Barbie McGillicutty Gets Her Three Wishes: Part III, Borrowing Magic

When Paddy left, both Barbie and Dymphna felt much better about their situation. They knew how to work the "Power of the Books," including how to get back. They had decided together that they needed get moving as soon as possible, before their mother suspected they had gone anywhere.

Dymphna, her short black hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, gingerly picked up Denton's cage. She held the handle as if it were something nasty she could hardly bear to touch. She had her backpack slung across her back, ready for adventure. She had told their mother that she and Barbie were going for a long walk in the woods, but would be home by dinner. They would have to figure out what more to tell her by then.

Now, Dymphna held Barbie's tiny hand between her finger and thumb as Barbie stood very prettily on Dymphna's copy of The Frog King opened to the pages just before the princess meets the frog. Barbie confidently held her wand in her other hand and said, "Open My Mind."

If you were watching the three of them, you would have seen them simply vanish into the book. However, if you were one of them, you would have felt, at first, as if you were comfortably melting. Then you would have felt your liquidy self stream faster than the speed of light (and that is really fast) across dimensions of time and space and reality. You would have seen colors streak by you like you were watching the lines fly by on the highway as your mom drove down the highway. As you entered the dimensional reality of the story, you would have felt like gelatin blobbing down onto the nice green grass under the clear blue sky as birds twittered nearby. Then you would feel yourself again. That is exactly how Barbie, Dymphna, and Denton felt, though Denton only croaked and did not talk about it.

Unfortunately, when the threesome landed, they landed rather roughly and fell down in a heap. No one was hurt, but the girls tingled all over from the magic. They both rubbed their arms and legs vigorously. Then they talked excitedly about the sensations they had just felt quite a long time.

Finally, Dymphna picked up The Frog King, which had fallen beside them. She put Barbie in her pocket. Then she bent down and picked up Denton's cage. As she held it up in the sunlight, Dymphna exclaimed, "He's gone!" Denton's cage had cracked open in the fall. He had surreptitiously hopped away before either Barbie or Dymphna even realized what happened.

Barbie felt like crying. Where could they find Denton? They were in a land defined by someone else's imagination in a clearing full of tall grass with woods standing all around them. They had no idea where Denton had gone or even what direction he had taken. They knew their had to be a frog (who was really a prince) and a princess and a witch, but they did not know these people or where to find them.

Dymphna, however, kept a cool head. She took her book bag off her should her, opened it, and pulled out the story of Beauty and the Beast. "We need to go here first," she said to Barbie.

"Yes!" Barbie exclaimed, brightening. "We can use the magic mirror that Belle used to see her sick father to find Denton."

Dymphna opened the book toward the back of the story, so they would not encounter the Beast as a Beast. She gently placed Barbie on the pages and held Barbie's little hand. Barbie confidently stood there, holding her wand and said, "Open my mind."

Just as before, the girls felt a melting feeling and then they streamed toward their destination through kaleidoscopic colors. They bounced like gelatin right on the very steps of an ancient castle. Dymphna put the books away in her book bag and gently placed her little sister in her pocket. She speedily rubbed her arms and legs to shake off that tingling sensation. Then she climbed the crumbling stone steps up to the great big oak door. She used the old, ugly knocker to knock on the door.

A man servant opened the door after a few moments.

"Yes," said the man. "May I help you?" He was looking snootily at her clothes, because the story was written about a time when ladies and girls wore long dresses and skirts, and they did not wear their hair short.

Dymphna was glad she had not gotten into the teenage fads of dying her hair in bright colors. She answered, "Yes, if you please, sir, may we please speak with Mistress Belle?"

He looked at Dymphna for a long while. Then he said, "To my knowledge, Mistress Belle has no acquaintances who would dress in such a manner."

Dymphna was thinking quickly. "I came to speak with her about any cast off clothing she might have," Dymphna lied. "I lost my dresses in the fire." This part was not entirely a lie. Dymphna had made quite a ceremony of burning the only skirt she owned in the camp fire the last time she and the family had gone camping.

The man servant stood there in his butler's black and white uniform. He was obviously trying to decide what to make of Dymphna. "And your hair?" he asked finally.

"Well," said Dymphna nervously, "it had to be cut after the fire." This statement was also a half truth, because she had gotten her hair cut after the camping trip.

"Wait here," said the man servant, still wary of Dymphna. He closed the door. A cold wind chilled Dymphna to her core. She had forgotten that this story took place toward the end of winter. She rubbed her arms and legs, trying to keep warm.

Finally, just when Dymphna thought they would have to try another fairy tale, the big door opened and the man servant showed them into a sitting room. On the delicate, white, French furniture sat a young woman of refined beauty. She had big brown eyes fringed with long, luscious lashes. Her eyebrows accented her eyes as if she had been drawn by an artist. Her high cheek bones blushed prettily and naturally. She wore a simple blue frock of her time period with white lace.

"Please sit down," Belle said elegantly. She gestured to the couch setting opposite hers.

"Thank you," said Dymphna nervously. She sat down and stared in wonder at this living, breathing figure from a fairy tale. The chair was as much like a chair as any chair she had ever sat upon. The art on the walls was as rich as the imagination. The fire warmed her like a nice, down quilt and a hot mug of tea. "Mistress Belle, my name is Dymphna, and I know something about how you were able to find your husband who was under the guise of being a beast."

Belle nodded without comment.

Dymphna continued, "Well, I know it is a lot to ask, but I was wondering if I could borrow your magic hand mirror."

Belle's face betrayed no surprise, but she said, "I was under the impression you had befallen a tragedy and were in need of clothing and such."

Dymphna blushed. "I'm sorry. I lied about that. I did not think your man servant could fully understand the scope of my real needs. I wanted to talk with you personally. You see, my sister stumbled upon some magic herself, but in the process, she changed my brother into a toad. Because my sister has some special powers, we went first to use the magic of kissing a toad to turn him back into a boy. Unfortunately, my brother, Denton, has a problem with his brain. He ran off, and we can't find him. That's why we would appreciate it if you would let us borrow your mirror."

It was difficult to tell just how much of this story Belle believed. She sat there expectantly for a while. Then she said, "Is this a joke? How am I supposed to believe you?"

Dymphna reached into her pocket and pulled out Barbie who still looked as sweet and cute as ever before. "Maybe this will help," Dymphna said with a shy smile. She brought Barbie over to Belle.

Belle looked upon the little girl in wonder. "How can this be?" she asked not taking her eyes off Barbie. "May I hold you?" Belle asked.

Barbie smiled endearingly, and answered, "Sure!." She began the story for Belle. By the time she finished, the girls had completely won the young woman over. Belle finally said, "And here you are coming to me with these wonders. You know, I would not have believed you, Dymphna if you had not shown me little Barbie here."

Dymphna smiled, looking down at her hands.

Belle continued, "And yes, you may borrow my mirror." Barbie was so excited she started jumping up and down and almost fell off Belle's hand. Belle caught her just in time. "Will you enjoy tea with me before you go?"

Barbie and Dymphna gladly acquiesced. After tea, Belle said, "You must come back to visit me sometime and tell me how everything went. I would love to meet Denton."

The girls agreed to do just that. Then they made ready to go find Denton once more.