01 Fit for a Queen

JUDY MOODY AND THE RIGHT ROYAL TEA PARTY

Fit for a Queen Judy Moody had been Doctor Judy, M.D. She had been Judy Monarch Moody and Madame M-for-Moody. She had been a Girl Detective and a Mood Martian. She had even gotten a picture of her famous elbow in the newspaper. But she, Judy Moody, had never been a queen. Not even a Queen Bee of Spelling. Not even Queen for a Day at the Pamper-Me-Royal Nails and Spa like Mom and Grandma Lou. She had never slept in a queen-size bed or sat on a Queen Anne chair. She had never eaten an English queen cake or laid eyes on a queen ant. In fact, her eight-year-old life had been very UN-queenly so far. Until now! Judy was making a tree for social studies. Not a tree with leaves. Not a tree with acorns. A family tree!

A tree with grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins. Grandma Lou came to help. She brought lots of old pictures and papers. She had charts and calendars and lists with names and dates in old-timey handwriting.

"What is all this stuff?" Judy asked. "Your Grandpa Jack traced the Moody family all the way back to your thirteen-times great-grandfather. Did you know you're related to a Moody who was on the Titanic?" Judy sat up. "You mean that giant ship that sank? I saw it in Stink's Big Head Book of Disasters." "That's the one. When the ship hit an iceberg, the young Mr. Moody helped people into lifeboats 12, 14, and 16 before he died." "Whoa," said Judy. "And if you go even further back on the Moody side to the time of Queen Elizabeth I, you have a British cousin. The name Moody means brave, and this fellow was known for his bravery. The story goes that he rescued a prisoner from the Tower of London." "Tower of London?" Judy asked. "You mean the castle where they keep all the jewels?" "Yes, but they used it as a prison, too." "So my cousin rescued someone from the Tower of London?" Judy couldn't believe her ears. "Maybe he rescued a princess! What if he was a prince? That means he was related to the queen. So my cousin was

a royal!" Judy fell right off her chair. This was news. BIG FAT news. She had royal blood. She, Judy Moody, was just-might-maybe related to a queen! RARE! Wait till she told Tori! Tori was Judy's pen pal from London. As in England! As in where the queen herself lived! Tori knew everything about the Queen of England. She had probably been to tea at the queen's house. Palace, that is. Speaking of tea, Grandma Lou went to put the kettle on. Judy had to write to her pen pal right this very second. She ran upstairs and grabbed her Grouchy pencil.

Dear Tori, LSS. Long Story Short: I just found out I am related to a queen! Maybe now I will get to come across the pond and ride that London Eye Ferris wheel after all. What can you see from up there? Big Ben? London Bridge? Buckingham Palace-the queen's house? I bet you can see the whole entire city, including the royal undies drying on a clothesline behind the palace. Ha, ha, WBS and tell me queen stuff! Thanks! PPF. Pen Pals Forever, Judy Moody Judy pinched herself. She didn't feel any different. Same old Judy. Maybe if she put on something purple? Queens wore purple. Judy loved all things purple. She had a purple sock monkey, a purple mood ring, and a purple jump rope.