You were right!” I say to Kid Bear.

Her furry brown chest puffs up with pride, and she does a shimmy. “Told you,” she says.

“We don’t know that yet,” Goldie points out. “Someone should knock and see if Rumpelstiltskin answers.”

Tough customer.

“I wish I lived behind a waterfall,” Jonah says. “So awesome.”

It is very cool. No wonder no one knows exactly where he lives. Who would ever think to look behind a waterfall?

I’m about to knock on the door when something occurs to me.

“Wait. If Rumpelstiltskin can make gold, why wouldn’t he live in a huge, fancy house?”

“A huge fancy house made of gold,” Goldie says.

“I’d rather live in this small house behind the waterfall,” Jonah says.

“Rumpelstiltskin is pretty little,” Kid Bear says. “He definitely doesn’t need a big house.”

“Let’s knock!” Jonah says. “I want to meet him.”

I’m suddenly worried. Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t the nicest in his story. He tried to swindle the queen out of her baby! But what choice do we have?

I take a deep breath and then knock on the front door.

“Who is it?” a high-pitched voice calls from inside.

“Abby!” I call.

“And Jonah,” Jonah adds.

“And Goldie,” Goldie says.

“And Kid Bear!” I add. That’s probably not her actual name, but there’s no time to ask her now.

Prince barks.

A tiny square window on the door slides open. I see two brown-orange eyes staring at us. Then the window closes. And the door opens.

Rumpelstiltskin stands in the doorway. He’s about Jonah’s height, with pale green skin. His brown eyes have a strange orange glow, and his hair is short and bright white. He’s wearing a dark blue velvet suit and a tall, dark blue velvet hat sits on his head. With his bright white beard, he looks a little like a garden gnome.

He also looks very surprised to see us. “Why are you here?” he asks.

“We have a favor to ask you,” I say.

“Do you know who I am?” he asks.

“Yes,” I answer.

“So what’s my name, then?” he demands, hands on hips. “I bet you can’t guess. I’ll give you three guesses before I slam the door on you.”

“Is it … Jeff?” Jonah asks, a gleam in his eye.

“No!” Rumpelstiltskin calls out. “It is not! Two more guesses!”

Jonah grins. “Cody?”

Where is he coming up with these names?

“No!” Rumpelstiltskin yells.

“Jonah, come on!” I turn to Rumpelstiltskin. “We know your name. It’s Rumpelstiltskin,” I say.

He narrows his orange-brown eyes at me. “Well, obviously, she told you,” Rumpelstiltskin says, now glaring at Kid Bear.

“I didn’t tell them,” Kid Bear insists. “They knew who you were already.”

“Really?” he asks, looking from me to Jonah to Goldie and back to me.

I nod. “You’re pretty famous outside of Bebec,” I tell him.

“I am?” He lifts his chin and looks a lot happier. “That’s nice to hear. No one ever stops by.”

“Same at our house,” Kid Bear says sadly. “I don’t have any friends.”

“Me either,” Goldie says. “Now that my dad’s gone, I’m all alone.”

“Can we get back to your name?” Jonah asks. “Do you have a nickname? Or do you actually want to be called Rumpelstiltskin?”

“What would I use for a nickname?” he asks.

“Rumpy? Skins?” Jonah asks.

“Stiltsy?” I say.

“Hard pass,” Rumpelstiltskin says. “Do you have a nickname?” he asks my brother.

Jonah shakes his head. “But you can call me Jo!”

“Does anyone ever call you that?” I ask my brother.

“Nope,” he says. “But I could start using it!”

“How about a different nickname? Like … Nah?” I suggest.

“No,” Jonah says firmly.

“Sweetie?”

“No, thank you!”

“I wish someone would call me Sweetie,” Rumpelstiltskin says sadly. He shakes his head. “Would you all like to come in?”

Oh!

Jonah claps. “Yes! Cool! I’m going into Rumpelstiltskin’s house!”

“Woot woot!” says Kid Bear.

Rumpelstiltskin stares at Kid Bear with surprise. “Woot woot?”

“Woot woot!” she replies.

“We’d love to come in,” I say.

Rumpelstiltskin opens the door wide and we walk into a very fancy, huge house. Wow! The floors are made of shiny blue marble and there’s a leather armchair, fluffy shag rugs, and a blue velvet sofa that matches his suit. From the outside, you’d never know the inside was so big and luxurious.

Our host gestures at the blue sofa, and Goldie, Jonah, Kid Bear, and I all sit down, with Prince in my lap. Rumpelstiltskin sits on the huge leather armchair across from us.

He crosses his tiny legs. “What do you want?” he asks, cutting right to the chase.

“Do you have any cookies?” Jonah asks. “I’ve been really in the mood for something sweet.”

“I do, actually,” Rumpelstiltskin says. “One minute.”

He dashes off and returns a moment later holding a tray with four cups of milk, a loaf of banana bread sliced into pieces, and some cookies. Yum! Rumpelstiltskin is clearly a good baker. Too bad I didn’t meet him before I made my ruined cupcakes.

“There are chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies,” Rumpelstiltskin says, holding the tray out to us.

“Hurrah!” Jonah cheers. “No thank you on the raisin, though. Blargh. Nothing worse than biting into what you think is chocolate chip and getting raisin.”

“I hate when that happens,” I sigh.

“Me too,” Goldie says, laughing. “But for me it’s the reverse. It’s oatmeal raisin that’s my favorite kind of cookie.”

I don’t even know what to say to that.

“I like every kind of cookie,” Rumpelstiltskin says.

Goldie carefully selects an oatmeal raisin cookie and a piece of banana bread. Kid Bear takes one of each cookie, and Jonah and I take one chocolate chip cookie apiece. Then Goldie takes some more banana bread, and we all help ourselves to the glasses of milk. We thank him, and Rumpelstiltskin looks pleased as he settles back into his armchair.

“So,” I say to Rumpelstiltskin, biting into my cookie. “We need your help. Goldie’s dad used to work in the palace as King Ned’s assistant, but he broke a statue of the king by accident,” I explain. “The king threw him in jail because he can’t pay for it.”

“What a meanie!” Kid Bear says.

Goldie nods. “He really is.”

“And the only way that Goldie can free her dad is by giving the king a bag of gold,” Jonah adds.

“Can you help, Rumpelstiltskin?” Goldie asks. “Please?”

He nods right away. “Of course I can help.”

“Yay!” I cry. “You’re the best! I knew you would. I knew it! See, Goldie?”

Rumpelstiltskin taps his fingertips together. “I said I can. Whether or not I will is the question.”

I deflate like a leaking balloon.

“But you can turn things into gold,” Jonah says. “It’s easy for you.”

Rumpelstiltskin shrugs. “So?”

“My father is in jail for an accident,” Goldie says. “The king has no mercy!”

“That’s true,” Rumpelstiltskin agrees. “I’m magical and even I avoid his royal cruelness.”

“So are you going to help or not?” Goldie asks.

“Please?” I say. He has to!

“Double please with rainbow sprinkles on top?” Jonah adds.

“I love rainbow sprinkles,” Kid Bear says, licking her lips.

Rumpelstiltskin looks at us all one by one. Then he taps his chin. “All right,” he says. “I’ll help.”

Hurrah!

“Here’s what you have to do,” he goes on. “Bring me straw. And lots of it.”

The straw part makes sense. That’s what he turned to gold in his story.

“Can’t you turn anything into gold?” Jonah asks.

Rumpelstiltskin shakes his head and his hat goes flying off. He grumbles and hops down off the big chair, puts the hat on, then hops back up. “No,” he says. “Just straw.”

“Okay, so we have to find straw —” I start.

“And of course,” Rumpelstiltskin adds, “you’ll have to pay me.”

Goldie frowns. I swallow. Jonah bites his lip. Even Kid Bear looks worried.

“We don’t have any money,” I say. “That’s why we need you to turn straw into gold!”

“Did I ask for money?” Rumpelstiltskin bellows. “No, I did not.”

I stare at him. “Then what do you want in exchange? We have a skateboard. Want that?”

“No!” Jonah yells.

“Jonah!” I say. “It’s all we have!”

“We have your watch!”

“We need my watch!”

“Well, I need my skateboard!”

“I don’t want a skateboard or a watch,” Rumpelstiltskin says.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Your firstborn child!” he declares.

“Um, no,” I say. “First of all, I’m way too young to have kids. And second of all, I’m not auctioning off any future kids that I might have.”

Rumpelstiltskin frowns. He looks at Jonah. “Then his firstborn child!” he declares.

“Also no,” Jonah says, and then mutters, “Baby sandwich” under his breath.

“You can’t have any of our firstborn children,” I say. “Not mine, not Jonah’s, not Goldie’s, not Kid Bear’s.”

He squishes his face up. “What about your second-born children?” he asks.

“No,” I say.

“Last-born?”

“Still no,” I say. “No kids of any kind.”

“Can I have your dog?” he asks.

“No dog, either,” I say, pulling Prince closer to me. “Or my dog’s puppies. Just to make it clear — no living being.”

Rumpelstiltskin sighs. “It would be so nice to have a friend.”

“A friend sandwich,” Jonah mutters.

“Jonah, stop,” I say. “He doesn’t want a person sandwich. He wants a companion. He’s lonely. Aren’t you?”

Rumpelstiltskin’s orange-brown eyes fill with tears. “I am. I just want companionship. I don’t understand why no one wants to hang out with me!”

“Maybe it’s because you try to steal people’s babies?” Jonah asks.

He scowls. “I never stole anything. I made deals. And anyway, that’s only when I’m desperate. And the thing is, I’m not very happy. The only time anyone talks to me is when they want my help.” He sighs again, his eyes filling with more tears.

Awww. Poor Rumpy.

“Rumpelstiltskin?” I say. “Will you excuse us for a moment?”

“Fine,” he says, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

He hops off the chair and goes into another room.

“Goldie and Kid Bear,” I whisper. “I have an idea. You both want friends, right?” They nod. “And Rumpelstiltskin needs a friend. Maybe the three of you can be friends?”

Goldie and Kid Bear look at each other.

“It’s like Goldie and Bear!” Jonah exclaims. “That cartoon. Except in this case, it’s Goldie and Bear and Rumpelstiltskin.” He pauses. “That doesn’t have quite the same ring.”

“I don’t know,” Goldie says, studying Kid Bear. “You’re an animal, so I shouldn’t be nice to you, but you did help us find Rumpelstiltskin. And your tutu is kind of cool.”

“Thanks,” Kid Bear says. “You’re hanging out with the people who broke into my house, but you seem pretty cool, too.”

“Oh,” Goldie says. “About that … I broke into your house, too. I’m really sorry. I was looking for ways to help my dad. I know it was wrong.” She lowers her head. “Can you forgive me?”

Kid Bear nods. “I can. I’ve always wanted to be friends with a person.” She pauses and smiles at Goldie. “I’ll be your friend.”

Yay!

“But what about Rumpelstiltskin?” I ask.

“I guess it’d be fun to have a magical elf friend,” Goldie responds. “Plus, I do need his help.”

Jonah leans close. “Goldie, if you want to be his friend,” he says, “it can’t be because you need his help. Friends are friends because they like each other.”

“I can’t say I like him yet,” Goldie says. “I barely know him. But I am willing to hang out with him.”

“I want to be friends with everyone!” Kid Bear exclaims.

I can’t help but smile. Kid Bear is kind of the best.

“Can I come back now?” Rumpelstiltskin calls from the other room. “Or are you still discussing?”

“You can come back,” Goldie says. When he reappears, she adds, “I like your hat.”

“Why, thank you!” Rumpelstiltskin says with a smile. “And I like your spunkiness.”

Goldie smiles. “Thanks.” She sits up straight. “Okay, Rumpelstiltskin, here’s the deal. We have nothing to pay you with. But sometimes friends help each other. And Kid Bear and I would like to be your friends. And it seems like you want company. What do you think?”

“What does that mean exactly?” he asks. “You guys will hang out with me every day?”

“Sure,” she says. “Or most days. You know. Sometimes I have other stuff to do.”

His orange-brown eyes light up. “Okay. I want two hours every other day for at least two months. We’ll make snow angels and then come inside for hot cocoa and cookies, and we’ll play Monopoly and charades and hide-and-seek and sing songs.”

“Great,” Goldie says. “I love Monopoly. I want to be the car, though.”

Rumpelstiltskin claps. “I’m the hat.”

“I’m the dog!” Kid Bear says.

Prince barks.

I’m so relieved. Our plan is working! “So now we just have to find straw,” I say.

“A lot of it,” Rumpelstiltskin reminds me. “Good luck!”

We nod and get up.

“Thanks, Rumpelstiltskin,” I say.

“Talk to you later!” Jonah adds.

“See you soon, friend,” Kid Bear tells him.

“Bye for now!” Goldie says.

Rumpelstiltskin smiles and bows, and we leave.

We’re back on the ledge behind the waterfall. Jonah holds his skateboard under one arm and climbs down, Kid Bear right behind him. They’re on the ground before Goldie and I even start to descend. I grab Prince, and finally, we join them at the bottom. Phew. Together, we start walking in the direction of the fence.

“Where are we going to get straw?” I ask.

“Where does straw even come from?” Jonah wants to know.

“I have no idea!” I say.

“Me either,” Goldie adds.

“I know!” Kid Bear exclaims.

“You know where straw comes from?” I ask.

“No,” she responds. “But I know where to get a lot of it.”

“Where?” Goldie and I ask at the same time.

“The mattresses in my house are made of straw,” Kid Bear tells us.

“Ohhhh,” Jonah says. “That’s why there was that crunching sound.”

“We have a big extra mattress in our closet,” Kid Bear says. “But my parents won’t just give it to you. They’re going to want something in return. Or they’re at least going to want some sort of apology gift after you, you know, ate our porridge and slept in my bed.”

“That’s understandable,” Jonah says.

“A gift?” I say. “Hmm. All we have on us is the skateboard. And the watch …”

“That’s really nice, but have you seen the size of my parents’ wrists? That watch wouldn’t fit on their pinkies. And they would crush that skateboard with one foot, too.”

Jonah looks relieved. “That’s good. We really need Abby’s watch. And my skateboard is my favorite thing ever.”

“You’ve only had it for a few days,” I point out.

“So?” Jonah says.

“What about brownies?” I suggest. “We could bake a ton of them!” And maybe I could even bring some back for the bake sale. Sure, Robin is making them too, but I don’t think she’ll mind.

Goldie rolls her eyes. “Why are you guys so obsessed with brownies?”

“Because they’re delicious,” I say.

Kid Bear shakes her head. “Bears can’t eat anything made with chocolate. Totally toxic.”

Woof! Prince barks. It’s the same for dogs.

“Cupcakes?” Jonah asks.

I hold my breath. Please don’t tell me the fate of Goldie’s father depends on my cupcake-baking skills.

“We make our own cupcakes,” Kid Bear says. “But there’s one thing my parents love, and we haven’t had any in months.”

I lean in. “What?”

“Honey,” Kid Bear answers. “Bring them a few jars of honey and they’ll definitely give you the extra mattress.”

“Honey,” I repeat. Great. We can probably just buy some at the grocery store in the town!

“Three jars,” Kid Bear says.

Three jars for the three bears. Got it!

Then I realize something. Maybe it’s not the best idea for us to go back to the bears’ cottage, even with honey. They weren’t exactly happy to see us last time.

“Um, Kid Bear?” I begin. “When your parents caught us in your cottage, I heard your dad say he’d teach us a lesson later. Is he going to …”

“Eat us?” Jonah asks.

“Eat you?” Kid Bear giggles. “Yuck.” She shakes her head. “Why do you seem to think humans are that tasty? No, my dad just meant he’d give you a lecture. He likes to lecture me whenever I do something wrong.”

Jonah nods knowingly. “Our dad does, too.”

I suddenly hear a roar in the distance. Uh-oh. More bears? Prince’s ears perk up and he lets out a low growl.

Kid Bear’s furry brown ears perk up, too. “That’s my dad now, calling me home for dinner. I’d better go. See you tomorrow — with at least three jars of honey!”

We watch her run off through the forest.

“Now what?” Jonah asks.

“We find some honey, Honey,” I say. “Ooh, maybe Honey can be your new nickname, Jonah.”

He shakes his head. “Hard pass.”