This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either
products of the authors’ imaginations or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2014 by Shannon and Dean Hale
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by LeUyen Pham
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted,
or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means,
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and
recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2017
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2013955700
ISBN 978-0-7636-6510-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7888-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7636-9636-8 (electronic)
This book was typeset in LTC Kennerley Pro.
The illustrations were done in watercolor and ink.
Candlewick Press
99 Dover Street
Somerville, Massachusetts 02144
visit us at www.candlewick.com
For our own Princess Magnolia
S. H. and D. H.
To Luna, Emilie, Julia, Angelique, and Deniz—
my little group of supercool princesses
L. P.
Princess Magnolia was having hot
chocolate and scones with Duchess
Wigtower. The hot chocolate was hot.
The scones were sweet. The breeze
from the window was warm and wishy.
“How lovely of you to visit,” said
Princess Magnolia. “And unexpected.”
2
“I love to meet
people in their own
homes,” said Duchess
Wigtower. “I always
uncover secrets.”
“Secrets?” said
Princess Magnolia.
“Yes, secrets,” said
Duchess Wigtower. “Hidden messes,
skeletons in closets, that sort of thing.”
“Closets?” said Princess Magnolia.
The hot chocolate burned her lip. The
breeze knocked her curls into her face.
She was no longer enjoying herself.
3
“You seem so prim and perfect.”
Duchess Wigtower leaned forward.
“But everyone has a secret.”
Princess Magnolia
brushed crumbs off
her frilly pink
dress. She hoped
she didn’t look
nervous. Because
she did indeed
have a secret.
A huge secret. A secret she didn’t
want anyone to uncover. Especially
not the nosy duchess.
4
Just then, Princess Magnolia’s
glitter-stone ring rang.
The monster alarm, thought Princess
Magnolia. Not now!
“What was that ringing sound?”
asked Duchess Wigtower.
“A bird?” said Princess Magnolia.
She wished her ring’s ring sounded
anything like a bird. It didn’t.
5
“Strange bird,” said the duchess.
“Maybe it’s sick,” said Princess
Magnolia. “I should check.”
7
Princess Magnolia minced to the
door. Her glass slippers went tink-
tink-tink-tink.
“You’re going to just leave me
here?” said the duchess.
“I’ll hurry back!” said Princess
Magnolia.
She smiled sweetly. She shut the
door softly.
And then Princess Magnolia ran.
Princesses do not run.
9
Princesses do not stuff frilly pink
dresses into broom closets.
Princesses do not wear black.
And princesses most definitely do
not slide down secret chutes and high-
jump castle walls.
But then, most princesses do not
live near an entrance to Monster Land.
Stopping monsters was no job for
prim and perfect Princess Magnolia.
But fortunately Princess Magnolia did
have a secret.
13
She was secretly the Princess in
Black! And stopping monsters was
the perfect job for the Princess in
Black.
In the courtyard, Frimplepants was
nibbling an apple. He swished his
sparkly tail. He pranced on his golden
hooves. He gave the horn upon his
brow a little toss.
Clearly, Frimplepants was a unicorn.
Or was he?
16
Frimplepants’s glitter-stone horse-
shoe rang. The monster alarm!
He took three dainty steps toward
the castle wall.
He looked right. He looked left.
17
No one was watching. So Frimple-
pants entered a secret passage.
18
Horn lifted off. Golden hooves slid
aside.
Sparkly mane and tail shook free.
19
He came out the other side. He was
no longer Frimplepants the unicorn.
He was Blacky, the Princess in
Black’s faithful pony!
21
Just then, the Princess in Black
was soaring over the castle wall. She
landed on Blacky’s back.
“Fly, Blacky, fly!” she said. “To
the goat pasture, as fast as you can.
There’s a nosy duchess in the castle.”
They charged through the forest.
Birds flapped out of their way.
The birds squawked. The birds
cheeped. The birds sounded nothing
like a ringing ring.
The big blue monster was hungry.
Monster Land was full of monsters.
Some were small. Some were big.
Some were bigger than the big blue
monster. They were always eating up
the good food.
There was a hole in the ceiling of
Monster Land. The smell of goats
floated in through the hole. Shaggy
goats. Plump goats. Delicious goats.
The big blue monster began to drool.
26
Wasn’t there a rule against climb-
ing through that hole? Yes, there was.
But the monster couldn’t remember
why.
Was it because the sun was too
shiny up there?
27
Was it because the air was
unpleasantly fresh?
No, there had been some other
reason. . . .
29
The big blue monster was too
hungry to remember. It climbed
through the hole.
Duff the goat boy was not part goat
and part boy. That would have been
interesting. But Duff was just a boy
who took care of goats.
31
He quite liked goats. They had
honey-brown eyes. They had floppy
ears. They made snuffling noises.
Duff did not like goat-eating
monsters.
32
A blue arm reached out of the hole.
“Not another one,” said Duff. He
picked up his crook.
33
A blue monster emerged.
It was big.
35
The monster roared. It was loud.
Duff dropped his crook. His knees
shook.
“H-h-help!” he croaked.
In the distance, a pony neighed.
The Princess in Black galloped into
the goat pasture. A big blue monster
was holding a goat in each paw. It
opened its mouth as wide as it would
go. Which was very wide.
“Not so fast!” said the Princess in
Black.
38
Blacky galloped toward the big
tree. The Princess in Black grabbed
a branch. She swung from her pony’s
back. She landed in the tree.
“Why did you come here?” asked
the Princess in Black.
“EAT GOATS,” said the big blue
monster.
“You may not eat the goats,” she
said.
“EAT GOATS!” hollered the big
blue monster.
“You may not eat the goats!” she
said again. “Behave, beast!”
40
The big blue monster set down
the goats near a small tree. It tore the
tree from the ground.
The Princess in Black did a backflip
onto the grass. She pushed a switch
on her scepter. It turned into a staff.
41
The big blue monster roared and
swung the tree. The staff met it.
The Princess in Black and the big
blue monster waged battle.
45
With luck, the battle would be
quick. Duchess Wigtower was in
Princess Magnolia’s castle. Her castle
was full of secrets. Especially the
broom closet. The Princess in Black
hoped the duchess would not snoop.
The duchess began to snoop.
Princess Magnolia’s tower was
spotless. The windows were as clear
as glass. The couches were as soft as
cushions. It was almost too perfect.
Something must be amiss.
48
Duchess Wigtower opened a closet.
Frilly pink dresses. Perfect for a princess.
She opened drawers. White gloves
and flowered headbands. Beaded hand-
kerchiefs and crystal bracelets.
All perfect for a princess.
49
“Drat,” said the duchess. “No one
is this perfect.”
The duchess was determined to un-
cover a secret in Princess Magnolia’s
castle. She just had to look harder.
Duff the goat boy settled onto a
tree stump. He always enjoyed the
Princess in Black’s ninja skills. But
today he noticed something new.
The Princess in Black reminded him
of Princess Magnolia.
52
Without her mask, they might
even look the same. The Princess in
Black was the same height as Duff.
So was Princess Magnolia.
The Princess in Black had honey-
brown eyes. So did Princess Magnolia.
53
The Princess in Black had a sparkly
tiara. So did Princess Magnolia.
Could the two princesses be the
same girl?
54
But Princess Magnolia wore glass
slippers on weekdays. Princess Mag-
nolia was afraid of snails. Sunlight
made Princess Magnolia sneeze.
And at the moment, the Princess
in Black was hog-tying a monster.
55
Duff laughed at his silly imagina-
tion. He nibbled some popcorn. He
waited for the part when he would
cheer.
The duchess peeked under a table.
Not so much as a wad of gum! Was
Princess Magnolia as perfect as she
seemed? No, surely everyone had
secrets. Duchess Wigtower would
find something amiss.
58
The duchess left Princess Magnolia’s
tower room. She poked around the
throne room.
59
She examined the ballroom.
She explored the kitchen. She
even paused to inspect the cookies.
Everything was completely perfect.
60
Then she noticed a broom closet.
Something was stuck beneath the
door. She yanked it free.
61
A pair of coal-black stockings.
“Aha!” said the duchess.
Black stockings! Everyone knows
that princesses don’t wear black.
Princess Magnolia did indeed have a
secret.
Duchess Wigtower’s frown turned
into a crooked smile.
The Princess in Black was trying not
to worry about the nosy duchess. She
was busy battling a big blue beast.
The monster was just so huge.
And heavy. It was all tied up. But
she couldn’t push it back in the hole.
“Go back in that hole,” said the
Princess in Black.
“ROAR!” said the big blue monster.
63
“Behave, beast!” said the Princess
in Black.
“ROOAARR!” said the big blue
monster.
The Princess in Black sighed. She
raised an eyebrow.
“Please,” she said.
65
The big blue monster sighed, too.
It rolled into the hole.
Duff cheered.
The Princess in Black bowed.
“Thank you, my friend. Until next
time!”
She patted a goat’s head. She
sprang onto Blacky’s back. They gal-
loped into the forest.
She had to get back to Duchess
Wigtower. She hoped she wasn’t
too late.
The big blue monster plopped down
into Monster Land. It chewed off the
rope. The rope was pretty yummy.
But not as yummy as goats.
68
There was a rule not to climb
through the hole. Now it remembered
why.
The sun was too shiny up there.
The air was unpleasantly fresh. But
that had nothing to do with the rule.
Monsters should not climb through
the hole because of the Princess in
Black. She would not let them eat
goats.
69
The big blue monster was going to
remind the other monsters about the
rule. But then it found a pile of toe-
nail clippings.
“YUM,” it said. And it forgot all
about the Princess in Black.
Duff whistled as he walked his goats
home. No goats had been eaten. That
meant it had been a good day.
All thanks to the Princess in Black.
He wished he could help her. But
everyone knows that goat boys do
not fight monsters.
72
He thought again about Princess
Magnolia possibly being the Princess
in Black. What a clever disguise that
would be! No one would suspect a
&
nbsp; girl in glass slippers.
But of course, it was a silly idea.
If the goats stood up on their hind
legs, they would be the same height as
Duff. Just like the Princess in Black.
His goats had honey-brown eyes.
Just like the Princess in Black. (None
of them had tiaras, though.)
A goat would also be an excellent
disguise for the Princess in Black!
73
No one would suspect a goat.
Just as no one would suspect a
goat boy.
Duff was getting an idea.
Duff’s idea made him smile as he
fed the goats. He smiled as he tugged
on their nightshirts. He smiled as he
kissed them good night.
75
And then Duff the goat boy got to
work.
76
Goat boys do not get ideas.
Goat boys do not fashion masks
and capes out of old goat blankets.
And goat boys most definitely do
not make monster alarms out of goat
bells and rope.
But then, most goat boys are not
the Goat Avenger in disguise.
77
Duff would exercise. Duff would
practice. And perhaps someday, the
Goat Avenger would fight beside the
Princess in Black. Look out, monsters!
The Princess in Black high-jumped