“Hello, Snooze!” Daddy said as he put on his dark blue flight goggles. The strap went all the way around his head. They made his eyes look very big. “I didn’t know you were coming with us today. How wonderful!”
“Merci,” said Snooze. Merci meant thank you in French. “I’m looking forward to seeing you at work, Mr. Skylight.”
Daddy handed Willa Bean a pair of goggles. They were much smaller than his and were bright yellow. “Put these on,” he said. “They’re Ariel’s old ones, but they should fit.”
“Why do I have to wear these?” Willa Bean asked as she stretched the goggles over her head.
“We’ll be flying very quickly,” Daddy said. “And moving through several different atmospheres until we get to Earth. It’s important for your eyes to be protected from all the different kinds of light.” He shifted the bag with his bow and arrows along his shoulder and tightened the buckle in front.
“Ooooh!” Willa Bean said, watching him. “That reminds me! Can I bring my arrows, Daddy?”
“There’s no need for your arrows this time,” Daddy said. “This trip is just for fun, Willa Bean. So you can watch what I do. And maybe even help out if I need it.”
“Oh pleasepleasepleaseplease?” begged Willa Bean.
“Here we go again,” Snooze said.
“Please, Daddy,” Willa Bean pressed. “Just so I can pretend? It’ll be so much fun!”
Daddy’s forehead furrowed into two deep lines. He glanced out the window to see where the sun was in the sky. “Okay, Willa Bean,” he said. “But you have exactly five seconds to go get your arrows. One … two …”
Willa Bean flew off like a shot. She grabbed her quiver off her bedpost and started to fly out of the room. But as she did, all her arrows fell out. She gave a little yelp and went to pick them up. She could hear Daddy’s voice downstairs. “Four …” She was running out of time! Quickly, she stuffed the closest one into her quiver and left the rest. Then she flew down the steps.
“Five!” Daddy stopped counting. “All set?” he asked.
“All set!” Willa Bean said.
Snooze flew over and settled on her shoulder. “Where are the rest of your arrows, ma chérie? There’s only one in here.”
“I dropped them,” Willa Bean said. “ ’Cause I was moving so fast. But it’s okay. I can still pretend with one. And look!” She pulled out the pink arrow. “It’s my Confidence arrow! So I can pretend a lot!”
“Indeed.” Snooze nodded. “As long as you remember just to pretend. This is your father’s trip, Willa Bean. He’s working.”
“Oh, I know.” Willa Bean put the arrow back inside her quiver. “You don’t have to worry about me, Snooze.”
Mama and Baby Louie came outside to see them off. Mama waved as they jumped off Cloud Four and began to fly. “Good-bye!” she called. “Have a wonderful day! Listen to your father, Willa Bean! And have fun!”
“Good-bye, Mama!” Willa Bean waved behind her. “good-bye, Baby Louie!”
Baby Louie was chewing on his red rubber star-bubble ball. He looked up when he heard his name called. “Dewey!” he said. “Dewey!”
Willa Bean turned back around. She could see everything through her yellow goggles. Daddy was on her right, and Snooze was on her left. What an adventure this was going to be! Her moody Moonday had completely turned itself around. Now it was a mighty Moonday!
But it was a long trip. Much, much longer than Willa Bean thought it would be. She had never in her life flown so hard—or so far.
She had to get used to the clouds, too. Back in Nimbus, Willa Bean flew around their nine special clouds. Down here, a few miles from Earth, there were so many clouds that she had to fly through them!
It was fun flying through the clouds, especially since each one had a different smell inside. The first cloud smelled like dill pickles. Another one smelled like fresh orange peels. Willa Bean’s favorite was one that smelled like butterscotch and hot chocolate. She wanted to turn somersaults inside that cloud, just to keep on smelling it. But Daddy kept going. And so she had to keep going, too.
Suddenly, Daddy yelled from up ahead. “Look down, Willa Bean! Look down!”
Willa Bean looked down. And for a moment, as she stared at the beautiful green-and-blue planet beneath her, she almost stopped breathing. It was too spectacular for words.
Emerald-green mountain peaks rose up through the sky. Great bodies of water glittered under the sun, and miles of sunbaked plains stretched out flat as a map.
“It’s Earth!” Snooze shouted. “Isn’t it marvelous, Willa Bean?”
Willa Bean nodded. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to say more than yes. She wanted to say yes a million-bajillion times. She wanted to say it was even prettier than in her dreams. But she was speechless. She couldn’t say a single thing.
“We’re headed down and to the right!” Daddy instructed. “Ten more minutes, and we’ll be in London!”
“London?” Willa Bean finally found her voice.
“Ah, oui,” Snooze said, nodding. “London is the capital of England. It’s a very large city. You’re going to love it. Make sure to watch for Big Ben!”
“Big Ben?” Willa Bean felt a twinge of fear.
But Snooze had flown up ahead, closer to Daddy. He always flew faster when he got excited.
“Snooze?” Willa Bean called. “Who’s Big Ben?”
Daddy and Snooze had already made their way into another enormous cloud. This one smelled like mint and lemons. Willa Bean flapped her purple wings with the silver tips harder, trying to catch up. Her breath was coming in little spurts, and her hands felt sweaty.
Who or what was Big Ben?
The name alone was scary enough.
BIG. BEN.
It sounded like a very BIG THING.
Worse than a tiger. Or a bear. Maybe it was a great big tiger-bear!
She flapped her wings very hard. “Snooze!” she called. “Daddy! Wait for me!”
In the next instant, she was out of the cloud. A few feet ahead of her, Daddy and Snooze hovered next to each other, waiting. Daddy had a big smile on his face.
“Look, little love!” he said. “Right over there! It’s Big Ben!”
