Dexter Charming and the Trouble with Jackalopes Read online

  “Of course,” Dexter said. “Jackalopes love vegetable gardens.” Mr. Cottonhorn nodded and led the way down the path.

  Groundskeeper Thumb had planted his vegetable garden in the back half of the greenhouse. Tidy rows, perfectly spaced and perfectly weed-free, lay along one side of the path. There was a row for cauliflower, one for turnips, and another for carrots. There were butter beans, string beans, and peppers in every color of the rainbow.

  “Watch out for those snapping peas,” Raven warned as one tried to bite her finger.

  On the other side of the path, Groundskeeper Thumb had planted herbs in perfect symmetry. A little square of parsley, a bigger square of horseradish, a rectangle of dill weed. The garden looked like a patchwork quilt. Correction—it used to look like a patchwork quilt, but now it was covered in little fluffballs, who were eating everything in sight! They used their horns to uproot the herbs. Their sharp front teeth gnawed through the cauliflower.

  “Whoops,” Dexter said as the five jackalopes who’d been sitting in the laundry basket jumped out to join the others.

  “Bad babies!” Raven cried. “This is an epic disaster.”

  “Catch them,” Dexter said. Mr. Cottonhorn began running in a circle, trying to herd the jackalopes. But they refused to cooperate, hopping in every direction at once. “This is like trying to herd cats,” Dexter realized. “Or worse! At least cats don’t ram you with antlers!” The little jackalopes were using their antlers for self-defense, targeting Dexter’s shins. “Ow!”

  Raven plopped two squirming babies back into the laundry basket, but they jumped out as soon as she reached for another jackalope. “This is impossible,” she said with a groan. “You should go before Thumb comes back. There’s no reason for both of us to get dungeon detention.”

  Certainly, Dexter could have agreed. After all, his jackalope was a well-behaved individual who would never dig up someone else’s garden. And Raven had been the one to cast the spell and stir up all the trouble. But Dexter couldn’t just leave. Even though a Prince Charming was not destined to help an Evil Queen, Dexter would never abandon Raven in her time of need. He grabbed a wheelbarrow and began plucking the jackalopes from the carrot patch. Their little legs wiggled in protest. One gnawed on his finger. But he faced the same problem as Raven—as soon as he plopped the critters into the wheelbarrow, they jumped right out. “This isn’t working. I need a lid or something.” He found an old tarp and laid it over the top, leaving a small opening so he could continue to drop the jackalopes inside. Raven joined him. But as they chased the babies, they also made a mess, leaving footprints all over the soil. And when Dexter returned to the wheelbarrow, it was empty. They’d all escaped again!

  “Ugh.” He sat on an overturned bucket. “Maybe you should reverse the spell.” Mr. Cottonhorn nodded, then shook the dirt off his fur.

  “But that would be so mean,” Raven said. “And besides, I’m not sure I can. Erasing spells are super advanced, and what if I erased the wrong things?”

  Dexter shuddered. “Yeah, on second thought, don’t do it. We’ll just have to figure out a better way to catch them.”

  At that moment, a shadow fell over the garden. Mr. Cottonhorn looked out the far window. His hind leg began to thump. The baby jackalopes stopped eating. They looked up. Their hind legs began thumping. They were sounding the danger alarm, but what was frightening them?

  “Nevermore?” Raven said. “What are you doing here?”

  Nevermore, Raven’s pet dragon, was sitting outside, staring through the glass with her piercing red eyes. Her gaze traveled up and down the vegetable rows. A little string of drool appeared at the corner of her mouth.

  “Uh-oh,” Raven said. “Dexter, I’m not sure if she’s drooling over the veggies…or something else.”

  The babies and Mr. Cottonhorn started thumping louder and faster, as if they were forming a drum circle.

  Nevermore pressed closer. The window creaked. “Oh no.” Raven started waving her arms. “Don’t lean on the glass! Be a nice dragon! Back away from the window!”

  But Nevermore didn’t go away. She licked her lips again, and in that instant, her razor-sharp teeth made an appearance.

  The jackalopes began to run in tight circles, round and round, their eyes wide with fear. They bounded over Dexter’s feet. “They’re freaking out,” he said, trying to grab them, but they were twirling way too fast, like little horned tornados.

  “They’re making an even bigger mess,” Raven said as soil and upturned plants flew everywhere. “What can we do?”

  Mr. Cottonhorn stopped thumping. He stood on his hind legs, wiggled his nose, and hopped into the wheelbarrow. Then he peeked out and made a soft squeaking sound. The babies stopped running in circles. They turned their antlered heads and looked at Mr. Cottonhorn. He squeaked again. One after another, they jumped in beside him and hid beneath the tarp.

  “Brilliant!” Dexter said, proud of his pet for staying calm in the chaotic situation. “Good job, Mr. Cottonhorn.” He grabbed the handles. “Now, let’s get out of here before Groundskeeper Thumb shows up.”

  “But what about this mess?” Raven asked.

  While Mr. Cottonhorn huddled with the still-trembling babies, Dexter and Raven raked the dirt to cover the holes and tidied the rows as best they could. But there was no way to cover up the fact that half the vegetables were currently being digested inside jackalope tummies. “You know,” Dexter said, “it’s risky, but you could cast that multiplication spell on the vegetables.”

  Raven furrowed her brow. “But my spells always go wrong.”

  “Just believe in your abilities,” Dexter said. “You’re destined to be a great sorceress, Raven. I think you can do it.” He was entirely convinced, but then again, what could go wrong? You could never have too many carrots or turnips.

  “Really? You think so?” She smiled. “You’re always so nice to me, Dexter. How come?”

  He could feel his face go red again. “Because…” Should he tell her how he felt? Should he tell her that if he could rewrite all the storybooks, he’d write a new one in which a Charming prince lived happily ever after with a sorceress? “I’m nice to you because you’ve always been nice to me.” He smiled back.

  Raven raised her hands and said, “‘Little vegetables sitting on the floor. One is good, but I want many more.’” Blue light shot from her fingers.

  Back outside, Raven patted her dragon’s head. “Thank you, Nevermore. We couldn’t have caught those babies without your help.” She rewarded the dragon with a root beer melon. Then, with Raven and Mr. Cottonhorn leading the way, Dexter pushed the wheelbarrow down the lane toward the Village of Book End. The baby jackalopes, still upset by those sharp reptilian teeth, didn’t dare stick their noses out. They huddled beneath the tarp.

  Even though there were dozens of babies, it didn’t take long to find good adoptive homes. Only someone born without a heart could resist the soft, cuddly fluffiness of a baby jackalope. By suppertime, Raven and Dexter and Mr. Cottonhorn were walking back up the lane with an empty wheelbarrow. “Thanks for helping me,” Raven said.

  “Anytime,” Dexter told her. “But maybe you shouldn’t try to multiply living creatures for Magicology.”

  “Agreed!”

  Dexter, Raven, and Mr. Cottonhorn headed to the greenhouse to return the wheelbarrow and tarp. The greenhouse door was wide open. Groundskeeper Thumb stood inside, scratching his head and staring at the vegetable garden. So many vegetables had sprouted that the dirt was barely visible. “I can’t believe it,” he muttered. “I better use less fertilizer next time.”

  Raven and Dexter shared a quiet laugh. “I’m famished,” she said. “Let’s go eat.” As they walked toward the Castleteria, Raven slipped her arm around Dexter’s. “You know,” she said, “I never thought two princes would come to my rescue.” She smiled at Mr. Cottonhorn. Then she smiled at Dexter.

  Mr. Cottonhorn bowed. Dexter’s smile was so big it nearly knocked off his glasses. />
  It didn’t surprise them that the Castleteria’s special that night was vegetable soup.

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  About the Author

  Suzanne Selfors feels like a Royal on some days and a Rebel on others. She’s written many books for kids, including the Smells Like Dog series and the Imaginary Veterinary series.

  She has two charming children and lives in a magical island kingdom, where she hopes it is her destiny to write stories forever after.

  Look for other digital original stories from Ever After High!

  Don’t miss all the Ever After High novels!

  Books by Suzanne Selfors:

  Next Top Villain

  Kiss and Spell

  A Semi-Charming Kind of Life (coming soon!)

  Books by Shannon Hale:

  The Storybook of Legends

  The Unfairest of Them All

  A Wonderlandiful World

  Once Upon a Time: A Story Collection

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Begin Reading

  About the Author

  Look for other digital original stories from Ever After High!

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 Mattel, Inc.

  Cover © 2015 Mattel, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

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  First ebook edition: June 2015

  ISBN 978-0-316-28298-7

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