Chapter 10

Chapter 10 "That's the last of them," Lucas said as he locked a small sheep into a barn near the center of Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire. "Herding animals sure is hard work," Princess Pulverizer remarked.

Dribble gave her a look. "What did you do? I'm the one who was running around getting them to move. You were just sitting on my back." "I was yelling 'giddyap,'" she reminded him. "My throat is scratchy." Dribble rolled his eyes. The farmers of Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire had all gathered around Princess Pulverizer and her friends. The princess turned and greeted them. "We are glad that we could return all your animals to you," she told them with a big smile. But the farmers did not smile back. Neither did the shopkeepers, the children, or the mayor. They all had sour looks on their faces. This was not what the princess had expected at all. "What's wrong?" Lucas asked. "It's this stink in the air," the mayor explained. "That's the smell of spoiled cheese," Dribble told him. "And griffin gas." "Griffins pass a lot of gas," Princess Pulverizer added. "You can smell it for miles."

"How do you expect us to live like this?" an old woman asked the princess. "Could you live like this?" Princess Pulverizer frowned. No, she could not. But that wasn't the point. She had done what she had said she would do. Sure, it hadn't turned out perfectly. But she had brought the animals back. She had done her good deed. She was supposed to get praise and cheers, maybe a key to the village, and some roses, and... ROSES! That was it. "I can fix this smelly situation," Princess Pulverizer told the mayor. "Easy peasy." "I hate when she says that," Dribble whispered to Lucas. "It usually means she takes it easy while I do the work." "All you have to do is plant flowers," Princess Pulverizer told the mayor. "Lots and lots of flowers. And pine trees. Pine smells nice. Then the nice smells will block out the bad ones." "That's a wonderful idea," the mayor declared.

Princess Pulverizer stood tall. She was quite pleased with herself. "Except for one thing," the mayor continued. Princess Pulverizer slumped. She did not like the sound of that. "We don't have a lot of flowers or pine trees in Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire," the mayor explained. Princess Pulverizer scowled. Honestly, did she have to do everything for these people? "You can buy them from neighboring villages," she told the mayor. "Or transplant some trees from the forest." "That's a wonderful idea!" the mayor of Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire declared again. "Except for one other thing." "And what's that?" Princess Pulverizer asked. "Who here is strong enough to carry a tree?" the mayor replied. "Oh, that's easy," Princess Pulverizer said. "Dribble is strong. He can carry trees." Dribble shook his head. "See what I mean? She says easy peasy and I do all the work." Lucas looked at Princess Pulverizer. "You're going to help plant flowers, too, right?" he

asked her. Princess Pulverizer frowned. She hadn't planned on planting. She had planned on being in charge of the other people planting. But now that everyone was staring at her... "Sure," she agreed. "Of course. Knights don't mind getting their hands dirty when they have to." Dribble gave her a smile. "That's more like it," he told her. With everyone working together, it didn't take long for Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire to start smelling sweet. And the flowers brought an extra bonus— honeybees. Hundreds of them were buzzing all around the flowers. "You're going to have a lot of honey soon," Princess Pulverizer told the mayor. "I love honey," Dribble said. "I have a great recipe for melted brie and honey on a sesame

roll. Maybe I will come back someday and make it for you." "That would be wonderful!" the mayor said. "In the meantime, the people of Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire have a gift for you three. It's a small token of our gratitude." The mayor held out a long arrow with orange and yellow feathers. "This is for you," he said as he handed it to Princess Pulverizer.