by Joan Holub
“It’s up to you to figure that out,” Zeus told her.
“Hmm,” Aphrodite said, tossing the apple from hand to hand. “It is beautiful. But it feels . . . powerful, too. And for some reason I keep wanting to roll it. Like this.” She ran a few steps and then stopped, rolling the apple across the ground like a bowling ball.
“Hey, watch it!” Poseidon cried as the apple knocked him off his feet. His arms flailing, he fell backward into Zeus, who fell against Hades, knocking him down too. The boys landed on the grass in a tangled heap.
Hera grinned at Aphrodite. “I think that from now on you and I are going to get along just fine!” Hera said to her. The two of them giggled.
CHAPTER TEN
A War Begins
The twelve Olympians marched away, with nowhere to go and nowhere to stay,” sang Apollo as the Olympians hiked up a hill a few hours later.
“That’s not very cheerful,” Artemis complained. “Couldn’t you sing about how we’re on an adventure or something?”
“But Pythia hasn’t given us our mission. So we might as well stop and all go fishin’,” Apollo sang back.
“You don’t even like fishing!” his sister reminded him.
Apollo shrugged. “Sometimes you have to go with what rhymes.”
“He’s got a point, Bolt Breath,” Hera said to Zeus. “Shouldn’t we stop and wait for Pythia instead of wandering aimlessly?”
“Once word gets out that we were in that village, Cronies will come swarming after us,” Zeus replied. “And anyway, I don’t think it matters where we are. When Pythia is ready to speak to us, she’ll pop up like she always does.”
They had reached the top of the hill. Down below they could see a small fleet of Greek warships leaving the coast.
“Uh-oh,” said Zeus. “It looks like those Greek ships are heading for Troy.”
Ares looked longingly at the ships. “A Trojan war. Cool!”
“Not cool,” Hestia scolded him. “People get hurt in wars.”
Aphrodite looked sad. “Do you suppose the Greeks and Trojans are going to war because of—”
“No, Aphrodite, they are going to war over a guppy!” a new, disembodied voice said.
“Who said that?” said Aphrodite, looking around. “How do you know my name, whoever you are?”
“Me. And I know many things.” A strange mist appeared, and the Olympians could see a figure inside it—a woman with long, dark hair and glasses. It was Pythia, the Oracle from the Temple at Delphi.
“Hi, Pythia!” greeted Zeus. “We were hoping you’d appear. Oh, and I think you meant ‘war over a puppy,’ not ‘a guppy.’ ”
“Of course,” said Pythia. “I knew that. My spectacles just got a little foggy, that’s all.”
“So, maybe you know this already, but this war that’s starting is sort of our fault,” Zeus said. “Cronus sent Eris, the goddess of discord—”
“Yes, I know,” Pythia interrupted him. “But there’s nothing to be done about that for now. And it’s important that you begin your next quest. You must render the cherry cakes harmless!”
“Yum! Finally, a quest for snacks!” Poseidon cheered, raising his trident high.
“Oh, sorry about that. I meant cherry snakes,” Pythia corrected.
Zeus turned pale. Ye gods! He was terrified of all kinds of snakes, no matter what flavor they were—cherry, lemon, fig. . . .
“But is there really nothing we can do to stop the fight over Helen the puppy?” he asked. “Couldn’t we go after the Greeks and try to reason with them somehow? Maybe we could keep the war from happening.”
Pythia squinted through her spectacles and then shook her head. “Sadly, war is what is meant to be between Greece and Troy. In time, you will find yourselves embroiled in that fight,” she said. “But for now you must find those cherry snakes. Er.” She took off her spectacles, polished their lenses, and perched them back on her nose. “Oh, I see. Berry snakes. That’s what I meant.” Pythia frowned. “Oops! Not berry snakes . . . Hairy snakes! Yes, that’s it! Hairy snakes!”
“Eew!” squealed Hestia. “This quest is sounding worse and worse.”
“Yeah,” said Apollo as Pythia vanished without another word.
“Wait!” Zeus called after her. “Are we supposed to find another Olympian this time too?”
“I hope not!” Demeter put in. “Olympian number thirteen? That could be unlucky!”
But Pythia didn’t answer them either way.
“I still don’t understand why you all listen to that weird oracle,” Hephaestus said. “I mean, snakes aren’t hairy. Everyone knows that.”
“Maybe these are wearing wigs?” said Hades, making Aphrodite giggle.
“I wonder if they’ll have brown hair like me?” Athena asked with a chuckle.
“No matter! I’ll give them a haircut with my spear!” cried Ares.
Soon everyone was laughing.
Zeus smiled and looked up at the clear, blue sky. Despite the coming war, things didn’t seem too bad right at this moment. On this quest he had gotten to hug his mom. The Olympians’ bellies were full. There were no Cronies in sight. And everyone was in high spirits.
But he knew the calm wouldn’t last long. Somewhere, maybe even over the next hill, hairy snakes—or even scarier creatures—would be waiting for them!
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 www.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 www.suzanne-williams.com.
Together, Joan and Suzanne write the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series.
The adventure continues…
ALADDIN
SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
authors.simonandschuster.com/Joan-Holub
authors.simonandschuster.com/Suzanne-Williams
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
COMING SOON:
Perseus and the Monstrous Medusa
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 authors’ 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 hardcover edition December 2015
Text copyright © 2015 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Craig Phillips
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
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Series designed by Karin Paprocki
Jacket designed by Karina Granda
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.
Library of Congress Control Number 2015952119
ISBN 978-1-4814-3513-0 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3512-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3514-7 (eBook)