Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Princess Pulverizer felt herself falling. This was it. The end. Any second now she would hit the water and... Boom. Princess Pulverizer landed. But there was no splash. No salt water in her eyes. No sharks swimming toward her.

Because Princess Pulverizer hadn't landed in the water! She'd landed on Dribble's back. In midair. Dribble was flying! His grown-up wings had come in! "Am I glad to see you!" Princess Pulverizer exclaimed. "I can't believe you're flying!" "Me either," Dribble admitted. "I didn't know I could. It just happened. We freed

Meri, my wings started flapping with joy, and the next thing I knew, I was in the air." "It's just lucky he's strong enough to fly with us on his back," Lucas added. "Not to mention both of your knapsacks, the mace, and the magic arrow," Dribble said. "You sure travel with a lot of stuff." "We've been given a lot of tokens of gratitude on the Quest of Kindness," the princess reminded him. Then she added, "I bet Meri was glad to see you two." "Lucas untied her net with his bare hands!" Dribble told her proudly. "It was no big deal," Lucas said. "I should untie you, too," he added as he began undoing the knots that held Princess Pulverizer's arms to her sides. "It was a very big deal," Dribble insisted. "You never saw anyone swim away so fast. Tired as she was, Meri knew she had to get away from the ship."

"And you were right—the sharks stayed away from us once Meri ordered them to," Lucas added. "You should have heard her yelling at them. I can't even repeat the words she used. Meri's one tough mermaid." "But she did stop to say thank you. And give us this." Dribble held up Meri's beautiful pearl-covered comb. "We've decided you should have it," Lucas told her. "Why me?" she asked. "You're the one who freed her." "But you're the one who most needs the comb's magic power," Dribble explained. "Meri said that whoever wears it will sing with a voice as lovely as a mermaid's." "And your voice is... well... it's kinda..." Lucas struggled to find the right word. "I get it." Princess Pulverizer took the comb from Lucas and put it in her hair. She began to sing. "Laaaaaa!"

Wow! Princess Pulverizer sounded just like a mermaid singing. In fact, she sounded so much like a mermaid, the pirates on The Seasick Soaker got very excited.

"I hear that mermaid!" one called out. "Capture her!" Cap'n Bobbie demanded. "We need to know exactly where that treasure is." Princess Pulverizer thought for a minute. "I don't know how far Meri has gotten," she said. "But I think we need to give her more of a head start before Cap'n Bobbie goes looking for her. Do you mind if we stay up here a little while longer? Are you strong enough, Dribble?" "I think so," he replied. "What do you have in mind?" Instead of answering, Princess Pulverizer began to sing, loud enough for the pirates to hear. "The treasure's not underwater. It's buried in the sand. So instead of swimmin' you oughta go find it on land."