down. She did not like what she saw.
Little Red, what a big bill you have!
Little Red, what a big hood you have!
All the better
to smell the
wolf’s pies.
All the better
to protect
my hairdo.
53
Princess heard shuffling noises. She
also heard a quack or two. But she did
not dare look around.
Little Red, what big feet you have!
All the better
to run stolen
pies to you.
54
Soon, ducks were everywhere.
All the better
to—
Um, Grandmother,
what a lot of duck
friends you have!
55
TRAP YOU WITH!!
GULP!
56
AHHHHH!!
57
The ducks lifted Princess up and carried
her inside the hair salon. She was trapped.
Secret Ingredient
chapTer eighT
This wasn’t part
of my plan!
58
Grandmother Quacking Hood pulled
back Princess’s red hood.
So, what do we have here?
A pink spy?
We have to steal pies
from the Big Bad Bakery!
Ducks get bored with the
same old hairdos!
I’m helping my friend.
You’ve been stealing his pies!
HUH?
59
It turns out that your friend’s pies are great for
duck hair! The Big Bad Bakery had a pie-throwing
contest. Some ducks got hit with pies. Right away,
they had super fluffy and shiny feathers!
We bought the pies at first. But we ran out
of money. So Little Red has been stealing
them. I need the secret ingredient from
those pies so I can make Flocks of Locks
the best hair salon in town!
60
Princess needed more time. She
needed to give Scaredy-Pants Wolf and
Moldylocks time to rescue her.
Tell me the secret ingredient! If you don’t,
then we’ll see what happens when I feed
YOU to my unbaking oven! Maybe it will
unbake an answer out of you!
61
So Princess did a little dance. And she
sang a little song.
WAIT! I know the secret
ingredient! B-b-but . . .
I have to sing it to you!
A Little Red stole pies one day.
The Wolf couldn’t keep her away.
The Grandmother cried, “Quack! Quack! Quack!”
As the Wolf’s friends stole the pies back.
Grandmother Quacking Hood did not
like the song. She grabbed Princess and
held her over the unbaking oven.
62
HELP!!
Your time is up,
pink spy!
63
Just then Moldylocks and Scaredy-Pants
Wolf rushed in. Moldylocks grabbed up
Princess.
Tears of Joy
chapTer nine
Scaredy-Pants Wolf ran over to the
unbaking oven. He ate it all up with one
BIG bite!
64
That oven does not taste
as good as my bakery!
I’m glad you’re
okay! Now let’s
get out of here!
Whoa! That was awesome!
65
Scaredy-Pants Wolf was SO scared
that he curled up into a big ball. Then he
started to cry.
GET THEM!
I must learn the
secret ingredient!
But I don’t have a
secret ingredient!
There’s nothing to tell!
66
Scaredy-Pants Wolf cried harder and
harder. His tears flew all over the room.
They landed on some of the ducks.
67
68
Scaredy-Pants Wolf’s tears
are the secret ingredient!
It’s working!
Our salon will be
the best salon in
Fake-Believe!
69
Scaredy-Pants Wolf was happy to share
his tears with the ducks. He was SO happy
that he started to cry happy tears.
Scaredy-Pants, could I buy your tears?
I promise not to steal any more pies!
AND I’ll give you free haircuts anytime!
Little Red can
pick them up.
Would you mind
picking up the tears
from my bakery?
The woods scare me.
70
As the sun was coming up, Princess
said good-bye to Scaredy-Pants Wolf.
Thanks for your help. I always felt bad
about crying so much. But now that I
know my tears can make things better,
I’m going to cry even more!
Do you want a slice
of pie before you go?
No thanks.
Bye, Scaredy-Pants!
I don’t think
I should eat any
more wolf tears!
71
Princess and Moldylocks headed to the
door that led out of Fake-Believe.
Mother Moose was there. He had a
gift for Princess.
Then Princess climbed up the ladder
and stepped through her fridge.
This magnet will let you return to
the Land of Fake-Believe whenever
you want. Just put it on your fridge.
Then turn it to the left.
See you soon!
Cool! I’ll be back
before you know it!
72
Princess fell into bed. She was asleep
before her head hit the pillow.
Back so soon?
is an author,
illustrator, and
animator who
creates all sorts
of zany characters. He hopes kids are
excited to find out all about Little Red
Quacking Hood! Noah has illustrated
many books for children, including
Always in Trouble, Not Norman, and
Those Shoes. Princess Pink and the Land
of Fake-Believe is the first children’s book
series that Noah has both written and
illustrated.
scholastic.com/branches
How is Scaredy-Pants Wolf
similar to and different
from the Big Bad Wolf in
Little Red Riding Hood?
That tricky duck! How does
Little Red Quacking Hood trick
Princess and Moldylocks on
page 35?
Reread page 27.
Knew and new are
homophones. These words sound the
same, but are spelled differently
and have different meanings. What
are the meanings of
knew and new?
Why do the ducks steal the
pies? What is the secret
ingredient in the pies?
Write a similar story from
the point of view of Little
Red Quacking Hood.
How well do you know
Read all about
the Land of
Fake-Believe!
One very mixed-up place!
In the Land of Fake-Believe, Princess Pink meets
Scaredy-Pants Wolf — a baker
whose bakery
has been
robbed! Little Red Quacking Hood
keeps
stealing pies from the Big Bad Bakery!
Princess Pink, Scaredy-Pants Wolf, and their friend
Moldylocks follow Little Red
over the river and
through the woods to Grandmother’s hair salon.
Can they stop Little Red and
save the bakery?
scholastic.com/branches
More leveling information for this book:
www.scholastic.com/readinglevel
Cover art by Noah Z. Jones
Cover design by Will Denton
Illustrated early chapter books that grow readers!
TM
Little Red Quacking Hood: A Branches Book (Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe #2) Page 2