8 Victory

Chapter 8 Victory The wreath was so close, yet out of reach. We can't fail now, thought Rosa. "Cuckoo!" chirped Tempo, on her shoulder. Kingsley reached over to pet Tempo's chest feathers. "I think she's saying, 'I can help you!'"

"Cuckoo!" Tempo looked up at Zeus's head. "She's offering to fly up and get the wreath!" Rosa said. Then something struck her. "Wait, Tempo." She glanced around. "Remember how the Spartan Prince called her a bad omen? We don't want to worry everyone here. We need a distraction." Kingsley grinned, and beckoned to Karpos. "Are you ready to perform your ode?" he asked. "I can't wait," said Karpos. "It's ready now, thanks to your help with the rhymes. But someone normally plays my lyre as I recite."

"Kingsley will play it," said Rosa. "He's a fantastic musician." "I've never played a lyre," said Kingsley. "But I'd love to try." The boys stood by the temple doorway. Kingsley strummed the lyre, just like a guitar, and Karpos began to recite. "When at Olympia a prince did race, Wowing the crowd with his impressive pace..." The people from the temple were listening in silence. They're spellbound by the performance, thought Rosa. Now's the time! "Go quickly, Tempo," she said. "No cuckooing!" The bird flapped upward, disappeared from sight for a moment, then reappeared

with the wreath in her beak. She dropped it into Rosa's waiting hands and fluttered to her shoulder. "Thanks, Tempo," said Rosa, grinning at her friend. "I knew that bird was a good omen," said a voice behind her. Rosa's heart flipped. She smelled the familiar scent of incense... Turning around, she expected to see DeLay. But it was the priest, in his yellow robes.

Rosa held out the wreath. "This is the one that was stolen," she said. Applause broke out. The boys had finished. Kingsley bowed to the audience and hurried over to join them. "Since you found it, I think you should be the ones to carry it back where it belongs," the priest said. He smiled. "Mysterious strangers, Zeus must have sent you here to bring peace back to the Olympic Games. Follow me!" As they left the temple, Rosa and Kingsley waved goodbye to Karpos. He was happily taking requests from his audience, and waved back. "I've thought of an ode," Kingsley whispered to Rosa. "Tell me," she said.

Kingsley began: "My little rhyme Tells how Keepers of Time Saved an olive leaf crown By bringing it down—" "Cuck-OOO!" squawked Tempo. "She's right," Rosa laughed. "We didn't bring the wreath down, she did!" "I know," said Kingsley. "But you try finding a rhyme for 'cuckoo' or 'Tempo.' It's almost as hard as 'Agesipolis.'" Rosa laughed. "Good point!" Back in the stadium, the priest stood between the Prince of Sparta and the Prince of Athens. "The Athenians didn't steal the wreath," he announced to the spectators. "Neither did the Spartans.