Chapter 11

Chapter 11 "No skin. No bone. Evil Elle has turned to stone!" Word spread quickly that someone had finally forced Elle to look at her true self in the reflecting pool. The people of Starats had come running to see the proof. And now they were cheering in the streets. The crowd was overjoyed to see the life-size Elle statue near the pool of water. At least until they realized the statue was solid stone and not going anywhere. "I don't want to have to pass by a statue of Elle every time I come to the reflecting pool," said the boy who had been bitten by the cookie.

"Me either," the strawberry farmer agreed. "I say knock it down." "Knock it down!" Millie cheered. "Knock it down!" Lily echoed. But Anna shook her head. "No, my friends. We can't just knock this down." "Why not?" the bagpipe player asked her. "Elle was my sister," Anna said. "I feel bad that she never learned how good it feels to be

kind. But I don't want to forget that she ever existed. I have an idea." Anna waved her hands in the air. A moment later, a second stone statue appeared beside the one of Elle. It showed Princess Pulverizer standing bravely beside Dribble and Lucas. "Hey! That's us!" Princess Pulverizer exclaimed. "We look pretty good," Dribble said. "We sure do," Lucas agreed proudly. "These statues will stand side by side to remind the people of Starats that good will always triumph over evil," Anna explained. "Hip hip hooray!" the crowd shouted. "Three cheers for our three heroes!" "We wish to give you a token of our gratitude," Anna told Princess Pulverizer and her friends. "How about this sock?" Lily suggested, pulling a wet sock from her bucket. "It has only one hole," Millie added. "And it doesn't smell too bad."

Anna laughed. "Actually, I was thinking of this hand mirror," she said, handing Princess Pulverizer a gold-and-silver mirror. "Its magic is powerful. You can see the future reflected in the glass." "Thank you. That will come in very handy," Princess Pulverizer said. "If we see a monster in the mirror, we will know to get away quickly," Lucas suggested. "Or know that we should stay and fight it," Princess Pulverizer countered. "Take heed," Anna warned. "The future you see in the mirror may not turn out exactly the way you think it will." "Right now, the reflection in the mirror is of our backs as we walk down the road," Princess Pulverizer pointed out. "Well, I'm walking. You two seem to be dancing," she told Dribble and Lucas.

"I guess that means we are leaving Starats in the near future," Dribble said. "I guess so," Anna replied with a smile. "Thank you again." "This silly song has no beginning. It goes on without an end. You sing it high. You sing it low.

Then start it once again. This silly song has no beginning. It goes on without an end—" "Is that a real song?" Princess Pulverizer interrupted Dribble as he sang. The three friends were traveling in search of a new adventure. Dribble and Lucas were dancing while the princess walked—just as the mirror had predicted. "Well, it's a song," Dribble answered. "And I'm really singing it." "I like it," Lucas said. He began to sing. Well, there's no rule that says a Quest of Kindness can't be fun, Princess Pulverizer thought. And if she couldn't beat 'em, she might as well join 'em. She opened her mouth and began to sing. Dribble and Lucas stared at Princess Pulverizer with surprise. Not that she blamed them. The princess herself was pretty