The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation Read online

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

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

  Text copyright © 2016 by Shannon and Dean Hale

  Illustrations copyright © 2016 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 2016947248

  ISBN 978-0-7636-6512-8 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-9451-7 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-9708-2 (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 Gus, Bronson, Linus, George, and Frankie—

  superheroes all

  S. H. and D. H.

  To Ninja Princesses Isla and Nova

  L. P.

  It was dawn. The Princess in Black

  had battled monsters all night. And so

  Princess Magnolia was tired.

  Princess Magnolia lay down in her

  fluffy princess bed. She closed her

  eyes. She was almost asleep when . . .

  2

  “The monster alarm,” she muttered.

  “Not again.”

  3

  She stumbled into the broom closet.

  She slipped off her frilly pajamas. She

  fell into her black costume. Now she

  was the Princess in Black.

  A very sleepy Princess in Black.

  4

  She went down the secret chute.

  Onto the back of her pony, Blacky.

  5

  And into the goat pasture. Just

  as she had fourteen other times that

  week.

  “ROAR!” said a toothy monster.

  6

  “Did you say ‘snore’?” asked the

  Princess in Black.

  The toothy monster shook its

  head. “NO. ROAR.”

  The Princess in Black wished it

  had said “snore.” She wished she

  were snoring right then.

  7

  “EAT GOATS!” said the monster.

  “They’re not your goats,” the Prin-

  cess in Black mumbled. “They’re Duff’s

  goats. Go back to Monster Land.”

  The toothy monster did not want to

  go back to Monster Land. The toothy

  monster was quite set on eating goats.

  So the toothy monster and the

  Princess in Black waged battle.

  10

  The monster picked up the Princess

  in Black in its fist. It opened its toothy

  mouth. It roared again.

  11

  The Princess in Black opened

  her mouth. She didn’t roar back.

  She yawned.

  Just then, someone pulled the

  monster’s tail.

  A boy in a mask and cape pulled the

  monster’s tail. A boy the Princess in

  Black had never seen before.

  “Who are you?” asked the Princess

  in Black. “And where is Duff the goat

  boy?”

  14

  “I am the Goat Avenger!” said the

  Goat Avenger. “And Duff the goat

  boy is busy. Somewhere else. Not

  here.”

  15

  The Goat Avenger was the same

  height as her friend Duff. He even

  had the same smile. But it couldn’t

  be Duff. Duff did not wear a mask.

  16

  “That’s funny,” said the Princess

  in Black. “Duff the goat boy is always

  here. This is his goat pasture. These

  are his goats.”

  “EAT GOATS!” said the monster.

  The monster was still holding the

  Princess in Black. The monster still

  had a lot of teeth.

  “YOU MAY NOT EAT THE

  GOATS!” said the Princess in Black

  and the Goat Avenger.

  The monster winced. There were

  too many people with masks. It was

  all very confusing.

  17

  The monster put down the Prin-

  cess in Black. It stuffed itself back

  into the hole. In Monster Land, no

  one wore masks.

  That was the fifteenth monster this

  week,” said the Princess in Black.

  She yawned again. She curled up

  on the grass. Blacky snuggled up

  beside her.

  “You look tired,” said the Goat

  Avenger.

  19

  The Princess in Black closed her

  eyes. A goat licked her ear. She rolled

  over. Another goat nibbled her hair.

  20

  “You need a vacation,” said the Goat

  Avenger.

  The Princess in Black opened one eye.

  “What’s a vacation?” she asked.

  “You take a break from work,” he said.

  “You go somewhere nice. You rest.”

  “That sounds amazing. But I can’t

  take a vacation. Who will protect the

  goats?”

  21

  The Goat Avenger put his fist on

  his hip.

  “Never fear,” he said. “The Goat

  Avenger is here!”

  A vacation,” said the Princess in

  Black. She led Blacky back to the

  castle.

  23

  “A vacation,” said the Princess in

  Black. She crawled back up the secret

  chute.

  “A vacation?” asked the Princess

  in Black. She shrugged into her frilly

  dress. She was no longer the Princess

  in Black.

  24

  “A vacation!” said Princess

  Magnolia.

  25

  The Goat Avenger would stay in

  the pasture. He would watch out

  for monsters and save the goats.

  Princess Magnolia packed. The

  best time to start a vacation was

  right now.

  Princess Magnolia rode her bicycle

  to the seaside. After all, her pony

  deserved a vacation too.

  The air was salty. The sun was

  shiny. The sea was as blue as monster

  fur. It was a perfect day.

  Princess Magnolia lay down in a

  hammock. She closed her eyes. She

  was just about to snore when some-

  one said, “Hello, Princess Magnolia.”

  Princess Magnolia opened her eyes.

  Next to her was a pile of snacks. Beside

  the snacks was another hammock. On

  that hammock was a book. Behind the

  book was Princess Sneezewort.

  30

  “What a surprise!” said Princess

  Magnolia in her cheeriest sleepy voice.

  “You soun
d tired,” said Princess

  Sneezewort. “You should take a nap.

  I’ll make sure no one wakes you.”

  “Thank you, Princess Sneezewort,”

  said Princess Magnolia.

  “Of course,” she said. “That’s what

  friends are for.”

  Princess Magnolia closed her eyes

  again.

  “Later,” Princess Sneezewort whis-

  pered, “we can play checkers.”

  31

  Princess Magnolia was just about

  to snore again when she heard a noise.

  “ROAR!”

  Princess Magnolia kept her eyes shut.

  A monster? On the perfect beach?

  Impossible.

  32

  Princess Magnolia squeezed her

  eyes shutter. Maybe she was already

  asleep. Maybe she was dreaming.

  “ROAAARRRR!”

  Princess Magnolia peeked with

  one eye.

  A huge head rose out of the water.

  The head was on a long neck. The

  neck was attached to a massive body.

  A sea monster was terrorizing her

  perfect beach.

  “Sorry!” said Princess Sneeze-

  wort. “I didn’t know how to make

  sure a sea monster didn’t wake you.”

  34

  And Princess Magnolia didn’t

  know how to make sure a sea monster

  didn’t hurt Princess Sneezewort.

  35

  Princess Magnolia wore glass flip-

  flops. Princess Magnolia sunburned

  easily. Second-story windows made

  Princess Magnolia feel woozy.

  Princess Magnolia could not fight

  a sea monster.

  The Goat Avenger stood tall in the

  goat pasture. Fists on hips. Chin

  raised. Smile sparkling. He waited

  for monsters to come.

  The goats chewed some grass.

  37

  The Goat Avenger chopped at the

  air. He rolled on the grass. He said,

  “YAAA!”

  The goats swallowed. Then they

  chewed some more grass.

  The Goat Avenger tried out some

  catchphrases.

  One of the goats burped.

  41

  The Goat Avenger went over to

  the hole. Monster Land was down

  there. All week long monsters had

  been climbing out of that hole. The

  Goat Avenger had created his own

  monster alarm using ropes and bells.

  But nothing moved.

  “Hello?” the Goat Avenger whis-

  pered. “Monsters?”

  The goats chewed more grass.

  Maybe if I just lie here the monster will

  go away, thought Princess Magnolia.

  “ROOOAAARRR!” said the sea

  monster. “EAT PEOPLE!”

  The people on the beach screamed.

  “People are screaming,” said Princess

  Sneezewort.

  44

  People ran.

  “People are running,” said Princess

  Sneezewort. “Should we run too?”

  People dropped ice pops in the

  sand.

  “That boy dropped his ice pop in

  the sand,” said Princess Sneezewort.

  45

  “EAT PEOPLE!” roared the sea

  monster. “PEOPLE YUM!”

  Princess Magnolia sighed.

  “You’re right, Princess Sneezewort,”

  she said. “We should run.”

  Some say that princesses don’t run.

  But these two did. They ran very fast.

  Princess Sneezewort ran toward

  an ice-pop stand. Princess Magnolia

  ran toward a bathing tent. She needed

  her disguise, and fast.

  49

  Nobody knew that prim and perfect

  Princess Magnolia was secretly the

  Princess in Black. But she had to keep

  the sea monster from eating people,

  especially Princess Sneezewort. After

  all, that’s what friends are for.

  Duff the goat boy sat and watched

  the goats chew. His mask had itched.

  His cape had chafed. So he’d taken

  them off.

  He wished he’d brought a book.

  52

  Clang-clang-clang.

  “The monster alarm!” said Duff.

  Duff shoved on his mask. He tied

  on his cape. He was no longer Duff

  the goat boy.

  The Goat Avenger put his fists on

  his hips and said, “Ha-ha!”

  53

  Nothing came out of the hole.

  The rope on the monster alarm

  was wiggling. The goat bells were

  clanging. But there was no monster

  in sight.

  The Princess in Black stood on the

  beach. She said, “Sea monster, you

  may not eat people.”

  “ROARRR!” said the sea monster.

  Its tail slapped the water. A wave

  crashed to shore.

  56

  Maybe it can’t hear me, she thought.

  The Princess in Black climbed onto

  a rock. She cupped her hands around

  her mouth.

  She said, “Behave, beast!”

  57

  “ROAARRRR!” said the sea

  monster. Its tail whipped the beach.

  It barely missed the ice-pop stand.

  58

  Maybe it still can’t hear me, she

  thought.

  She leaped onto its tail. She

  started to run up. Suddenly the

  tail lifted into the air.

  The Princess in Black slipped.

  Then she slipped some more. She

  grabbed the tail and hugged it

  tight.

  Don’t look down, she told herself.

  She looked down. She gasped.

  The bathing tents looked like

  pebbles. The people looked like

  ants.

  60

  A bird landed on her shoulder.

  “Squawk?” said the Princess in

  Black. That meant “Could you fly

  me down?”

  61

  “Squawk, squawk,” said the bird.

  That meant “So sorry, but you’re

  too heavy.”

  “Squawk . . .” said the Princess

  in Black. That meant “This was

  supposed to be a vacation. . . .”

  The Goat Avenger squinted into

  the hole. Not so much as a tentacle

  appeared.

  Then what was setting off the

  monster alarm?

  63

  A mystery! The Goat Avenger

  straightened his mask. He tightened

  his cape (a little too tight). He loos-

  ened his cape. Then he followed the

  rope back to a tree.

  64

  A furry creature was caught in the

  rope. It was flailing! It was squeaking!

  It was . . . a squirrel.

  “At last! A monster!” said the Goat

  Avenger.

  A nearby goat bleated doubtfully.

  66

  “A squirrel could be a monster,”

  the Goat Avenger explained to the

  doubtful goat. “If you’re an acorn.”

  The Goat Avenger freed the

  squirrel.

  He said, “Don’t eat any goats.”

  67

  The squirrel squeaked. It ran

  away. Off to find acorns to terrorize.

  The goats said, “Maaaa.” That


  probably meant that they were

  proud of the Goat Avenger.

  But the Goat Avenger shrugged.

  He’d had his heart set on a real

  monster. A scary monster.

  The sea monster’s tail was long,

  narrow, and slick. It reminded the

  Princess in Black of her secret chute.

  That gave her an idea.

  SWOOP!

  69

  If she hadn’t been so tired, the

  sliding would have been a lot of fun.

  The sea monster’s back was soft

  and springy, like her mattress. She

  had to jump to get across it.

  72

  If she hadn’t been so tired, the

  jumping would have been a lot of

  fun.

  The sea monster’s neck was high as

  a tower. She had to climb to get up.

  Actually, even though she was

  tired, the climbing was a lot of fun.

  She wondered about getting a sea

  monster for a pet. But it would never

  fit in her moat.

  At last she reached its head. The

  sea monster tried to bat her off. So

  the Princess in Black and the sea

  monster waged battle.

  76

  She skimmed down to the tip of its

  nose. She looked it square in the eyes.

  “EAT PEOPLE!” said the sea

  monster.