the most admirable objects to a jackrabbit when it comes to living in Echo Mine back home," Mrs. Calloway explained.

"Well, if you do a good job, I don't think it would be a problem to give you a few," Doc said.

"Really? Thanks, Doc," Lucky Jack said and hugged Doc, who appreciated it.

"Why, that's very kind of you, Doc. I'd surely take my hat off to you," Mrs. Calloway said.

Doc smiled at that.

"So, how far is it to the mine?" Maggie asked.

"It's gonna be a long walk, but we always sing to kill the time," Doc answered.

"What song?" Buck asked.

"I'll start. You'll get the hang of it," Doc said, and then he started to sing. "HEIGH-HO!"

"Heigh-ho!" the dwarfs began to sing, then the animals began to join. Then two of them stopped singing, for they were waiting for a very special dwarf. "Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!"

"Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho It's off to work we go (whistling) Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho..."

During that time, Grumpy was secretly looking in the mirror, making himself as pretty as possible for Snow White. He wore his stocking cap again and pretended to be all grumpy again. He walked towards Snow White and Grace, who were waving at the other dwarfs and animals.

"Goodbye!" Snow White said.

"Goodbye!" Grace said.

Grumpy took off his stocking cap and cleared his throat very loudly, which drew Snow White and Grace's attention.

"Now I'm warnin' ya. And you, too, heifer. Don't let nobody or nothin' in the house," Grumpy said.

"We promise," Grace said.

"Why, Grumpy, you do care," Snow White said.

Grumpy folded his arms and Grace began to hug him. Grumpy struggled to get free. Snow White grabbed his head and gave him a kiss. After that, Grumpy got free and went on his way to follow the rest. But after a few steps, his grouchy expression began to change. He began to smile. He sighed and looked back at the human Princess and the yellow cow dreamily.

Snow White kissed on her hand and waved him 'goodbye'. Grace waved, too. But then Grumpy snapped out of his gaze and regained his grouchy ways. He stormed off towards a familiar brown cow and horse, who were smirking at him.

That's right, Maggie and Buck saw the whole thing. The grouchy dwarf stopped in front of them.

"What are you two lookin' at? The mine is that way. Follow me," Grumpy said as he walked in front of them.

"Aha! I saw that, Grumpy!" Maggie said.

"What?" the dwarf asked.

"You may act all gruff, rude, and grouchy, but inside, you're caring and friendly," Maggie said.

"Looks like tough guys like you do have a soft spot. Maybe all females aren't poison, after all," Buck said with a smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous. I have no idea what you two hay eaters are talking about. Now c'mon, the others are waiting," Grumpy said in his gruff voice.

He walked further and accidentally bumped into a tree. His big nose got stuck. Buck and Maggie couldn't help but giggle. Grumpy freed his nose and looked towards the animals.

"Hah!" he said.

He walked further with his eyes closed.

"Grumpy! Look out for the..." Maggie tried to warn, but it was too late. The dwarf fell and a splash could be heard. "...stream."

Grumpy fell indeed in the stream, not too far from the bridge, a few drops of water landed on his bald head. Buck couldn't help but yell in laughter while he walked on the bridge. Maggie was simply walking on the bridge as well.

"BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Buck laughed.

"Why didn't you simply take the bridge? That's not difficult, is it?" Maggie said while looking down at Grumpy while she walked.

Buck kept laughing. Grumpy wasn't amused. He placed his stocking cap back on his head and tried to get up, but he bumped against the bridge and fell in the water again. Buck laughed even more. Grumpy got up and came out of the water.

"Haha. Wait. Let me help you," Buck said.

"I can handle myself, stallion," Grumpy said while trying to shake his clothes dry.

Buck glared at him when he said that until he heard a familiar voice.

"Goodbye, my friends!" Snow White said.

"Goodbye, Snowy! Goodbye, Grace!" Buck said.

"See you tonight!" Maggie said.

"Goodbye, Grumpy!" Snow White said again.

Grumpy didn't react. Instead, he raised his head proudly in the air and walked away with his shoes squelching while the two animals followed him.

After minutes of walking beyond the seventh fall and over the seven jeweled hills, the company finally reached the mine. They still were singing the dwarfs' catchy song, the cows, horse, and rabbit were learning it really well. Dopey was, as always, the last one to catch up.

"Heigh-ho, heigh-ho Heigh-ho, heigh-ho It's off to work we go (whistling) Heigh-ho, heigh-ho"

When they reached the mine, they stopped singing.

"Here it is, ladies and you two gentlemen," Doc said.

"Oooooooh," the cows, horse, and rabbit said.

"So with what do we start?" Lucky Jack asked.

"We'll grab that cart over there and bring it inside," Happy said.

"All right. Let's do this, everyone," Maggie said.

They walked towards it. The dwarfs threw their pick axes in the cart and began to pull at a rope that was attached to the cart. The animals helped by pulling the rope with their teeth. Buck helped by tying the rope around his waist and pulling hard. He pulled so hard that the dwarfs lost their grip on the rope. They stared at the horse's amazing strength.

"Gosh, didn't see that coming. Especially from a horse," Bashful said with his eyes wide.

"I know. He makes it look so easy," Maggie said.

The dwarfs and animals tried to keep up with Buck while he pulled the cart towards the entrance. They all whistled a catchy tune. Sleepy tried to push, and suddenly, Dopey, who was trying to be helpful, went behind him and pushed him into the air. But suddenly, Doc saw something.

"Hey, look!" he said, and every dwarf and animal stopped. Buck stopped, too, but the cart accidentally bumped against him and the others. They all looked in Doc's direction and got the surprise of their lives.

Chapter 17: Witch Hunt

Somewhere in the forest, a being completely dressed in black walked around, searching for her prey. She cackled to herself.

"The little men will be away, and she and those animals will be all alone with a harmless old peddler woman. Hahahah! A harmless old peddler woman!" the Witch said while she looked at the red apple and cackled very loud.

While she talked to herself, she didn't notice that two vultures were watching and listening from a tree. With the way she talked, they knew something was definitely going to happen. The vultures smiled at each other and followed her.

Back at the cottage, Grace and her new human friend were busy making pies. Gooseberry pies. First, they were making one for a very special dwarf. The forest animals were glad to help.

"Oh, Snow White. I'm sure he will love it. We should bake some for the others, the girls, Buck, and Lucky Jack, too," Grace said.

"That's a good idea. I hope that he would like me when I give this to him," Snow White said, and then she began to sing a familiar song. While she did that, she began to flatten the dough with a rolling pin. A bird grabbed some flour with its tail feathers and strewed it on the dough. When the dough was ready, she placed it on the pie tin. Then she grabbed a knife to cut off some of the dough on the edge of the pie tin. The bird grabbed the dough and flew away.

"Some day my prince will come Some day we'll meet again And away to his castle we'll go To be happy forever I know"

Snow White placed the pie in front of her and the birds were decorating it with their talons and the bird with the leftover dough used it to create a name; Grumpy.

"Some day when spring is here We'll find our love anew"

And then Grace began to sing with a high note.

"And the birds will sing And wedding bells will ring"

The pie was ready to bake and the two sang the last part together.

"Some day when my/your dreams come true"

But then, a shadow loomed over them. The forest animals ran away and both Snow White and Grace began to gasp at what they saw. An old woman dressed in black looked at them in a scary way. The worst part was that and it was something they didn't know: The Witch finally found them. She chuckled evilly, which caused some discomfort to both of our heroines, especially Grace.

"All alone, my pets?" the old woman asked.

"Why, why, yes, we are. But..." Snow White said with a shaky voice.

The old woman looked inside. "The, the little men and other animals are not here?"

"No, they're not. It's just me and Snow White, but.." Grace said with a shaky voice as well.

"Mmm-hmm," the Witch said. She sniffed the air and asked with interest, "Making pies?"

"Yes, gooseberry pies," Snow White said with a smile.

"It's a surprise for when they come back," Grace added.

"It's apple pies that make the menfolks' mouths water," the old woman advised and grabbed the same red apple from her basket. "Pies made from apples like these." She chuckled.

The forest animals looked from behind the cottage in curiosity and fear.

"Well, m-maybe we'll do that some time," Grace said.

"Oh, they do look delicious," Snow White said.

"Yes! But wait 'till you taste one, dearies," the old hag chuckled in a sinister way.

The birds on the trees were also paying attention until they turned around. The same two vultures were watching from a tree, looking at each other and smiling in a devious way. The birds were frightened, they knew that vultures meant only one thing. The worst thing of all: Death. The birds twittered among another and looked back at the Witch.

"Like to try one? Hmm? Go on. Go on, have a bite," the Witch offered.

Snow White was about to grab the apple. Grace had a sudden feeling that something fishy was going on here. She also knew that she needed to be careful with strangers, but she couldn't resist the sight of a delicious apple.

The birds immediately saw and knew something was wrong and began to attack the old woman. The other smaller animals were attacking her, too. The Witch groaned and tried to shield herself with her arms. Snow White and Grace noticed that and ran out of the cottage to stop them.

"Stop it! Stop it! Go away! Go away!" Grace commanded.

The forest animals ran away while the birds flew back in the trees and looked down at them.

"Shame on you, frightening a poor old lady," Snow White said sternly.

A poor old lady? Certainly not, missies. Her basket fell on the ground with all the apples scattered everywhere. She only wanted the red one. She mumbled to herself while she rubbed it clean.

"Oh, I thought I'd lost it," the Witch said to herself.

Grace came close to the old woman and placed a hoof on her leg. "We're so sorry, madam. We don't know what came over them to act like that."

Snow White placed her hands on the woman's shoulders to try to comfort her. "There, there. I'm sorry."

The hag gasped softly at first, but then she deviously smiled and began to fake something.

"Oh! My heart!" she said.

"Oh, my goodness," Grace said, believing that act was real.

"Oh, my... My poor heart. Take me into the house and let me rest. A drink of water, please," the old woman said.

Snow White slowly brought her inside the cottage. She closed the door while Grace was still outside. She angrily looked at the forest animals. Little did she know that she forgot a very important fact about those kind of creatures: They always sensed danger and evil in the first place.

"Why did you attack that poor old lady?! What did she do to you? I don't know what caused you to do that, but that was low and cowardly to attack someone weaker than you!" Grace said.

A bird quickly flew down and went close to her ear. It twittered.

"You bet your life, you're sorry, mister. I want you to... What?" Grace said, and her eyes went wide. "Vultures? But that means... Are you sure? That old lady? Danger? Don't be ridiculous. Why would a poor old lady like her hurt someone, especially someone sweet and kind as Snow White? Unless..."

She began to think hard and feared the worst. "You don't think... That old lady is..." She gasped in horror. "Oh, no! Snow White!"

She walked towards a window with the other forest animals following her. They saw that Snow White was offering the old woman a chair. She looked like she was in a bad health, but that changed when she began to grin at Snow White, who was filling a big cup with water. The Witch grabbed the red apple from her sleeves and looked at it and back at Snow White deviously.

"Oh, no. The Queen must have disguised herself to look like an old woman. And there's no doubt that that apple she's holding is bad news. Snow White's falling into a trap. I've got to warn Maggie, Doc, and the others," she said, but then she stopped walking. "Wait. No, that will take too long. I've got to prevent Snow White from eating that apple without her or the Queen knowing."

Then she looked at the forest animals. "You. You must go to the mine and warn everyone. Snow White needs help. I'll stay and do whatever I can to stop the Queen."

The forest animals nodded and quickly ran through the woods towards the mine. The tortoise had a bit of trouble to catch up with the other animals who were faster than him. The two vultures saw the forest animals running. Normally, they wanted to wait for a delicious carcass, but that time, they couldn't wait and immediately swooped down towards the forest animals.

Grace saw that and gasped in horror. She looked towards the cottage and then to the forest animals. She did it a few times until she decided to run towards the animals. One vulture was about to eat a poor little bunny, but suddenly it got hit by something yellow. Some of the forest animals saw that and watched.

"Go! Warn them! Quick!" Grace said to the animals.

The forest animals kept running while Grace was face to face with the two vultures. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. Trying to eat defenseless little creatures."

The vultures were completely surprised by the attack, but suddenly, they seemed to grin and licked their lips. Grace was a little uncomfortable when they did that. Suddenly, she realized what they were going to do.

"Oops," she said. She started to run away and the two birds of prey chased after her.

After a few minutes, the forest animals finally reached the mine. The dwarfs, cows, horse, and rabbit were staring in confusion.

"Those are the forest animals. What are they doing here?" Maggie asked.

"I don't know," Mrs. Calloway said.

The animals began to pull on their clothes, stocking caps, shoes, beards, cowbells, ears, mane, and tails.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Maggie asked.

"Stop that!" said one of the dwarfs.

"Not the hat. Not the hat!" Mrs. Calloway shouted.

"Get away, boy. Get away! Go on, shoo!" Sneezy said.

"Go on! Get outta here!" said Grumpy, who was trying to fight off the birds with his stocking cap, but they kept pulling at his clothes.

Dopey also got pulled and tried to slap the birds away, but clumsily fell to the ground.

Lucky Jack was being pulled at the ears and tail. "Hey! Let go of me!" he said and tried to shoo them away.

Doc got pushed by a deer in the back. "What ails these crazy birds?"

"They've gone plumb daffy," said Bashful, who was holding a tree while a deer pulled at his pants.

"These animals are more cuckoo than a clock," said Buck, who tried to shoo the forest animals away with a few bucks from his hind legs in the air.

"Yeah, they've g-g-g-g..." Sneezy said while being pulled by a few birds, a bunny, and a squirrel. Because of that, he began to gasp again and released a big sneeze that blew the forest animals away. "AAACHOOOOOOO!"

But that didn't stop them, they came back towards Sneezy to pull on his clothes again.

When the disguised Queen finished her drink of water, Snow White looked outside.

"Where is Grace?" she asked.

"The cow? She's probably looking for flowers or something. I'm sure she'll be all right," the Witch acted innocently. "You two seem to be very close."

"That's true. Grace and I have a lot in common. I'm glad to have her as my friend," Snow White answered.

"You two are so sweet. And because you have been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple," the Witch said.

Snow White got excited when she heard that. "A wishing apple?" "Yes! One bite and all your dreams will come true," the disguised Queen said.

"Really?" Snow White asked.

"Yes, girlie," the Witch said and slowly came closer to the Princess. "Now, make a wish and take a bite."

Back at the mine, the cows, dwarfs, horse, and rabbit were still struggling against the forest animals. They kept pulling on their clothes and tails while they held themselves to trees or tried to scare them away.

"Go on, get!" Grumpy said.

"These pesky critters won't stop," Maggie said.

"'Tain't natural," Happy said.

"There's something wrong," Doc said.

"I know. Something's not right," Mrs. Calloway said.

"They ain't actin' this way for nothin'," said Grumpy, who was struggling against a deer and a few birds who pulled at his beard and stocking cap. Then the forest animals released him and he fell to the ground. The other forest animals stopped as well.

"But what could cause these creatures to act that way?" Maggie asked.

Sleepy was the only one who wasn't pulled or pushed by the forest animals. He was sitting in the mine cart the whole time. He yawned and began to speak. "Maybe the old Queen's got Snow White and Grace."

Everybody heard that and froze. They looked at Sleepy in worry and shock and then to each other with the same expression.

"The Queen!" Doc said.

"Snow White and Grace!" they all said.

"The forest animals! They tried to warn us!" Buck said.

"Oh, no!" Mrs. Calloway said.

"The Queen'll kill them! We gotta save them!" Grumpy said.

"Yes! Yes! We, we, we gotta save them!" Doc said.

"She'll kill them!" Lucky Jack shouted.

"What'll we do?" Happy asked.

"Yes, yes, what'll we do?" Doc began to panic and stutter.

"We gotta go to the cottage and face that Witch!" Buck shouted.

"COME ON!" Grumpy shouted and began to run, but then Buck stood right in front of him.

"Climb on my back! We'll get there in ten seconds flat!" Buck said, and Grumpy climbed on his back.

"Giddap!" Grumpy said, and the two ran off.

The other animals began to follow them. Bashful and Sneezy climbed on a deer and they rode after Buck and Grumpy. Bashful was helping Sneezy to get on the deer's back, but Sneezy almost fell and grabbed the tail. Lucky Jack also tried to climb on a deer, but suddenly, he got grabbed by Mrs. Calloway and then he landed on her back. Happy struggled a little on a deer, but a few birds helped him sit on its back. Sleepy rode a deer, too.

"Wait for me! Wait for..." Doc said. But before he could finish, a certain brown cow placed her head under him and made him land on her back.

"Hold on tight!" Maggie said while she ran after the others.

A deer ran after them, too, with Dopey holding its tail while struggling with his feet on the ground.

On the road, the tortoise almost made it to the mine, but then he saw the dwarfs and the animals running towards him and he hid inside his shell. The company passed him by. The tortoise was lucky to be alive while everybody ran as fast as they could to save their friends from a terrible fate.

Back at the cottage, the Witch was still trying to convince Snow White to bite the apple. Snow White uncomfortably took a few steps backwards.

"There must be something your little heart desires. Perhaps there's someone you love," the Witch said.

"Well, there is someone," Snow White admitted.

"I thought so. I thought so!" the disguised Queen laughed. "Old Granny knows a young girl's heart. Now, take the apple, dearie, and make a wish." And she carefully gave her the apple while whispering that last sentence.

Snow White held the apple in front of her and closed her eyes. "I wish... I wish..." The Witch waited patiently, but said, "That's it, go on! Go on."

During that time, Grace was still trying to get rid of the two vultures by running away. She may not be as fast as Buck, but she was fast enough to not get eaten. The vultures were eager to try cow meat. She tried to hide through a few bushes.

While that happened, the dwarfs and animals ran over a tree that formed a bridge. Then they all slid down a chasm that wasn't too deep and ran further. They kept dodging trees and boulders and jumped over larger chasms while dark clouds slowly began to appear in the sky.

Meanwhile, Grace appeared from one of the bushes to see if the vultures were still pursuing her. It seemed safe... At first. She slowly left the bush and looked around. Shadows slowly flew above her without her knowing. She had the feeling something was watching her and it was scaring her. Suddenly, the shadow came closer to her and she immediately turned around. The vulture tried to attack her with its talons, but she dodged it. She ran away again, only to be stopped by the second vulture that was flying in front of her.

She decided to hide behind a tree and the carnivorous birds followed her. She kept hiding and hiding, but the vultures came closer.

"Oh, no. I'm gonna be bird food. What would Buck do in a situation like this?" Grace said, and suddenly, her eyes went wide when she said that last part. She had an idea. She placed her arms and legs to her sides and let herself fall. At the right time, the vultures accidentally bumped against each other.

The yellow cow ran in front of them. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then she opened them again and cleared her throat with a serious look. The vultures turned their attention to her, and suddenly, their eyes went wide in fear.

"There. Now, you don't want to eat me, do you? Hurting and eating poor little bunnies, squirrels, birds, and deer is something I don't tolerate," Grace said strictly. "Now you two stay away from Snow White and my animal friends, and don't ever let me catch you doing this again! Do you understand me?"

With that brave and determined attitude, the vultures nodded and flew away from her.

During that time, Snow White was still making her wish. "And that he will carry me away to his castle where we will live happily ever after."

"Fine! Fine! Now take a bite," the Witch said, knowing that victory will be in her grasp.

Meanwhile, the dwarfs and animals were still running as fast as they could.

"Hurry up!" Grumpy said.

"Don't slow down!" Buck said.

While that happened, Grace was happy with her little victory. But she forgot one small thing.

"Snow White," she gasped. Then she walked back to the cottage and looked through the window, not knowing that dark clouds appeared in the sky.

"Don't let the wish grow cold," the Witch said.

Then Snow White took a bite of the apple. "Oh! I feel strange..." she said.

The Witch grinned while the Princess was growing weaker by the minute. "Her breath will still... Her blood congeal..."

"Oh..."

With one last breath, Snow White soon collasped to the floor and dropped the bitten apple.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" the Witch cackled, and a loud thunderclap could be heard. "NOW I'LL BE FAIREST IN THE LAND! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

When Grace saw that, she gasped in horror and backed up away from the window. "Oh, no. NO! She couldn't... She isn't..."

Tears slowly appeared from her eyes while she spoke, and the Witch came out of the cottage, cackling in victory. While she laughed, Grace looked at her in hate.

"You... You monster!" Grace said and launched herself at the Witch. She saw the yellow cow coming towards her and grabbed something from her black clothing; a red potion. The Witch threw it at her, and it exploded on impact, making Grace fall to the ground with a hard thud.

"AH!" she yelled in pain.

She tried to get up, but the Witch approached her and placed her foot on her.

"It's over now, dearie. Time to deal with you animals. Starting with you!" the Witch laughed.

The wicked Queen was about to do something while Grace stared at her in fear, and the rain fell down on both of them. Then the Witch stopped and was surprised with what came next. The other animals and dwarfs had arrived while the thunder kept rumbling. The Witch didn't know what to do right now, so she left the cow alone and ran for her life.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Grumpy shouted.

"Grace!" Mrs. Calloway shouted.

Buck and Grumpy stopped for a moment and saw the Witch fleeing.

"There she goes!" Grumpy said.

"I see her!" Buck said.

They all ran after her, except Grace, Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and Doc.

"Are you all right?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"I'm okay. Thank goodness you're here. That old woman..." Grace said in shock.

"We know. We're going after her," Maggie said.

"I'm coming, too," Grace said.

"No. You must stay here. Snow White needs you," Mrs. Calloway said.

"And it's too dangerous for you, my dear," Doc said.

"But... I wanna help."

"You're already doing that. Sure, we could use your help to catch the Queen, but Snow White is your friend, isn't she?" Maggie said.

Grace nodded. "All right. I'm going to check inside. Please be careful," she said.

"We will," Maggie said.

"Ladies, we're losing her," Doc said.

"All right, after her!" Maggie said, and together, they ran after the Witch.

Grace went to the cottage. When she opened the door, thunder could be heard and lightning could be seen through the window. She looked around.

"Snow White? Snow White?!" Grace said, but then she gasped at a horrifying sight and stepped a little closer while tears came down her eyes. "Snow White?"

Meanwhile, the gang was after the Witch. The vultures that Grace defeated had returned and still as hungry as ever. They saw what was going on and decided to follow the disguised Queen and her pursuers.

While the thunder kept rumbling, the Witch kept running. She almost got trapped by some vines, but she could escape in time. More rain kept falling while our heroes ran after her. Even Mrs. Calloway didn't care if it rained, she wanted to capture the villain who dared to kill her new friend.

The Witch started to climb a mountain, she was already one step ahead of them. Mrs. Calloway saw that. "There! Up the mountain!"

"She's even more creepier than her normal form," Lucky Jack said.

The cows, horse, and deers stopped and the dwarfs and rabbit dismounted them. The dwarfs grabbed their clubs and pickaxes while Lucky Jack grabbed a stick as a weapon. Grumpy stepped in front of them. "After her!"

"Yeah!" Maggie and Sneezy shouted. And the cows, horse, rabbit, and dwarfs began to climb the mountain. The Witch looked down and saw her pursuers coming closer. She kept climbing.

"She's too fast! We'll never catch her!" Sneezy said.

"How can an old lady be that fast?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"Now's not the time for physics, Mrs. Calloway! Not everything is as it seems!" Buck said.

"I have an idea!" Maggie said.

"It better be good!" Bashful said.

"And I'm gonna need Happy for this."

"Me?" Happy asked in confusion.

"Yeah. You think you can run up this mountain, jump off my back, and pounce onto her?" Maggie asked.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Happy asked in worry.

"Trust me. It'll keep her distracted," Maggie said.

"Men, we're going to lose her!" Doc said.

Happy gulped and walked down the mountain. Then he made a running pose at the start of it.

"Stand back, everyone!" Mrs. Calloway said.

So the dwarfs, cow, horse, and rabbit all made way for the upbeat dwarf while Maggie stayed where she was.

"Ready?" Maggie asked.

"Ready!" Happy said.

"One, two, three. CHARGE!" Maggie yelled. Happy ran up the mountain. While he ran, he hopped onto Maggie, jumped off her back, and into the air. He screamed a little. The Witch heard that and looked up. She didn't see that one coming. Happy fell on her and they both fell on the mountain ground. Happy seemed to have her, but the Witch pushed him away with all her might.

"Get off me, you little rat!" she said.

Happy began to fall down the mountain until Buck caught him.

"Thanks. I'm not sure if I want to do that again," Happy said with wide eyes.

Finally, our heroes were face to face with the Witch while the rain fell down and the thunder rumbled.

"Queen Grimhilde, I presume," Maggie said.

"So, you are the animals who tried to steal my beauty. Just like Snow White," the Witch said with hate in her words.

"We didn't come to steal anything. We arrived here by coincidence," Lucky Jack said honestly.

"I don't care. Anyone who's more beautiful than me will pay the price," the Witch said.

"Is that really what this is all about? Beauty?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"And by trying to kill an innocent girl like Snow White? That's just low," Buck said.

"Only a woman that's truly radiant, like me, can rule an entire kingdom."

"That's not true. It's deeds, not looks that count. Snow White, she is beautiful. And her kindness makes it even more. She's more fit to rule the kingdom than you," Grumpy said with all his heart. The others agreed with him, even Buck.

"He's right. You claim yourself to be radiant, but all I see are shadows of jealousy... Clouding your mind and hanging thick on your heart," Maggie said wisely.

"You little monsters will pay for such insolence," the Witch said and grabbed a basket of apples from her black clothing. "Have an apple, dearies!"

She threw one at them. They dodged it and when it hit the ground, a cloud of purple gas was released.

"That's one rotten apple," Maggie said.

"It's poison!" Mrs. Calloway said.

The Witch cackled while the poisonous gas faded away from the ground. The animals then stood in an attack position as the Witch threw more apples at them.

"Apples! Fresh apples! Hahah!" she cackled.

The apples exploded on impact, unleashing clouds of poisonous gas and puddles of poison. The animals were doing their best to stop the clouds of poison. Then the Witch threw a few potions at them that also exploded on impact. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway caught a few with their tails and threw them back, the others had to dodge them. Buck shot a few apples at the Witch with his karate moves while Lucky Jack helped by throwing a few more back at her in his own way. The Witch luckily dodged those attacks.

"So you wanna fight dirty, huh? I can fight dirty, too!" Buck said, showing off a few karate moves to the Witch.

"And how are your foolish karate moves going to stop me?" the Witch asked.

"You'll see," Buck said. Then he jumped toward the Witch and began to attack her with a few punches with his front hooves. But she pushed him back and Maggie and Mrs. Calloway caught him.

The Witch cackled again. "Nice try, fool!" she said.

Buck looked back at the her with a glare. "So you think you got the drop on me. Well, think again!"

Then, all of a sudden, a powerful lightning bolt came close to the Witch.

"Let's see you top that!" Buck mocked.

The Witch grinned. "I've got a bigger one."

Buck raised an eyebrow and the Witch put her hands up.

"A THUNDERBOLT TO FIX THEM WELL!" she called loudly, and all of a sudden, a large thunderbolt appeared from the sky and came right at Buck.

"Buck, look out!" Mrs. Calloway warned.

Buck saw it and he quickly ran away, but the bolt hit someone else; a certain peg-legged rabbit who didn't see it on time. The bolt struck him and he screamed in pain, even his skeleton was sometimes visible.

"LUCKY JACK!" they all shouted.

The bolt stopped and Lucky Jack was completely black with eyes as small as pinpricks. "Does somebody want 'roasted' or 'baked' rabbit?" he said. He coughed a cloud of smoke and fell to the ground.

The Witch was surprised of their special abilities and decided to climb further.

"She's getting away!" Buck yelled.

"Come on, men!" Doc said.

The Witch ran very fast, but this time, our heroes could keep up with her. Their shadows, that were caused by lightning flashes, could be seen on the mountain wall. The wind howled and thunder kept rumbling louder. Then Buck saw something that made him smile.

"Look! At the top! She can't get away!" Buck said.

"Now we got her for sure!" Happy said.

At the moment, the Witch reached the top. Panting and gasping of all the climbing and running. When she tried to get further, she looked down and realized there was no way out. She gasped in horror. The vultures landed on a tree above her, grinning at her. They also knew that there was no escape that time. Or was there?

"I'm trapped. What will I do? The meddling little fools!" she said.

The dwarfs, cows, horse, and rabbit came closer and closer. This time, they got her. But the Witch wouldn't give up that easily, she had one last trick up her sleeve. She grabbed a long branch and placed it under a large boulder. The thunder came closer and was louder when she did that. The Witch pulled with all her might. Little by little, the boulder came in movement.

"I'll fix ya! I'LL CRUSH YOUR BONES!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

When the heroes arrived, Grumpy saw what the Witch was planning. "LOOK OUT!"

The Witch cackled very loudly, showing how wicked and evil she truly was. The dwarfs and animals all held on to each other, it might be the end for our heroes. It looked like the Witch was about to win until... A very large thunderbolt shot down between the Witch and the boulder. The cliff on which she stood crumbled into pieces and she fell down, screaming while she did. The boulder fell in the same direction.

When Maggie and the rest heard that, they opened their eyes. The vultures looked at the falling Witch with big smiles. The cows, dwarfs, horse, and rabbit ran towards the cliff and looked down in shock to where the Witch fell. The boulder smashed her to death without a doubt. The vultures flew down, they finally had the meal they wanted. Our heroes still looked down in shock.

"Heavens to Betsy," Lucky Jack said.

"How dreadful," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Well, at least she's defeated. She won't hurt anyone from now on," Maggie said.

"But still..." Mrs. Calloway said.

"As horrible as this may be, the Queen is finally defeated," Doc said.

"She's gone!" Buck cheered.

"HOORAY!" everybody cheered.

But then Mrs. Calloway gasped. "Snow White and Grace."

"Quick, let's go back to the cottage," Bashful said.

After minutes of running, they finally reached the cottage again. It was still raining, but they didn't care. They opened the door that was still half open and looked inside.

"Hello? Grace? Snow White?" Maggie called.

Then they heard a soft whimper. They turned to the familiar yellow cow, but it seemed that she was holding something... Or someone.

"Grace? Is everything all right?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

Grace slowly showed her face that was shedding tears of sadness. And everybody immediately saw why, Snow White was lying lifeless in the cow's arms. The only evidence: A bitten apple.

"Oh, no," Maggie whispered. "No."

"What happened?" Bashful asked.

"It must be that drapple... Uh, apple," Doc said.

"Can't she be saved or something?" Buck asked desperately.

"CPR could work," Maggie said.

"Or mouth-to-mouth," Happy said.

"Mouth to mouth? That's a little too much," Lucky Jack said.

"Yeah, I say we call 9-1-1 and they can defibrillate her," Grumpy said.

"Are you insane?" Mrs. Calloway asked.

"We're trying to get her back, not hurt her!" Buck said.

"Well, this is the best option, isn't it?!" Grumpy argued.

And then all the dwarfs, cows, Buck, and Lucky Jack argued. Doc, who wasn't arguing, began to form tears in his eyes and covered his ears. "STOOOOOOP!"

Everybody stopped shouting and looked at Doc.

"It's no use. She's... Dead," Doc said while he began to sob.

And suddenly, they all realized that there was nothing they could do. They all began to shed tears of sorrow, for the Princess was dead.

Chapter 18: Chorale for Snow White

A few minutes later, the cows, dwarfs, horse, and rabbit laid Snow White on a bed with flowers and two candles. Everybody surrounded the bed and looked at her with deep sorrow. The dwarfs and Mrs. Calloway took their hats off in respect. Tears fell from their eyes and hearts were broken. Maggie might be the type to cry on the inside, but actually, she cried, too. It reminded her of the day when she lost her old home and owner, and now she lost a dear friend. Lucky Jack couldn't take it, either, his ears were all droopy and he wasn't doing any better at hiding emotions.

Grumpy and Buck tried to stay strong, but a few tears were shed from their eyes. And suddenly, Grumpy began to sob and hid his face with his hand. Those sobs were making it even more sad for everyone, especially Buck, who couldn't stay strong forever. He sobbed in his hooves. Doc tried to comfort Dopey while Mrs. Calloway tried to comfort Grace. They both placed an arm around the ones they comforted. The silly dwarf and the kind cow were just as heartbroken as Grumpy and Buck and everyone else. It's like you can feel Grace's pain for the loss of her new friend. Doc and Mrs. Calloway did their best, but even they weren't made of stone when they shed some tears.

The other forest animals were outside in the rain, looking through the window with broken hearts. They bowed their heads in sorrow, not caring if the rain landed on their bodies.

It took almost the whole night. So many tears were shed that they were very tired, but it wasn't going to be easy. Then the morning came and when they woke up, they looked at the deceased Princess again with the same melancholy.

"I can't believe this happened. Snow White is gone forever," Grace said.

"No more singing," Sneezy said.

"No more gooseberry pies," Bashful said.

"No more stories," Lucky Jack said.

"No more fun," Maggie said.

Grace grabbed a handkerchief with her tail and blew her nose. She took a few steps towards the Princess and turned back to her friends.

Then Mrs. Calloway spoke. "Well, then... Let us take a moment to reflect on Snow White's life. Loving princess, devoted friend and human. I know we just met her yesterday, but that day, she proved she was a great friend. Snow White was like a mother to the dwarfs and to us all. Gentle, caring, and always there to help others."

"Snow White, wherever you are, I hope you're in a better place now," Grace said, and then she sobbed again while everyone else just bowed their heads in silence.

A few hours passed and every dwarf and animal was sitting in various places, talking to each other and comforting each other. Buck was pacing around the room. Grace was sniffling while Doc tried to comfort her. Grumpy was also walking until he saw something that gave him a lump in his throat. It was a gooseberry pie with his name on it. He grabbed it and looked at it.

"What is this?" he asked Grace with wide eyes.

"It's a gooseberry pie. For you. Me and Snow White were going to make gooseberry pies for everyone, we made one specially for you," Grace explained. "She wanted you to like her."

Grumpy looked at the pie again, his lip began to shiver. Tears slowly began to appear from his eyes. He slowly fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act to her or anyone like that. It's... It's just who I am. And now,... She's gone. I am to blame," Grumpy said and sobbed.

Bashful and Maggie slowly walked to him and hugged him. He stopped crying when he felt the hug, but he didn't protest or resist.

"It's not your fault, boy," Maggie said.

Buck stomped his hooves on the floor. "Yeah! It's that Witch's fault!"

Everybody looked at him, they could see the anger in the horse's eyes.

"She killed her out of jealousy, and she tried to kill us, too. We... We can't just leave her like this. There has to be a way to save her," Buck said.

"Buck..." Mrs. Calloway said, but got interrupted.

"That Queen has probably something in her castle. Some kind of magic or potion."

"Buck!" Mrs. Calloway said.

"No, Mrs. Calloway! Don't you dare tell me it can't be done. This is our friend and she needs our help," Buck said, desperate to find a way to bring Snow White back.

Grumpy stood up. "He's right. All you fools can stay here doin' nothin'. But I'm not afeard a goin', not even to that Witch's lair!"

Everybody was shocked when they heard that until Doc said something.

"You two'll never make it. Some say the castle's supposed to be guarded by magic, and crawling with monsters," he said.

"I'm with Doc. I don't want to take the risk to lose another friend, not even two," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Are you trying to talk us out of this?" Buck asked with a glare.

"I'm trying to speak for Snow White," Mrs. Calloway said.

Mrs. Calloway and Buck glared for a few seconds. Buck then glared at the ground, and suddenly, his glare turned into a face filled with sorrow and despair. The same happened to Grumpy.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to do something about this. But I'm afraid... There's not much we can do," Mrs. Calloway said.

Every animal and dwarf sobbed or shed tears during the moment. But in their sorrow, a thought came to Doc.

"There is 'one' thing we can do."

Chapter 19: An Unexpected Rescue

Meanwhile, at the Queen's castle, it was very quiet. No birds were chirping and not a sign of life to see. But then came the beloved Prince Florian, who returned from his kingdom and tried to visit the girl of his dreams again. He hoped to see her again in the castle courtyard at the well. But this time, something was wrong. He couldn't hear her lovely voice, so he jumped over the wall again. As he suspected, she wasn't here.

"Hmm. I wonder where she could be. Could she be inside?" the Prince asked himself.

He could ask the Queen, but he heard a few tales about her and wasn't sure if he should do that. Before he was going to try that option, he tried to look around in the rest of the courtyard. It was actually a bit bigger and quite lovely, too. It perhaps was the only part of the castle that didn't reflect the Queen's personality.

"I didn't... Dream any of this, didn't I?" he asked himself.

Then suddenly, the Prince stopped, for he heard a painful sound. Someone was sobbing or crying.

"Hello? Is there anyone out there?" the Prince called, but the sobbing continued.

He listened closely and found out it came from a strange opening. He looked inside and called once again. "Hello?!"

The sobbing stopped, it didn't answer anything. The Prince tried to go inside and found himself in some kind of dungeon-like area. There were small waterfalls and some fountains on the wall. He didn't like the place at all, but his instinct told him to go on.

"What is this?" he asked himself.

As he walked further and further, something made him jump in fear. There were lots of skeletons of people that have been locked up in the castle. There was a skeleton that dangled from its hands in a cramped cell. Further on, a skeleton of some poor unfortunate soul was hanging chained to the wall, arms spread wide apart, while another one laid on the floor, reaching out for a luminous fountain through the bars of his cell. That was all too horrifying for words and no sooner he heard the same sobbing echoing through the halls again. After walking through several cells, he finally found the source of the sobbing. Florian immediately recognized it as a cow just like Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and Grace, which he met yesterday.

The cow was all alone in a cell. She wore a collar around her neck that was attached to a chain. She was sobbing in her arms.

"Pst. Hey," the Prince said silently.

The cow heard it and looked up a little. When she saw the human, she yelled a little and stepped against the wall, looking at him with fear.

"Please... Don't hurt me," the cow said.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," Florian said.

The cow still shivered in fear.

"I promise. You're safe now. My name is Florian. Prince Florian. What's your name?" the Prince asked.

The cow didn't expect that at all. She didn't know him. He could be in league with the Queen, but he sounded too nice for that. Without hesitation, she gave him her name. "Becky."

"Aren't you a friend of Maggie?" the Prince asked.

When Becky heard that name, her eyes went wide. "You know Maggie?"

"Yes, she's a friend of mine."

"Do you know where she is?" Becky asked while she came closer to the bars.

"No. In fact, I haven't seen her and her friends for days after we first met. And I also can't find the Princess or hear her beautiful voice. Could it really have been a dream?" the Prince answered.

"Wait. Are you also saying that you know... Snow White?" Becky asked. After she met the Queen herself, she couldn't get that name out of her head.

"Oh, yes, we met once. It was a song that drew us together," the Prince said.

"Of course," Becky smiled while she rolled her eyes.

"But why is a creature like you locked up in here?" Florian asked.

"The wicked Queen did this," Becky said while tears fell from her eyes.

"I've heard tales about her, but why is she doing all this, especially locking up an innocent creature like you?" the Prince asked.

"She was horribly jealous of the beauty of Snow White and my friends. So she used her dark magic to change into an old hag, and then she was gonna try to trick them into eating a poisoned apple," Becky explained.

The Prince gasped at all that.

"I've seen the whole thing, and suddenly, she discovered me and held me captive. She told me all those terrible things, but I believed in my friends. She locked me up in here and she hasn't returned yet."

"If Snow White and the rest are in danger, then we have to rescue them," the Prince said.

"But how? She took the keys with her," Becky said.

"We gotta find a way to get you out of here," Florian said while he pulled at the bars. "We can't let you end up like all the other prisoners here."

Becky began to think quickly, because she didn't want to be a skeleton. Until she came with an idea. "Maybe you can find something in the lab. A spare key or a potion to open these cells."

"How do I get there?"

"Walk up those stairs. At the end, there's a trapdoor that will get you inside the lab," Becky explained.

"Up the stairs. Trapdoor. Got it," Florian said and ran up the stairs.

"Please, hurry," Becky said.

The Prince walked up the stairs and found the trapdoor. He opened it and looked around. He never knew that a castle would have that. The raven was still there. When the trapdoor opened, he immediately jumped inside the skull again, thinking it was the Queen who returned. But once he saw, it was not the Queen, he slowly jumped out of it.

"So this is what she does. Lots of magic potions and spells for everything. I could try to create a potion to free her from that cell in an instant. Too bad I'm not such an expert in this magic stuff. Poor Becky, being locked up by that Witch."

He tried to look through the books and potions to find a way to free Becky. The raven was listening to every word he said.

"If only there was a spare key to..." When the Prince turned around, he was completely surprised with what he saw.

The raven was holding a spare key in its beak, offering it to the Prince.

"Oh, thank you," the Prince said and took the key from the bird.

The raven just stood there. The Prince could finally free his new friend, but then he looked at the raven.

"Hey, are you okay? Why don't you go outside? Enjoy life. You can't stay here with that evil Queen," the Prince advised.

The raven was thinking a little.

"It's okay. Go. The trapdoor is still open. There's an opening that will lead you outside," Florian said.

The raven didn't know if he wanted that, but he didn't want to see the scary face of the Witch ever again. So he flew away through the trapdoor and went on his way to freedom. Now that the Prince had the key, he went back to the cell where Becky was kept.

When he reached the cell, he used the key to open the cell.

"I've got a key," Florian said.

"Great," Becky said.

He walked towards her and tried to find the lock on Becky's collar. "Just stay still." Becky didn't move while Florian was looking until he finally found it. He used the key to unlock it and Becky was finally free. She was so happy that she hugged the Prince.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Florian said while he petted her head.

Then he remembered about Snow White. "Um, Becky? Where can we find Snow White?" he asked.

"I have no idea, but the Queen mentioned a cottage with seven dwarfs. It's going to be difficult to find... Since I'm not from here," Becky answered.

"Then I suggest to look everywhere. We can ask people if they've seen her and your friends."

"That could take days, maybe months. Perhaps even years," Becky said with worry.

"We have to try. If Snow White, Maggie, and the rest are in trouble, then we've got to find them," Florian said.

"All right. Let's find them together," Becky said, and they both smiled at each other. "So, where do we start?"

"Let's try the town," Florian said.

"On it," Becky said, and they both left the dungeons, ran away from the castle and began the search for their friends.

Chapter 20: Love's First Kiss

So beautiful, even in death, that the dwarfs, cows, horse, and rabbit could not find it in their hearts to bury Snow White. Together, they fashioned a coffin of glass and gold, and kept eternal vigil at her side. The cows, horse, and rabbit didn't care if they wanted to go home now. At that time, the only thing that mattered was their dear friend who sadly passed away. The Prince, who searched far and wide with the help of his new bovine friend, heard of the maiden who slept in the glass coffin. And when they found her in a forest clearing, he sang one last familiar song to show and prove how much he loved her.

"One song I have but one song One song Only for you"

The glass coffin, where Snow White laid in, was indeed in the middle of a forest clearing. The birds dropped pink petals from a tree above while the forest animals placed bouquets of flowers around the coffin.

"One heart Tenderly beating Ever entreating Constant and true"

Then came the dwarfs, Buck, Lucky Jack, and the cows with their bouquets. The dwarfs and Mrs. Calloway once again took their hats off in respect. They placed their flowers at the coffin while Doc and Buck opened the coffin. Grumpy placed his bouquet on top of Snow White. They all took a step backwards and knelt with their heads looking down. All took a moment of silence while rays of sunlight shone on the sleeping Princess.

Prince Florian, his horse, and Becky were watching on top of a road with the same sadness. Florian took his hat off in respect and went towards the sleeping Princess while singing his heart out. Becky began to shed tears, even though she didn't meet or know Snow White, she still felt sadness in her heart. She followed the Prince.

"One love that has possessed me One love thrilling me through One song my heart keeps singing Of one love only for you"

Florian approached our heroes, and they saw him immediately. Everybody rose from their knees and haunches.

"Florian," Mrs. Calloway said.

Florian said nothing because he had no words for what happened to the love of his life. Becky also didn't know what to say. Maggie noticed her.

"Becky. How did you...?" Maggie asked.

"It's a long story. But I can see it won't be a good time to tell it," Becky said.

The dwarfs noticed the new cow, but didn't say a word.

"At least, I'm glad to see you. But you actually arrived at a bad time," Maggie said with tears in her eyes while she hugged her friend.

"It's my fault. If I didn't touch that book, I wouldn't be here. And if I wasn't caught by the Queen, I could..." Becky said with tears in her eyes.

"No, no. It's not your fault. It's her fault," Maggie said, mentioning the Queen while she placed a hoof under Becky's chin.

"I found Becky. The Queen locked her up in a cell to prevent her from stopping her plans," Florian said.

Maggie went towards the Prince and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered.

Becky came closer towards the coffin and looked at the Princess.

"She's indeed beautiful," Becky said.

"She was just as sweet as could be," Doc said to Becky.

"She sang us purty songs..." Sneezy said.

"And made us smile," Happy said.

"And at bedtime, she told wonderful stories..." Sleepy said.

"About falling in love, an' the Prince she'd met," Bashful said.

"An' when we went to work, she gave us all a kiss," Grumpy said.

"She was so full of kindness, just like Grace," Happy said. "Why, she made better folk of all of us."

"From what you've said, she must have been very loved and a good friend," Becky said while hearing all those lovely things about Snow White.

"That she was, my dear. That she was," said Doc, who was comforting Grace, who started to sob.

"Maybe there might be a small chance," Becky whispered to herself.

"I'd like to say 'goodbye' to her," Florian said.

"Go ahead," Maggie said.

They all made room for the Prince to approach the Princess. Florian remembered what Becky said before. He didn't know for sure, either, but he was going to show his love for her, no matter what. Everybody watched, especially Becky, to hope for that one chance to save Snow White. The Prince came closer to the Princess and lowered his head to her face. He gave her a loving kiss on the lips. Nothing happened. The Prince knelt while lowering his head in sadness and respect. Becky began to shed a few tears and sat on her haunches. Everybody else did the same thing, even the forest animals. They all lowered their heads in sadness and respect. A few seconds went by and Becky tried to take one last look at the beautiful girl in the glass coffin. But then, her eyes went wide and a smile appeared on her face. Snow White's eyes slowly opened and slowly raised her arm towards her head.

"Princess!" Becky said.

The dwarfs, other cows, Buck, and Lucky Jack were confused when she said that. But when they rose their heads, they suddenly knew why. Everybody's eyes went wide and smiles appeared on their faces. Especially the forest animals.

"Am I dreaming?" Maggie said in disbelief.

"Is she...?" Grace asked with the same reaction.

Snow White began to stand up and stretched herself a little after waking up from a long nap. And then she saw Florian with wonder in her eyes and a smile on her face. The Prince rose his head, and when he saw the Princess, who was awake, he was totally surprised and smiled like he never smiled before. He rose to his feet while Snow White opened her arms. He grabbed her in his arms and they both looked lovingly at each other.

"It worked!" Becky said.

"All right!" Buck said.

"Oh, my goodness," Grace said, happy to see her friend alive and well. She began to hug Grumpy, who happily accepted it, with tears of joy.

"I can't believe it, it's a miracle!" Mrs. Calloway said.

"Well, I'll be!" Lucky Jack said.

"YEAH! HAHAHAH! SHE'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!" Happy reacted and danced joyfully.

Then they all hugged each other, threw their hats in the air, and danced happily.

Florian slowly brought the Princess back on her feet for a moment, and suddenly, Snow White fell to the ground by something cute and yellow. It was none other than Grace, who hugged her like never before.

"I thought I would never see you again," she said with tears of joy.

Snow White happily hugged back, enjoying the soft fur of her bovine friend. "Oh, Grace."

And no sooner, the other animals and dwarfs approached her and hugged her, too, even Becky. Both the Prince and Princess couldn't help but laugh with joy.

"Snow White, right? I'm Becky. I'm a friend of Maggie and her friends," the tan cow said.

"Nice to meet you, Becky," Snow White said.

"I may have never met you, but all I can say is: Well, welcome back," Becky said.

Snow White giggled a little and petted her.

After the happy reunion, Florian scooped up his princess, and they both walked towards his horse while everybody followed them and danced.

"Where are you two going?" Maggie asked curiously.

"To my castle. I want to ask my dear princess for her hand and tell her each day how much I love her," Florian said.

"Aaaaaaawww!" the animals said.

"How romantic," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Sissy stuff," Buck said.

Mrs. Calloway heard that and glared at the horse. But then Maggie began to smirk.

"Says the horse who kissed a ladybug," she said.

Buck's eyes went wide and then he blushed a little. "You got me there." He frowned.

Every dwarf and animal began to laugh at that, even Snow White and her prince joined the laughter.

"You're welcome in the castle anytime. All of you. And thank you for everything," Florian said.

Everybody smiled. Then they all realized that they had to say goodbye to Snow White. It was a bit sad at first, but they knew that somehow they would see each other again. All the animals gave Snow White a hug with Grace as the last.

"We had great times, didn't we?" Snow White asked.

"We sure did," Grace said.

"You and I have so much in common, and your friends are amazing, too. I'm so happy to have met you and call you my friend," Snow White said.

"Me, too," Grace said. "I hope we can see each other again somehow."

"Of course. You, your friends, and the dwarfs are always welcome. Thank you for a lot of things, and don't forget, even if we are far away from each other, we're always connected, no matter what," Snow White said.

They hugged each other for a few more minutes, and then they released.

"Have I ever told you what soft fur you have?" Snow White asked.

"I don't think so. But I never told you what lovely hair you have," Grace said.

"Um, Grace. I think our two lovebirds want to be alone for today," Becky said.

"Oh, right." Grace blushed a little.

Then Florian placed Snow White on his horse and grabbed each dwarf so they could get a kiss from her. Bashful was the first and was as red as a tomato again.

"Goodbye," Snow White said.

Grumpy was the next, and then he blew a kiss at her.

"Goodbye, Grumpy. Goodbye."

And then came Doc, Sneezy, and Happy.

And then came none other than our favorite silly dwarf, who wiped his mouth with his sleeve and pursed his lips.

"Oh, Dopey," Snow White said and kissed him. The animals giggled when they saw that.

Sleepy was the last to receive a kiss, and then Snow White and her prince walked away while everybody waved at them.

"Goodbye!" Snow White said.

"Goodbye, Snow White!" Grace said.

"Goodbye!" Becky said.

"Goodbye!" the dwarfs said.

"Have fun!" Maggie said.

"And while you're there, go easy, will ya?" Buck said.

"Buck!" Mrs. Calloway said.

"What? Aren't they going to... You know, after they are married... I'll shut up now," Buck said.

They all watched Snow White and her prince approaching a beautiful castle that shone with a light as bright as the sun.

Chapter 21: Is This Goodbye?

Everyone was so happy for their new friend and hoped to see her again and spent some more time with her and her prince.

"So, that was that. What do we do now?" Buck asked.

"Well, I don't know. Let me think," Maggie said.

Suddenly, everybody heard a strange sound and looked behind them. A large pillar of light and magical energy appeared from the skies and shot on the ground. Everybody covered their eyes from the light, and then the pillar disappeared, leaving a strange big symbol on the ground.

"What is that?" Becky asked.

"I don't know," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Me, neither," Doc said.

Maggie slowly approached it and took a closer look at the symbol that was glowing with a bright light. It was the same symbol from the cover of the Book of Disney. "This could be it. This could be our way back home. Back to Patch of Heaven," she said.

"Really?" Grace asked.

"That's wonderful," Becky said.

"Wait. So you can go home now? This is goodbye?" Doc asked.

Mrs. Calloway looked at the dwarf leader and said, "I'm afraid it is."

The dwarfs looked down with a hint that they were sad.

"Why the long faces? It's not really goodbye," Maggie said.

"Maggie is right. We need to go home, but we'll find a way to see you again," Grace said.

"You will?" Doc asked.

The animals nodded. "When we first arrived in this world, let me be honest, I was completely surprised and afraid we would never get home. But now I'm happy that we came here. Especially with the people we've met; Snow White, Florian, Humbert, and you guys," Maggie said.

The dwarfs smiled when they heard that last part. Mrs. Calloway looked at Grumpy for a moment and giggled a little. "You know, Grumpy, you remind me of someone I know back in Patch of Heaven."

Grumpy was a little confused at first, but then he smiled. Mrs. Calloway was referring to Jeb the goat, since he was as grumpy as the dwarf himself.

"We had a great time, didn't we?" Sleepy said.

"We sure did. Especially on that party," Lucky Jack chuckled.

"Hey, Maggie. You were great that day. Sending me to run up the mountain and pounce on the Queen. What a brilliant idea," Happy said.

"Aw, shucks. You were pretty amazing, too," Maggie said and hugged Happy, who gladly accepted it.

"I can't believe that we have to say goodbye now," said Bashful, who was talking to Grace.

"No. It's not goodbye. We'll meet again, Bashful. I promise," Grace said, trying to cheer up her dwarf friend. "But would you do me one favor?"

"Anything, Grace," the dwarf said.

"Will you and the others take good care of Snow White while we're gone?"

"You can count on us," Bashful said with a smile.

"Thank you," Grace said and hugged Bashful, who began to turn red again.

"Ooooooooh, goooooosh!" he chuckled, which made Grace giggle as well.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Calloway was talking with Sneezy.

"I hope you won't have too much trouble with that hay fever of yours, Sneezy. I wish I brought something to make it less worse," the black cow said.

"It's okay, Mrs. Calloway. I found out that my hay fever can be annoying most of the time, but actually, it could be very useful in times of need," Sneezy said.

"Well, take good care," Mrs. Calloway said and hugged him.

"So... This is it, I guess," Grumpy said, crossing his arms.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted us gone in the first place," Buck said, teasing Grumpy.

"I know. I was a jerk to act like that. And I'm ssssss..." Grumpy said, forcing himself to say that last word.

"Uh, excuse me?" Buck said.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for all the things I said and everything else that's bad," Grumpy said.

"It's okay, we forgive you. You know, you're not 100% a jerk. I mean, you were acting kinda caring and brave when you heard Snow White and Grace were in danger," Buck said.

"When she gave me that kiss, I knew she meant well, and so did Grace. But you... You were awesome. Taking on me was kind of a daring move, but taking on a powerful witch... That takes guts, Buck. The same goes for the rest of your friends," Grumpy said with a smile.

Buck was a bit flattered by all that. "Well... You're pretty awesome, too." When he said that, he moved his eyes left and right. "I mean, when you led everybody and chased the Queen and all. Heheh."

"Oh, and another thing. You were amazing at those karate moves. You should teach us someday," Grumpy said.

"Maybe I should," Buck said.

There was a moment of silence between them before Buck broke it. "So... Are we friends? No more grumpy stuff?"

Grumpy chuckled. "Sure."

Buck held out his hoof in an attempt to shake his hand, but what happened next surprised him completely. Grumpy hugged him, and he couldn't help but return it.

Lucky Jack was talking with Dopey, even though he couldn't talk.

"What a weird time, huh? The first day, me and my friends ended up in a different world, and now we've become friends with some of its residents. Reminds me of the time me and Maggie first arrived at Patch of Heaven and befriended the rest of the farm animals. But I bet you wouldn't understand what I'm saying, huh?" the rabbit said.

Dopey was thinking and then nodded his head.

"We had a great time, eh, buddy?" Lucky Jack said.

Dopey nodded again.

"I know you don't know how to talk, but that's all right. I'm sure gonna miss you," Lucky Jack said and hugged the dwarf, who gladly accepted it.

But then Dopey came closer to Lucky Jack's ear and whispered, "I'll miss you, too, Jack."

The rabbit looked at the dwarf with wide eyes. Dopey just smiled, and Lucky Jack couldn't help but return it while he slowly nodded.

Maggie just finished hugging Sleepy. "Now don't try to sleep too much on the job, all right?" Maggie teased.

Sleepy yawned and said with a smile, "I'll try my best."

"I'll miss all of you. Most of all, you, Doc," Maggie said.

"You six are truly amazing," Doc said.

"Um, Maggie. Before we leave, aren't you going to introduce me to them first?" Becky asked.

"Of course," Maggie said and began to introduce her to the dwarfs. "Boys, this is my friend, Becky. Becky, these are Doc, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Dopey and..."

"Ah. Ah! AAH!" Sneezy said.

"TAKE COVER!" Lucky Jack shouted.

And every animal and dwarf hid behind a tree while Sneezy tried to stop his sneeze. But once again, he failed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH! ACHOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sneezy released a big gust of wind that could easily blow them away.

Becky could feel that sneeze. "Wow. That's one powerful sneeze." And then she laughed.

Everybody else began to laugh very hard as well. After a few minutes, they stopped laughing while Maggie continued.

"And this is Sneezy."

"Hahah. Those are quite funny names. They're adorable," Becky said.

"You have great friends, Miss Becky," Doc said.

"I know. I wish I could get to know you more, but we have to go home now," Becky said sadly.

"I hope you get home safely, my dears," Doc said, and both him and Maggie hugged each other.

"Thanks for everything, Doc," Maggie said.

"You're welcome," Doc said.

At that moment, Maggie and her friends were ready to go home until Doc stopped them again.

"Wait! I forgot something. Dopey, Happy. Do you save the hack, uh, have the sack?" Doc said.

"We sure do," Happy said, and both he and Dopey carried a big sack towards the animals.

"What's in there?" Becky asked.

"Open it," Happy said with a smile.

Maggie opened the sack and a ray of light came out of it. She had to cover her eyes before she took a better look. Mrs. Calloway looked inside it as well. She began to gasp.

"Are those... Are those..." said Mrs. Calloway, who tried to breath.

"Diamonds and rubies from the mine. I know we didn't work after what happened, but I'm sure you would have done a great job," Doc said.

"This is our gift to you," Grumpy said.

"To thank you for everything," Sneezy said.

The animals didn't know what to say, the dwarfs gave them a big sack with jewels. All for them.

"Oh, boy. I can't wait to see how they work," Lucky Jack said.

"They're lovely. I can put some of them on my hat," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Or on my saddle. Well, if the Sheriff wants to, that is," Buck said.

"We can buy new things with some of these," Grace said.

"And the best thing of all is that with these gems, we can get more money to keep saving our farm," Becky said.

The animals' eyes widened when they heard that and smiled like never before.

"Oh, Pearl would be so proud of us," Mrs. Calloway said.

"You bet she would," Grace said.

Maggie began to have tears in her eyes as she faced the dwarfs. "Thank you."

The dwarfs all gave a single nod, tears in their eyes.

"Come on, Maggie. The others will probably wonder where we are. Especially Pearl and the Sheriff," Mrs. Calloway said.

One by one, the animals began to step into the pillar of energy with the sack of jewels and got pulled into the air. Maggie took one last look at the dwarfs and waved at them. The dwarfs waved back, then she stepped inside the pillar and it brought her back to Patch of Heaven.

Dopey, who was very curious, couldn't help but run at the pillar. But before he could reach it, the pillar disappeared and he fell to the ground. The dwarfs all looked up.

"That was the strangest kind of magic I've ever seen," Doc said in wonder.

"Do you think they will be all right?" Bashful asked.

"Will we truly see them again?" Happy asked.

Doc began to think and a smile came on his face. "Yes. I'm very sure. Come on, men. Let's go home. We gotta think of a special gift for Snow White's wedding."

"How about a bed?" Sleepy asked.

And so, the dwarfs collaborated on ideas and went home, thinking of what they should give to Snow White and her prince. They also hoped that someday they would see their Patch of Heaven friends again.

Chapter 22: A Story to be Told

Our heroes were once again swirling through space, screaming for their lives. Inside the barn, the book opened and a blinding light came out of it. Suddenly, Maggie, Buck, Lucky Jack, and the rest of the cows jumped out of it with the sack of jewels and landed on top of each other. They got up and spoke to each other in excitement and glee about their adventure.

"Wow. That was amazing. I've never experienced something like that before," Maggie said.

"Me, neither," Becky said.

"That was super duper fun!" Lucky Jack said.

"It was lovely... And sometimes scary. But mostly lovely," Grace said.

"Hah! Did you see how I used my karate skills to back off that Witch?" Buck said, bragging as always.

"Until she unleashed a big thunderbolt," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie was happy to be home again, but she couldn't help missing her new friends. So did the rest. She looked behind her and saw a certain page in the book.

"And they lived happily ever after," she read. It brought a smile to her face.

"Maggie? Will we see them again?" Grace asked.

Maggie looked at her friend and said, "Of course. We'll find a way."

And soon, everyone else smiled. Then Maggie came up with something.

"Say, we should tell this to the others. They won't believe what happened to us," she said while she grabbed the book.

"All right, let's go," Mrs. Calloway said.

Maggie didn't go too far when a familiar cow stopped her.

"Hey, Maggie!" Becky called.

"Yes, Becky?" Maggie asked.

"Just do me this one favor, okay? If you and your friends decide to go off on another adventure and I just happen to be in the neighborhood… Don't let me go by myself."

Maggie nodded understandingly. "I promise, Becky."

The cows, horse, and rabbit left the barn and made their way outside to the field of Patch of Heaven.

When they got outside, they saw the other farm animals waiting for them.

The farm animals, consisting of a goat, a chicken, a duck, two pig mates and their three sons, and a few baby chicks, sensed something behind them. They turned around and saw a familiar show cow.

Recognizing who that cow was, the animals smiled.

"Maggie. You're back!" Audrey said.

Four other animals appeared behind Maggie and stood beside her. The farm animals recognized them as two other familiar cows, a horse, and a peg-legged rabbit.

"And... And so are you guys," Ollie said.

They all came closer to Maggie and her friends and hugged them. Even the chicks hopped onto Mrs. Calloway's hat, making her smile.

Becky came out last and smiled, and then she joined the hug as well.

"We really missed you guys," Larry said.

"We sure did," Molly said.

"Where were y'all? We were worried about you," Jeb said.

"Oh, you won't believe what happened to us," Maggie said with a smile.

"What is it?" Ollie asked with a mix of surprise and worry.

"Well, it's a long story. You see..." Maggie said, but then she got interrupted.

"Wait. Before we start, would it be okay if Rusty joined us?" Buck asked.

"And Bob and Barry and Junior, too? It would be a lot better if we tell everyone about this," Grace said.

"Okay, I'll see if I can find them," Ollie said.

After a few minutes, Ollie returned with Bob, Barry, Junior, and Rusty, who had just awakened from his morning nap.

The dog yawned. "What in tarnation is..." Then his eyes widened at the sight of his friends.

"Hey, Rusty!" Buck said.

"Hey there, Buck. Good morning, everyone," Rusty said.

"Good morning, ladies," Bob, Barry, and Junior said to the cows.

"Good morning, Rusty, Bob, Barry, Junior," Mrs. Calloway said.

"What was so important that y'all called me here for?" Rusty asked.

"We've been to another world," Maggie said.

"Another world?" Bob asked.

"How?" Barry asked.

"Through this book," Maggie said and showed them the Book of Disney.

Ollie grabbed it and looked at it. The others looked, too. Rusty sniffed at it.

"I've never seen this book before," Jeb said.

"Where did you get it?" Rusty asked.

"Lucky Jack found it somewhere in the forest. He said it came there because of a falling star. We discovered it was a storybook. With stories we've never heard before. Oh, guys. You should've been there," Maggie explained.

Ollie opened the book and read the first page completely. Then he looked through several pages.

"Oh," he said with interest. "My, my. This is something. And I can sense something from this book."

"What do you think?" Maggie asked.

The pig looked at the first story. "Who is Snow White?"

"Oh, she's lovely. She's a human princess who loves animals like us," Grace said.

"She and Grace immediately became friends, and so did we," Maggie said.

"And there was a handsome prince," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Yeah, and an evil queen that turned herself into a witch and wanted to kill her," Buck said.

"Oh, and don't forget the Huntsman... And the dwarfs," Lucky Jack said.

"That's right. The dwarfs. They were very nice. I wish there was a way to show you to them," Grace said.

When she said that, the book began to glow, and in a flash, characters could be seen in hologram. Many of them were blank and weren't revealed yet, but suddenly, they saw familiar faces.

"Wow," Buck said.

"Look, it's Snow White," Grace said.

"And Florian," Mrs. Calloway said.

"I think this book can also show us the people and creatures we've met," Maggie said. "Show us the seven dwarfs."

And suddenly, all the dwarfs were shown together.

"Dwarfs?" the piggies asked.

"They're very friendly, they even gave us a sack with jewels from their mine to thank us," Lucky Jack said.

The farm animals smiled at that, especially Jeb, who usually was negative and cranky.

"How about we introduce them?" Becky asked.

"That would be very nice," Ollie said.

"Okay, their names fit their personality," Maggie said, and a hologram of Doc was shown. "This is Doc, he's the self-appointed leader of the group."

"Sounds familiar," Rusty teased with a smile.

One by one, the dwarfs were presented. The next one was told by Grace. "This little fellow is Bashful. He's secretly in love with Snow White."

Audrey and Larry giggled.

"And this is Sneezy. He has hay fever," Mrs. Calloway said.

"Ol' droopy eyes is called Sleepy," Maggie said.

"And Happy, with the beaming smile," Grace said.

"And this is Dopey, who actually can't talk," Lucky Jack said.

"And ol' sourpuss here is Grumpy. He may be a little bit rude, but he has a heart of gold," Buck said.

"Just like you, Jeb," Audrey said while smirking at the goat.

"Yeah, right," Jeb said, rolling his eyes.

"We didn't realize you made so many friends in this new world," Junior said.

Maggie looked at the book. Then a smile formed on her face.

"You know, we did learn a couple things out there," she said.

"Like what?" Ollie asked.

"Well, one thing that I learned is that beauty isn't everything," Maggie said.

"Exactly. It's deeds, not looks, that count, whether it's ruling a kingdom or making friends," Mrs. Calloway said.

"And that kindness to everyone is the most important of all," Grace said.

"Most of all, have fun with the people that became your friends," Lucky Jack said.

"And sometimes, even the grumpiest person hides a good heart," Buck said.

"Those are very good things to learn. Maybe you can give us more information when you're visiting other worlds in these stories," Ollie said.

"That won't be a problem," Maggie said.

The animals faced each other with a smile, then gave a nod as if having a silent conversation.

"Would you like to tell us about your adventure?" Ollie asked. "Perhaps about the new ones in the future?"

Maggie had a cute smile on her face. "With pleasure."

The holograms disappeared and Ollie gave the book to Maggie. Everyone sat on their haunches. Maggie turned to the first page of the book and began to read.

"Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little Princess named Snow White. Her vain and wicked stepmother..."

And so, she told the rest of the farm animals about their first new adventure. They were getting very interested in that. The story made them laugh and cry and feel enchanted and sometimes even a little scared. It was a truly marvelous adventure for Maggie and her friends.

Some day when spring is here We'll find our love anew And the birds will sing And wedding bells will ring Some day when my dreams come true

THE END

Gallery

Maggie getting sucked into book

Lucky Jack trying to pull Maggie out

Buck trying to pull Lucky Jack out

Mrs. Calloway trying to pull Buck out

Grace trying to pull Mrs. Calloway out

Grace getting sucked into book

Snow White and animals scared of forest

Grace finds Snow White dead

Buck confronts the Witch

Snow White's funeral

Happy mourning

Maggie mourning

Bashful, Sneezy, and Sleepy mourning

Lucky Jack mourning

Grumpy mourning

Buck mourning

Doc and Dopey mourning

Mrs. Calloway and Grace mourning

Forest Animals mourning

We Stand as One Unit