In time, she and Peter came up with a very tricky plan to sneak into the 
castle, create a diversion, and seize the
magic books that were the source of King Magpie's power. This plan failed the 
first time, but the next day, Nell turned the page back and tried it again, 
this time with a few changes. It failed again, but not before Princess Nell and 
her friends had gotten a little farther into the castle. The sixth or seventh 
time, the plan worked perfectly—while King Magpie was locked in a battle 
of riddles with Peter Rabbit (which Peter won), Purple used a magic spell to 
smash open the door to his secret library, which was filled with books even 
more magical than the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. Hidden inside 
one of those books was a jeweled key. Princess Nell took the key, and Purple 
made off with several of King Magpie's magic books while she was at it.