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routine you need to cut it out. This is important!”
    “I said ‘no’ and I mean ‘no,’” Daphne snapped.
    Sabrina was tempted to snatch the necklace right off Daphne’s neck, but a knock at the door disracted her. The door creaked open and Uncle Jake entered.
    “How’s it going?” he asked.
    “Great!” Sabrina said. “The whole family hates me. I’m having a fantastic day.”
    Uncle Jake laughed. “Trust me, you aren’t the first person to make my mom angry, especially when it comes to Mr. Canis.”
    Daphne sat down on the bed. “You’ve argued with Granny about him, too?”
    “Sure. So did your grandfather and your father,” Uncle Jake replied. He sat down at their father’s desk and ran his hand over the wooden top. “When Canis first came to live with us, it was all of us against Mom. We all felt like you do now, Sabrina.”
    “I don’t hate him,” Sabrina said. “I’m just pointing out that he’s changing. Why is she getting angry when I tell the truth?”
    “Because after all this time you still fail to give Canis the benefit of the doubt, and Sabrina, he deserves it. When he showed up on our doorstep, my father refused to help him, but Mom has always seen the good in people. She invited him to live here and it drove my dad nuts. He was sure Canis would change back and eat us all in the dead of night. Your father and I used to block our bedroom door with heavy furniture when we went to bed. We used to sleep with baseball bats under our pillows. We were terrified of him.”
    “If all of you felt like that, then how come I’m the bad guy now?” Sabrina said.
    “’Cause we were wrong back then and you are wrong now. Canis has proven over and over that he can be trusted. He’s saved all of our lives a million times over, and he has never allowed anyone to lay a hand on my mom. He has been the best friend she ever had and a good friend to me. When the Jabberwocky killed my father, Canis went and dug the grave. I was destroyed by what happened. I blamed myself and didn’t even stick around for his funeral. I decided to leave.” Jake leaned back in his chair, remembering. “I found Canis waiting for me on the edge of town, and he begged me to stay. He told me my family needed me, but I wouldn’t listen. He told me he knew I’d come back and he would watch over my family for me until I returned. Then he gave me a hug.”
    “No way!” Daphne cried.
    “It was the most uncomfortable hug of my life, but I knew I was leaving my family in good hands. I’ve never spoken badly about Canis since, and I never will again.”
    “That’s fine, but you’ve seen him. He even told us to leave him alone,” Sabrina argued.
    “Yes, he’s giving up on himself, but my mother never will and that’s why she’s mad at you, kid. You’re giving up on him. She wants you to believe in him like she does and you don’t. It breaks her heart. Listen, I didn’t come in here to give you a lecture. In fact, the warden has given me permission to release you,” he said.
    “Is Granny still mad?” Daphne asked.
    “Let’s just say the last time I saw her like this, your father and I had just been arrested for using a magic wand to turn a teacher into a billy goat. Ms. Junger nearly ate her own desk before Mom forced us to change her back . . . Now, your grandmother thinks the two of you can help me.”
    “With what?” Sabrina asked.
    “Tracking down our elusive Goldilocks,” he said, gesturing out into the hall.
    Suddenly, the argument was forgotten and the girls rushed down the hallway, eager to help their uncle find the mysterious lady. Mirror was waiting for them when they arrived.
    “Mirror, show the girls what you just showed me,” Uncle Jake said.
    “Jake, you know how this works. Poetry activates the magic,” Mirror replied.
    Daphne stepped up to the reflection. “Mirror, Mirror, my greatest wish is to know where Goldilocks is.”
    Mirror frowned.
    “What?” Daphne said. “It