Athena & the Magic Land Read online

  “Have you no manners? Now bow and ask us for them politely!” the first tree demanded.

  “Oh! Of course. Sorry,” said Athena. Though it made her feel a bit silly, she bowed to the tree. “Can we please have some plums?”

  “NO!” shouted the fruit trees. They were so loud that the girls put their hands over their ears.

  The first plum tree pointed a fingerlike twig at them. “Let’s just see how you mini monsters like being picked on.”

  Athena felt something wrap around her waist. A branch! The trees scooped up both girls and began to twirl them like batons.

  “I’m getting d-d-dizzy!” yelled Athena, dropping her book bag.

  “Yeah! My head is sp-sp-sp-spinning!” yelled Persephone.

  Hearing the girls, Oliver sprang into action. He squeezed under the fence and ran toward them, barking.

  “No, Oliver. G-g-go back!” called Athena. “Before the trees grab you, too!” Luckily Oliver was good at dodging their branches. But his barking wasn’t helping at all. It only made the trees madder!

  Now they began to juggle. The girls were tossed up in the air from tree to tree. As easily as if they were, well, plums!

  “This is my fault. I told you I have bad luck-itis.” Persephone let out an unhappy laugh. “Sorry, I know this isn’t funny. Sometimes I laugh when I’m upset.”

  Laugh? Wait a second! That gave Athena an idea.

  “Hey, trees!” she called out. “You know what? I think you’re the ones with bad manners. And we’re not mini monsters. We’re actually”—she held up both hands and wiggled her fingers—“tickle monsters!”

  Athena began to tickle the trunk of the tree that was holding her. Catching on, Persephone did the same to her tree.

  The trees started giggling. “Ooh! Eee! Ooh!” They wiggled. They wobbled and shook. This made some of their plums drop to the ground.

  Persephone and Athena kept on tickling. Finally the trees laughed so hard that they let go of the girls.

  Athena and Persephone fell onto a pile of soft leaves. Quickly they stuffed as many plums as they could grab into Athena’s book bag. They ran for the road. Oliver scampered close behind them. He squeezed back under the fence as they climbed over.

  Giggling themselves, now, the girls raced down the road. When they were well beyond the trees, they slowed to walk and eat their yummy plums.

  It wasn’t long until the Hello Brick Road came to a dead end. Only a grassy field stretched before the girls now. All across it, large animal-shaped stones stood in rows like soldiers. There were life-size monkeys, deer, wolves, bears, giraffes, and more!

  Athena pointed to a hill in the field beyond the statues. “Maybe the road starts again on the other side of that hill.”

  When the girls began to tiptoe past the weird statues toward the hill, they heard shuffling noises.

  “Uh-oh,” Persephone whispered. She pointed to a stone bear up ahead of them. “Did it just move?”

  Athena’s eyes got big. “Yes,” she whispered. In fact the animal statues were all moving now . . . and coming right toward them!

  The statues came closer. And closer.

  “It’s my bad luck-itis again!” Persephone exclaimed. “We’re surrounded!”

  5

  Stone Statues

  The stone statues began to march in a circle around Athena and Persephone. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. As they marched, they chanted a song. It was a rock concert!

  “Once we were animals. Now we are stone.

  “Changed by a mortal girl perched on a throne.

  “Each one of us she has skillfully trapped.

  “Now it’s your turn to be magically zapped.”

  Persephone gulped. “Zapped? That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Changed by a mortal girl?” said Athena. “But mortals are human. And humans don’t have magic zapping powers. Maybe this zap-girl is some kind of special evil mortal?”

  “We’re doomed!” Persephone wailed.

  Just then hissing sounds filled the air around them. The stone statues stopped marching, and everyone looked up.

  High in the sky were huge green letters that spelled out one word:

  Athena gasped.

  “Who is Medusa?” Persephone asked.

  “A mean girl with snake hair,” Athena explained quickly. “I think she must have zapped a bunch of real animals and turned them into those stone ones. Then she made them her army!”

  Now the green letters broke apart and wiggled around to form a new word: SANDALS.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Medusa wants my sandals,” Athena added.

  Both girls peeked down at Athena’s golden-sandaled feet.

  “Well, they are supercute,” said Persephone.

  Athena shrugged. “But even more important, they can fly. A goddess named Hestia told me Medusa might use them to make trouble for Mount Olympus.”

  Persephone got a determined look on her face. “Then we can’t let Medusa get them!”

  All of a sudden they heard a terrible cackle. “Eee-heh-heh!”

  It was Medusa! For some reason she was bald now. She glanced up at the green letters high above them. She snapped her fingers.

  “Wiggle Warts!” she called.

  At her command the green letters broke apart into long squiggles. They shot down from the sky. Each had a flicking red tongue!

  Athena blinked in surprise. Those squiggles were Medusa’s snakes! Now they wiggled back to her head and became her hair again.

  “Wow! Skywriting snake hair!” said Persephone.

  Medusa snapped her fingers once more. The stone animals moved aside, and she stepped closer to Athena. “Give me the sandals,” she demanded.

  Athena shook her head. “I already tried, remember? They won’t come off.”

  Medusa glared at her. “Then prepare to be zapped into stone!”

  The wings on Athena’s sandals fluttered in fear. The daisies on Persephone’s head drooped with fright.

  Pink Tail the owl had said that Medusa couldn’t hurt Athena if she stayed on the road. But she and Persephone had crossed into the field. Now Medusa could spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for them!

  Athena thought fast. “Wait! I’m wearing the sandals.”

  “So?” asked Medusa.

  “So if you zap me into stone, the sandals will also turn to stone,” explained Athena. “And they will be too heavy to fly.”

  Medusa pointed a green finger at Persephone. “Oh yeah? Then maybe I’ll turn your flower girl friend to stone instead.”

  “Um, no, thanks,” Persephone said.

  Thinking fast, Athena grabbed Persephone’s hand. “If you turn Persephone to stone while we’re holding hands, I’ll turn to stone too. And so will the sandals!”

  Medusa frowned. Her snakes flicked their tongues and hissed.

  Oliver barked at them. “Woof! Woof!”

  “Shush, you silly dog! I’m trying to think,” grumped Medusa. Then she smiled. It was an extra-mean smile. Evil, in fact!

  Medusa squinted her eyes at Oliver. Zap!

  Suddenly Oliver sat down and stopped barking. He didn’t move. And he wasn’t white anymore. He was gray!

  Athena tried to pet him. His fur was stiff, hard, and smooth. He’d been turned to stone! “Nooo! What have you done?” she wailed.

  Medusa just cackled. “Eee-heh-heh!”

  “Please change him back,” begged Athena.

  “Nope. Not unless you find a way to give me the sandals,” said Medusa.

  “Oh, Athena! I brought you bad luck again!” groaned Persephone.

  “No! It’s not your fault,” said Athena. She had to think of a way to fix things!

  Her gaze fell on the book bag she held. It was covered with stickers. Stickers as shiny as mirrors. Hmm. She had tricked those plum trees. Could she trick Medusa, too?

  Athena crossed her fingers behind her back. “Okay, Medusa. If you zap Oliver back to life, I’ll give you the sandals. They listened to me a while ago when I told
them to stop flying. So if I ask them to leave my feet, I think they will. Then you could grab them.”

  “I like your plan. It’s a deal!” said Medusa.

  Athena went to stand beside the stone bear. Then she said to Medusa, “But before you can have the sandals, I want you to zap this stone bear back into a real one. That’s to prove you’ll be able to change Oliver back when it’s time.”

  “Sure,” Medusa said eagerly. She squinted at the stone bear. Zap!

  At the exact same moment, Athena held up her book bag. She tilted it so the zap hit one of the shiny animal stickers instead of the bear.

  The shiny sticker acted like a mirror. Medusa’s zap bounced off it and hit Oliver. Bling! Glittery sparkles whooshed around the little dog.

  “Woof! Woof!” Athena’s trick worked! Oliver turned into a real dog again.

  She scooped him up in her arms. “Run!” she yelled to Persephone.

  “Hey!” Medusa shouted as the two girls took off toward the hill. “Did you just do magic? You are goddesses, aren’t you?”

  Athena and Persephone just kept on running.

  Behind them Medusa shook her fist. “You just wait! I’ll get you next time. Those winged sandals will be mine!”

  6

  Goddesses

  As Athena had hoped, the Hello Brick Road started again on the other side of the hill. Soon the girls were back safe on the orange, blue-green, and pink road.

  “Think we really could be goddesses?” Persephone asked as they walked along.

  Athena thought it over. “We’re in a magic land. Anything is possible. I know! I’ll try zapping something to find out.” She pointed a finger at some moss hanging in a tree. “Abracadabra. Presto change-o!”

  Nothing happened.

  “Hmm. I’ll try an eye zap, like Medusa did,” said Persephone. She squinted her eyes at the moss. But nothing happened.

  “Maybe we need to say what we want the moss to become,” said Athena. She pointed her finger at the moss. “Presto change-o into cake!” she commanded.

  Persephone licked her lips. “Ooh, good one! Cake. Yum.”

  But instead of turning into cake, the moss began to glow. Then a tiny winged goddess sprang from it.

  Persephone clapped. “Even better than cake. You magicked a fairy here!”

  Athena laughed. “No, that’s Hestia, the goddess I told you about.”

  “You didn’t magic me here,” Hestia explained. “I came on my own as I promised. I only have a few moments before I blink away, so listen up.”

  The two girls went quiet.

  “More adventures await you on your trip to Sparkle City,” Hestia told them. “Troubles, too. Along the way you will find a beautiful shell. Tap on it three times, and it will open. Inside you will find—” She stopped speaking as her glow began to blink.

  “Wait! What will we find inside?” Athena asked.

  “And what kind of troubles await us?” asked Persephone. “More terrible tree troubles? Medusa madness? Snake scares?”

  Hestia’s voice became as faint as her glow. “Just remember this: Wherever you roam, the best place is home.”

  Pop! She disappeared again.

  “Wherever you roam, the best place is home,” Athena repeated softly. She looked at Persephone. “That’s why we’ve got to get to Sparkle City. Zeus will help me get back home!”

  “And turn my bad luck to good luck!” added Persephone.

  Athena stared ahead at the top of Mount Olympus. It gleamed with the rainbow sparkles of Sparkle City. Though Medusa danger still hung over them, for now, they were safe. Plus they had each other—and Oliver!

  She smiled at Persephone. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

  The new friends linked arms and began to happily skip down the Hello Brick Road, with Oliver right by their side.

  Word List

  awesome (AWE•sum): Great

  bad luck-itis (bad luck•I•tiss): A made-up kind of bad luck

  batons (buh•TAHNZ): Long sticks twirled by drum majors

  budge (BUHJ): Move

  dodging (DAH•jing): Moving out of the way

  emojis (ee•MO•jees): Tiny pictures that show an idea or feeling

  embarrass (em•BARE•uss): Cause someone to feel ashamed, uncomfortable, or anxious

  familiar (fuh•MIL•yur): Someone or something that seems well-known

  gasped (GASPED): Took a surprised breath

  goddess (GOD•ess): A girl or woman with magic powers in Greek mythology

  gods (GODZ): Boys or men with magic powers in Greek mythology

  Greece (GREES): A country on the continent of Europe

  Greek mythology (GREEK mith•AH•luh•jee): Stories people in Greece made up long ago to explain things they didn’t understand about their world

  mortal (MOR•tuhl): A human

  Mount Olympus (MOWNT oh•LIHM•pus): Tallest mountain in Greece

  muck (MUCK): Dirt

  plums (PLUMS): Sweet, round fruits that are purple, red, or yellow when ripe

  politely (po•LYTE•lee): Using good manners

  protect (pro•TEKT): Keep safe

  scampered (SKAM•perd): Ran quickly

  sparkle (SPAR•kul): Shine bright

  tongues (TUNGS): Tasting organs found inside the mouth of people (or animals!)

  Questions

  1. Do you think it would be fun to be a goddess or a god? Why? Or why not?

  2. If you were a goddess or a god, what would your magic power be?

  3. If you found out you were a goddess, who would you tell?

  4. Medusa says things to hurt Athena’s feelings. Has anyone ever done this to you?

  5. Why do you think Athena and Persephone become friends so quickly? What makes a good friendship, in your opinion?

  6. Do you think Zeus will help Athena and Persephone? How?

  7. What adventures do you think Athena and Persephone will have?

  8. What do you think will happen in the next book with the shell Hestia mentions in the last chapter of this book?

  Authors’ Note

  Some of the ideas in the Little Goddess Girls books come from Greek mythology.

  Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom. That means she was super smart! If there was an emoji for Athena, it might be an owl. Because owls are symbols of smartness.

  If there was an emoji for Medusa, it might be a snake. In Greek mythology she has snakes on her head instead of hair. Medusa could turn mortals to stone just by looking at them!

  We also borrowed a few ideas from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. In that book there is a Yellow Brick Road. In Little Goddess Girls, you’ll find a Hello Brick Road.

  We hope you enjoy reading the Little Goddess Girls books!

  —Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

  About the Author

  Joan Holub is the New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred fifty books for young readers, including Little Red Writing, Zero the Hero, Mighty Dads, This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer, and What Is the Statue of Liberty? She also coauthors the Goddess Girls series with the amazing Suzanne. Visit her at joanholub.com.

  Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of over seventy books for children, including the award winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold) and several chapter book and middle-grade series. She coauthors the Goddess Girls series with the fantastic Joan. Visit her at suzanne-williams.com.

  Yuyi Chen began her career as a 3-D artist making video games, then realized her true passion is illustrating for children. She also likes to spend her time reading, listening to her children laugh, and pretending she is a competitive cake decorator. She lives in Washington with her husband and two sons.

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  simonandschuster.com/kids

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.com/Joan-Holub

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Suzanne-Williams

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Yuyi-Chen

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  By Helen Perelman

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  Book 3: Stolen Jewels

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  Little Goddess Girls

  By Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

  Book 1: Athena & the Magic Land

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.