Chapter 2

Chapter 2 "It's so pretty here," Lucas said. "And happy. Everyone seems to be smiling." "Great," Princess Pulverizer grumbled. "What's wrong now?" Dribble asked.

"It's just that if everyone's happy, then no one needs my—I mean our—help," she explained. "We haven't seen one person who looks upset or angry." "Oh, I know someone who is upset and angry," Dribble said. "Really?" Princess Pulverizer asked excitedly. "Who?" "Me!" Dribble exclaimed. "Do you think it's easy carrying this mace up and down these hills?" He plopped down on the ground. "I'm taking a rest." "But we can't rest," Princess Pulverizer told him. "It's not like trouble is going to walk over and find us. We have to find trouble." "Or... maybe we can wait here and ask a passerby if they know of anybody who needs help," Lucas suggested. "Good idea!" Dribble exclaimed. Princess Pulverizer couldn't really argue. Things hadn't been going so well doing it her

way. She might as well try Lucas's plan. She sat down and waited for someone to walk by. And waited. And waited. "This isn't working," she complained. "We've only been here for a few minutes," Dribble said. "You really don't have any patience, do you?" "Here comes someone!" Lucas pointed toward two women lugging big buckets and a wagon full of stuffed bags up the hill. They had dirt on their faces and stains on their clothes. From the smell of things, it was clear they needed a good washing. Princess Pulverizer wasn't about to let a bad stink stand in her way. "Hello," she said, leaping to her feet. "Are you in need of any help today?" "Who, us?" the woman with the curls asked her. "Goodness no." "We can carry our own washing and buckets," said the other woman, who wore her

hair in braids. "We're the washerwomen of Starats. We're strong." "Wait," Dribble interrupted. "You two clean people's clothes?" "Of course," the curly-haired woman told him. "Somebody has to." "Do you need any laundering?" the woman with braids asked. "We can get stains out of anything." "You've heard about the leopard who fell in the laundry bucket, haven't you?" the curly- haired woman asked. "He lost his spots." Her friend laughed. "Good one, Lily." "Thanks, Millie," Lily replied.

"Do either of you know of anyone who has a problem that needs fixing?" Princess Pulverizer asked them. "Fixings?" Millie repeated. "They serve dinner with all the fixings at the inn." "It's delicious," Lily added. "Chicken with stuffing, artichoke hearts, and—" "Artie chokes hearts?" Millie asked. "Why would he want to do that?" Lily laughed. "Anyway, the inn is that-a-way," she said, pointing left. "No, it's this-a-way," Millie said, pointing right.

"Or it could be straight ahead," Lily said, pointing forward. "Or back there." Millie bent down and pointed backward between her knees. "Millie, we better get back to work," Lily said. "We have lots to do. We're lucky washing clothes is fun!" Millie looked at the big bags of dirty clothes they were carting. "Loads and loads of fun," she agreed. As the washerwomen walked off, Princess Pulverizer declared, "That was a waste of time." "Not totally," Lucas pointed out. "We learned the name of the village. Starats." "Big deal," Princess Pulverizer replied. "I like to know where I am," Lucas insisted. "I can tell you where we are," Princess Pulverizer replied. "Right back where we started. With no one to help. We've rested enough. Let's get moving."