Chapter 8

Chapter 8 If You Can't Beat Them…build Them a Place to Live and Make Sure They're Comfortable. T hese are the basic tools." Po placed one of each tool on the ground: a pickaxe, an axe, a sword, a shovel, and a hoe. "The sword is actually a weapon, but it's just as important." Eek took the pickaxe and held it in his hand. "HOW INTERESTING!" he said. He dropped it back down on the ground. "No, keep it! I'm going to show you how to use it." "Very well." Eek picked it back up. "I do not know what I would need to use it for. I already

know how to pick things up and put them back down. See?" Po laughed. "You can do way more than that!" Po took out his own pickaxe and walked over to a nearby hill of exposed stone. He gave it a few

good thwacks with the pickaxe, and a block popped out of the hill and floated into the air. Eek gasped. "Now you can pick that up and put it down." "Why?" "TO MAKE THINGS YOU WANT TO MAKE." "Like what?" "Like Ash's tree house. Anything." "Hmm…" Eek looked unconvinced as he picked up the block of stone. "NOW PUT IT BACK DOWN SOMEWHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO." Eek placed it back into the hill.

"Somewhere else, I mean!" "I LIKE IT BEST RIGHT THERE." Po shrugged. "If you say so. How about you try now?" "Try what?" "Breaking a stone block." "Why would I do that?" "To put it somewhere else." "I LIKE WHERE IT IS!"

Po had never needed to explain something so basic before—but Ash and Jodi had put him in charge of teaching Eek while they mined for iron, so he had to try. "Sometimes you need to build something to keep yourself safe, or to keep animals from wandering away, or to trap a mob. Remember when we covered the skeleton up with stones?" "THE SKELETON!" Eek gasped again, suddenly remembering. He ran away immediately! Po chased him to where random blocks were still placed in an uneven cocoon jutting out of the ground. He could still hear the rattle-rattle from behind the rock. "Once we have better weapons, we can destroy it and get your armor back." "NO!" Eek sounded horrified. "PLEASE DO NOT! IT IS MY FRIEND!" "It was trying to kill you with its bow, Eek!"

The boy shook his head. "I understand. But when I was by myself, the skeleton followed me. We were exploring together." He looked at the pile of stone. Rattle-rattle. "It must feel very alone inside there." Po didn't know what to say to that. The skeleton was a hostile mob, and that meant it was bad news. But if Eek wanted to keep it That gave him an idea. "I think we could build a place to keep your skeleton safe but not so alone, if you want."