The Wolf Hour

Welcome, my little lambs, to the Puszcza. It's an ancient forest, a keeper of the deepest magic, where even the darkest fairy tales are real.

Here, a Girl is not supposed to be a woodcutter. Or be brave enough to walk alone.

Here, a Wolf is not supposed to love to read. Or be curious enough to meet a human.

And here, a Story is nothing like the ones you read in books, for the Witch can make the most startling tales come alive. All she needs is a Girl from the village, a Wolf from the forest, and a woodcutter with a nice, sharp axe.

So take care, little lambs, if you step into these woods. For in the Puszcza, it is always as dark as the hour between night and dawn -- the time old folk call the Wolf Hour. If you lose your way here, you will be lost forever, your Story no longer your own.

You can bet your bones.

Sara Lewis Holmes is the author of Operation Yes, which was named to the Kids' Indie Next List and nominated for seven state awards, and Letters to Rapunzel, which won the Ursula Nordstrom First Fiction Prize. Thanks to her husband's service in the Air Force, she has written stories and poems in eleven states and three countries, as well as her current home of Washington, DC. Please visit her online at www.saralewisholmes.com and @saralewisholmes.