This is the best
chili bath EVER!
You Beards don’t really
want to eat me, do
you? I’m pretty moldy.
Princess peeked through the Beards’s
kitchen window.
The Three Beards were lowering poor
Moldylocks into a giant, bubbling pot
of chili! Reggie and his cousins were
swimming in the chili.
52
Baby Beard was busily adding spices to
the pot. A beach ball bonked Moldylocks
on the nose. Princess knew she had to do
something fast!
Who is it?
IT’S YOUR GRANDPAPPY
BEARDO THE WEIRDO!
LET ME IN BEFORE I STOMP
THIS DOOR DOWN!
There was a very loud knock on the
front door of the Three Beards’s house.
54
No way. HE
should answer it!
I won’t answer it unless
you two come with me!
You answer it.
55
The Three Beards stared at one
another. None of them could remember
having a grandpa named Beardo the
Weirdo.
I NEED A HOT BATH AFTER SUCH A LONG
TRIP! WHAT ARE YOU THREE FUR-BRAINS
STANDING AROUND FOR?! GET MY BATH
READY!! AND THERE HAD BETTER BE
A RUBBER DUCKIE IN IT!!
All Three Beards opened the door.
They were knocked over as the visitor
barged in.
56
I ALSO NEED SOFT, FLOPPY
PAJAMAS—THE KIND
WITH FEET!
AND WOULD
SOMEONE GET ME
MY GARDEN HOSE
BEFORE I LOSE
MY MIND?!
The Three Beards tripped over one
another to get out of there.
Papa Beard ran to the bathroom to
get the bath ready.
Mama Beard ran to the bedroom to
get the pajamas.
58
59
And Baby Beard ran to the basement
to hide.
They would have done anything to
make the big, mean beard stop yelling.
Please don’t eat me, sir.
While the Three Beards were racing
around, Grandpa Beardo slowly walked
over to the giant chili pot. He took a
big sniff and patted his round belly.
Yes, please don’t eat us, sir!
61
chaptEr SEvEn
Chili Time!
Why would I eat my
new friends? Come
on! We have to get
out of here!
The giant beard was Princess Pink!
62
63
Moldylocks was so happy. She gave
Princess a chili-soaked hug.
The two girls jumped out the kitchen
window and ran away as fast as they
could. Reggie and his cousins toweled
themselves off. Then they went to find
somewhere to sleep.
Princess Pink and Moldylocks ran all
the way to the door in the sky. Mother
Moose was there. He was tying a ladder
to the door.
You are the
coolest moose
I’ve ever met!
This way, you won’t
fall the next time
you visit us.
65
That’s what
friends are for!
Thanks for saving me from
being made into chili.
66
I promise to
come back soon!
67
Princess climbed up the ladder. She
looked at her new friends.
68
When Princess closed the fridge,
it started humming again.
She opened the door once more.
Everything was back where it belonged.
The green-bean casserole was next to
the mustard with the crusty lid.
69
Princess gobbled up the green-bean
casserole.
Could the Land of Fake-Believe
have been a dream?
70
Then she smiled, thinking about the
Land of Fake-Believe.
Now that her belly was full, all she
really wanted to do was go to sleep.
71
Princess flopped down
facefirst onto her bed.
Good night.
Good night,
Reggie.
She barely noticed the snoring spiders
on the pillow next to her.
72
is an author,
illustrator, and
animator who
creates all sorts
of zany characters. He couldn’t wait to
dig up some of his weirdest creations
yet for the Land of Fake-Believe! 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
Look at the picture of the
Land of Fake-Believe on pages
20 and 21. How is it different
from the world you know?
How is the story of
Moldylocks
and the Three Beards similar to
and different from
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears?
Princess to the rescue!
How does Princess
save Moldylocks from
the Three Beards?
How does Princess know that
the land of Fake-Believe
was not a dream?
Use words and pictures to create a
story similar to
Moldylocks and the
Three Beards and Goldilocks and the
Three Bears. Include something that
is too soft, something that is too hard,
and something that is just right.
How well do you know
Moldylocks and the Three Beards: A Branches Book (Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe #1) Page 2