Zeus and the Dreadful Dragon Page 5
Zeus groaned. “I’m going to miss your awful jokes,” he said.
“I’m not,” Hera said. “But I will miss you.” She gave Hades a tight squeeze.
While the Olympians took turns saying good-bye to Hades, Rhea turned to the three giants.
“I need you three to come with me,” she said. “We’ll need all the extra hands we can get to keep the Titans in line.”
Briar brightened up. “You mean we’ll have an important job?” he asked.
“Yes,” Rhea replied. “Gaia will be very proud of you.”
The three brothers looked at one another and nodded.
“More hitting!” Briar cheered.
“But not each other,” Kottos added. “Just the other Titans.”
“Do we have to stop knitting, though?” Gyes asked. “I kind of liked it.”
“I’m sure you’ll have time for knitting and hitting,” Rhea said, with a twinkle in her eye.
“Hooray!” they shouted, and they jumped into the portal.
Rhea and Hades climbed into the chariot. “Come visit soon, everybody!” Hades called out. He steered the chariot into the portal, and then it closed behind him.
Hera turned to Zeus. “What now, Boltbrain?” she asked.
“Maybe you can stop calling me that, since I’m, like, the main ruler now,” Zeus said.
“Main ruler of what, exactly?” Hera asked, her hands on her hips.
Zeus had to think about it. “Well, Greece, I guess,” he replied. “Pythia said we were all supposed to rule in place of the Titans.”
As he spoke, Pegasus flew up onto the cloud, with Ron on his back.
“Hey, you guys did it!” Ron said. “All the villagers down there are really excited. Everybody wants to know what you’re going to do next.”
“Next?” Zeus asked. “We just defeated the Titans. We’ve been fighting huge creatures and running and being hungry and cold and tired for . . . well, what feels like forever.
The other Olympians nodded.
Zeus continued, “So I think what we’re going to do next is take a nap! And get a snack—I’m hungry!”
Everyone cheered at that.
Ares started to run up the castle steps. “I call first dibs on a bedroom!” he yelled.
Hephaestus started to follow him. “No fair!”
Poseidon sighed. “I’d like to be able to hang out here with you guys in the palace,” he said. “But I guess I’ve got to go be lord of the sea. And swim around with the fish and stuff.”
Ares stopped running and spun around. “Hey, why does Poseidon get to rule all the oceans? Can’t I rule something big too?”
“You’re the god of war,” Zeus reminded him. “That’s a pretty big deal.”
“Yeah, but war isn’t a place,” Ares said. “I’d like to rule a place, like the ocean or the Underworld. Or volcanoes or something.”
“If anyone is going to rule volcanoes, it’s going to be me!” Hephaestus argued. “I lived on a volcanic island for years.”
Everyone started talking and arguing at once. Zeus was beginning to wonder how hard being the ruler of everything was going to be.
“So, what should I tell the villagers?” Ron asked.
Zeus thought. He took a deep breath. “Silence!” he boomed as loudly as he could, and everyone quieted down. “Ron, tell the villagers that from here on in, this mountain shall be home of the Olympians!”
The Olympians let out another cheer.
“And if the villagers have a problem, they can call on the Olympians for help,” Zeus declared. “But . . . ask them to wait for a couple of days. We need a vacation!”
“Got it,” Ron said, and then he flew off.
Poseidon’s stomach growled. “Do you think there’s any food in that temple? Fighting monsters makes me hungry!”
“Let’s find out,” Hestia suggested.
As they moved toward the palace stairs, a foggy mist appeared at the top. A woman appeared in the mist. She had long black hair and wore wire spectacles.
“Olympians! You did it!” she said, smiling. “Congratulations!”
“Nice to see you, Pythia,” Zeus said. “And we couldn’t have done it without you.”
“It’s good to see you smiling,” Poseidon said. “Usually when you show up, it’s to send us off on some dangerous and super-tiring adventure.”
Pythia laughed. “Ha! I suppose that’s true,” she said. “But don’t worry. I’m not sending you off anywhere.”
“Thank goodness,” Zeus said.
“No. This time the danger is coming to you,” she said cheerfully. “A farmer is on its way to Mount Olympus!”
“A farmer?” Hera asked. “That doesn’t sound too dangerous.”
Pythia cleaned her glasses with her cloak. “Erm, sorry. My glasses were a little foggy. I mean an armadillo.”
“But armadillos are cute,” Athena said.
Pythia cleaned her glasses one more time. “Oh, here we go. An army. Yes, an army is headed to Mount Olympus!”
Zeus groaned. “I guess there’s no time to rest when you’re an Olympian!”
Maybe they wouldn’t get a vacation. But for the first time, Zeus realized, he wasn’t scared or worried about one of Pythia’s predictions.
All the Olympians were together now. It didn’t matter if Hades lived in the Underworld, or Poseidon lived in the sea. They were still a team. They were stronger together—and better than ever!
About the Authors
Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean) and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and at joanholub.com.
Suzanne Williams is the author of over fifty books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives outside Seattle, Washington, and is online at suzanne-williams.com.
Together Joan and Suzanne have written the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series.
ALADDIN
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Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Joan-Holub
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DON’T MISS THE OTHER ADVENTURES IN THE HEROES IN TRAINING SERIES!
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom
Poseidon and the Sea of Fury
Hades and the Helm of Darkness
Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire
Typhon and the Winds of Destruction
Apollo and the Battle of the Birds
Ares and the Spear of Fear
Cronus and the Threads of Dread
Crius and the Night of Fright
Hephaestus and the Island of Terror
Uranus and the Bubbles of Trouble
Perseus and the Monstrous Medusa
Hermes and the Horse with Wings
Dionysus and the Land of Beasts
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.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin paperback edition August 2018
Text copyright © 2018 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Craig Phillips
Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.
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Series designed by Karin Paprocki
Cover designed by Nina Simoneaux
Cover illustration Copyright © 2018 by Craig Phillips
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.
Library of Congress Control Number 2018930870
ISBN 978-1-4814-8838-9 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-8837-2 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-8839-6 (eBook)