Little Red Quacking Hood: A Branches Book (Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe #2) Read online

  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