The Princess in Black Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either

  products of the authors’ imaginations or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2014 by Shannon and Dean Hale

  Illustrations copyright © 2014 by LeUyen Pham

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted,

  or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means,

  graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and

  recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  First electronic edition 2017

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2013955700

  ISBN 978-0-7636-6510-4 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-7888-3 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-9636-8 (electronic)

  This book was typeset in LTC Kennerley Pro.

  The illustrations were done in watercolor and ink.

  Candlewick Press

  99 Dover Street

  Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

  visit us at www.candlewick.com

  For our own Princess Magnolia

  S. H. and D. H.

  To Luna, Emilie, Julia, Angelique, and Deniz—

  my little group of supercool princesses

  L. P.

  Princess Magnolia was having hot

  chocolate and scones with Duchess

  Wigtower. The hot chocolate was hot.

  The scones were sweet. The breeze

  from the window was warm and wishy.

  “How lovely of you to visit,” said

  Princess Magnolia. “And unexpected.”

  2

  “I love to meet

  people in their own

  homes,” said Duchess

  Wigtower. “I always

  uncover secrets.”

  “Secrets?” said

  Princess Magnolia.

  “Yes, secrets,” said

  Duchess Wigtower. “Hidden messes,

  skeletons in closets, that sort of thing.”

  “Closets?” said Princess Magnolia.

  The hot chocolate burned her lip. The

  breeze knocked her curls into her face.

  She was no longer enjoying herself.

  3

  “You seem so prim and perfect.”

  Duchess Wigtower leaned forward.

  “But everyone has a secret.”

  Princess Magnolia

  brushed crumbs off

  her frilly pink

  dress. She hoped

  she didn’t look

  nervous. Because

  she did indeed

  have a secret.

  A huge secret. A secret she didn’t

  want anyone to uncover. Especially

  not the nosy duchess.

  4

  Just then, Princess Magnolia’s

  glitter-stone ring rang.

  The monster alarm, thought Princess

  Magnolia. Not now!

  “What was that ringing sound?”

  asked Duchess Wigtower.

  “A bird?” said Princess Magnolia.

  She wished her ring’s ring sounded

  anything like a bird. It didn’t.

  5

  “Strange bird,” said the duchess.

  “Maybe it’s sick,” said Princess

  Magnolia. “I should check.”

  7

  Princess Magnolia minced to the

  door. Her glass slippers went tink-

  tink-tink-tink.

  “You’re going to just leave me

  here?” said the duchess.

  “I’ll hurry back!” said Princess

  Magnolia.

  She smiled sweetly. She shut the

  door softly.

  And then Princess Magnolia ran.

  Princesses do not run.

  9

  Princesses do not stuff frilly pink

  dresses into broom closets.

  Princesses do not wear black.

  And princesses most definitely do

  not slide down secret chutes and high-

  jump castle walls.

  But then, most princesses do not

  live near an entrance to Monster Land.

  Stopping monsters was no job for

  prim and perfect Princess Magnolia.

  But fortunately Princess Magnolia did

  have a secret.

  13

  She was secretly the Princess in

  Black! And stopping monsters was

  the perfect job for the Princess in

  Black.

  In the courtyard, Frimplepants was

  nibbling an apple. He swished his

  sparkly tail. He pranced on his golden

  hooves. He gave the horn upon his

  brow a little toss.

  Clearly, Frimplepants was a unicorn.

  Or was he?

  16

  Frimplepants’s glitter-stone horse-

  shoe rang. The monster alarm!

  He took three dainty steps toward

  the castle wall.

  He looked right. He looked left.

  17

  No one was watching. So Frimple-

  pants entered a secret passage.

  18

  Horn lifted off. Golden hooves slid

  aside.

  Sparkly mane and tail shook free.

  19

  He came out the other side. He was

  no longer Frimplepants the unicorn.

  He was Blacky, the Princess in

  Black’s faithful pony!

  21

  Just then, the Princess in Black

  was soaring over the castle wall. She

  landed on Blacky’s back.

  “Fly, Blacky, fly!” she said. “To

  the goat pasture, as fast as you can.

  There’s a nosy duchess in the castle.”

  They charged through the forest.

  Birds flapped out of their way.

  The birds squawked. The birds

  cheeped. The birds sounded nothing

  like a ringing ring.

  The big blue monster was hungry.

  Monster Land was full of monsters.

  Some were small. Some were big.

  Some were bigger than the big blue

  monster. They were always eating up

  the good food.

  There was a hole in the ceiling of

  Monster Land. The smell of goats

  floated in through the hole. Shaggy

  goats. Plump goats. Delicious goats.

  The big blue monster began to drool.

  26

  Wasn’t there a rule against climb-

  ing through that hole? Yes, there was.

  But the monster couldn’t remember

  why.

  Was it because the sun was too

  shiny up there?

  27

  Was it because the air was

  unpleasantly fresh?

  No, there had been some other

  reason. . . .

  29

  The big blue monster was too

  hungry to remember. It climbed

  through the hole.

  Duff the goat boy was not part goat

  and part boy. That would have been

  interesting. But Duff was just a boy

  who took care of goats.

  31

  He quite liked goats. They had

  honey-brown eyes. They had floppy

  ears. They made snuffling noises.

  Duff did not like goat-eating

  monsters.

  32

  A blue arm reached
out of the hole.

  “Not another one,” said Duff. He

  picked up his crook.

  33

  A blue monster emerged.

  It was big.

  35

  The monster roared. It was loud.

  Duff dropped his crook. His knees

  shook.

  “H-h-help!” he croaked.

  In the distance, a pony neighed.

  The Princess in Black galloped into

  the goat pasture. A big blue monster

  was holding a goat in each paw. It

  opened its mouth as wide as it would

  go. Which was very wide.

  “Not so fast!” said the Princess in

  Black.

  38

  Blacky galloped toward the big

  tree. The Princess in Black grabbed

  a branch. She swung from her pony’s

  back. She landed in the tree.

  “Why did you come here?” asked

  the Princess in Black.

  “EAT GOATS,” said the big blue

  monster.

  “You may not eat the goats,” she

  said.

  “EAT GOATS!” hollered the big

  blue monster.

  “You may not eat the goats!” she

  said again. “Behave, beast!”

  40

  The big blue monster set down

  the goats near a small tree. It tore the

  tree from the ground.

  The Princess in Black did a backflip

  onto the grass. She pushed a switch

  on her scepter. It turned into a staff.

  41

  The big blue monster roared and

  swung the tree. The staff met it.

  The Princess in Black and the big

  blue monster waged battle.

  45

  With luck, the battle would be

  quick. Duchess Wigtower was in

  Princess Magnolia’s castle. Her castle

  was full of secrets. Especially the

  broom closet. The Princess in Black

  hoped the duchess would not snoop.

  The duchess began to snoop.

  Princess Magnolia’s tower was

  spotless. The windows were as clear

  as glass. The couches were as soft as

  cushions. It was almost too perfect.

  Something must be amiss.

  48

  Duchess Wigtower opened a closet.

  Frilly pink dresses. Perfect for a princess.

  She opened drawers. White gloves

  and flowered headbands. Beaded hand-

  kerchiefs and crystal bracelets.

  All perfect for a princess.

  49

  “Drat,” said the duchess. “No one

  is this perfect.”

  The duchess was determined to un-

  cover a secret in Princess Magnolia’s

  castle. She just had to look harder.

  Duff the goat boy settled onto a

  tree stump. He always enjoyed the

  Princess in Black’s ninja skills. But

  today he noticed something new.

  The Princess in Black reminded him

  of Princess Magnolia.

  52

  Without her mask, they might

  even look the same. The Princess in

  Black was the same height as Duff.

  So was Princess Magnolia.

  The Princess in Black had honey-

  brown eyes. So did Princess Magnolia.

  53

  The Princess in Black had a sparkly

  tiara. So did Princess Magnolia.

  Could the two princesses be the

  same girl?

  54

  But Princess Magnolia wore glass

  slippers on weekdays. Princess Mag-

  nolia was afraid of snails. Sunlight

  made Princess Magnolia sneeze.

  And at the moment, the Princess

  in Black was hog-tying a monster.

  55

  Duff laughed at his silly imagina-

  tion. He nibbled some popcorn. He

  waited for the part when he would

  cheer.

  The duchess peeked under a table.

  Not so much as a wad of gum! Was

  Princess Magnolia as perfect as she

  seemed? No, surely everyone had

  secrets. Duchess Wigtower would

  find something amiss.

  58

  The duchess left Princess Magnolia’s

  tower room. She poked around the

  throne room.

  59

  She examined the ballroom.

  She explored the kitchen. She

  even paused to inspect the cookies.

  Everything was completely perfect.

  60

  Then she noticed a broom closet.

  Something was stuck beneath the

  door. She yanked it free.

  61

  A pair of coal-black stockings.

  “Aha!” said the duchess.

  Black stockings! Everyone knows

  that princesses don’t wear black.

  Princess Magnolia did indeed have a

  secret.

  Duchess Wigtower’s frown turned

  into a crooked smile.

  The Princess in Black was trying not

  to worry about the nosy duchess. She

  was busy battling a big blue beast.

  The monster was just so huge.

  And heavy. It was all tied up. But

  she couldn’t push it back in the hole.

  “Go back in that hole,” said the

  Princess in Black.

  “ROAR!” said the big blue monster.

  63

  “Behave, beast!” said the Princess

  in Black.

  “ROOAARR!” said the big blue

  monster.

  The Princess in Black sighed. She

  raised an eyebrow.

  “Please,” she said.

  65

  The big blue monster sighed, too.

  It rolled into the hole.

  Duff cheered.

  The Princess in Black bowed.

  “Thank you, my friend. Until next

  time!”

  She patted a goat’s head. She

  sprang onto Blacky’s back. They gal-

  loped into the forest.

  She had to get back to Duchess

  Wigtower. She hoped she wasn’t

  too late.

  The big blue monster plopped down

  into Monster Land. It chewed off the

  rope. The rope was pretty yummy.

  But not as yummy as goats.

  68

  There was a rule not to climb

  through the hole. Now it remembered

  why.

  The sun was too shiny up there.

  The air was unpleasantly fresh. But

  that had nothing to do with the rule.

  Monsters should not climb through

  the hole because of the Princess in

  Black. She would not let them eat

  goats.

  69

  The big blue monster was going to

  remind the other monsters about the

  rule. But then it found a pile of toe-

  nail clippings.

  “YUM,” it said. And it forgot all

  about the Princess in Black.

  Duff whistled as he walked his goats

  home. No goats had been eaten. That

  meant it had been a good day.

  All thanks to the Princess in Black.

  He wished he could help her. But

  everyone knows that goat boys do

  not fight monsters.

  72

  He thought again about Princess

  Magnolia possibly being the Princess

  in Black. What a clever disguise that

  would be!
No one would suspect a

  girl in glass slippers.

  But of course, it was a silly idea.

  If the goats stood up on their hind

  legs, they would be the same height as

  Duff. Just like the Princess in Black.

  His goats had honey-brown eyes.

  Just like the Princess in Black. (None

  of them had tiaras, though.)

  A goat would also be an excellent

  disguise for the Princess in Black!

  73

  No one would suspect a goat.

  Just as no one would suspect a

  goat boy.

  Duff was getting an idea.

  Duff’s idea made him smile as he

  fed the goats. He smiled as he tugged

  on their nightshirts. He smiled as he

  kissed them good night.

  75

  And then Duff the goat boy got to

  work.

  76

  Goat boys do not get ideas.

  Goat boys do not fashion masks

  and capes out of old goat blankets.

  And goat boys most definitely do

  not make monster alarms out of goat

  bells and rope.

  But then, most goat boys are not

  the Goat Avenger in disguise.

  77

  Duff would exercise. Duff would

  practice. And perhaps someday, the

  Goat Avenger would fight beside the

  Princess in Black. Look out, monsters!