Willa Bean flapped her bright purple wings a little harder. “Snooze!” she called. “Wait! You’re going too fast!”

The tiny brown owl flew back over to Willa Bean. “Apologies, ma chérie,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were so far behind.”

Willa Bean and Snooze were on a short pajama flight before bed. The evening sky was a silvery blue color. Nimbus’s nine clouds had already turned gold and pink around the edges. Pretty soon, it would be dark all over.

“I think I’m just too excited to fly fast tonight!” Willa Bean said. “My wings feel all wiggly!”

“What are you excited about?” Snooze asked.

Willa Bean shoved a curl out of her face. “Miss Twizzle is going to have a surprise for us in school tomorrow! And I can’t wait to find out what it is!”

“How wonderful,” said Snooze. “Surprises are marvelous things. What do you think it could be?”

Willa Bean stretched her wings out straight and glided next to Snooze. She liked to glide when she needed to think. Gliding made her brain work better. “Hmmm …,” she said. “Hmmm …”

Suddenly, she flapped her wings again. “I know!” she said. “Maybe we’re all getting brand-new quill pens!”

“That’s quite possible,” Snooze said. “A new quill pen would be a lovely surprise.”

“But maybe not,” Willa Bean said. “Especially since we just got new quill pens last week.” She began to glide once more. “I know! Maybe Miss Twizzle has a big bag of Snoogy Bars for each of us! In every flavor!” Willa Bean giggled. “Wouldn’t Harper go bonkers if that was the surprise?”

Harper was Willa Bean’s best friend. She was crazy about Snoogy Bars.

“She would, indeed,” Snooze said. “Harper loves Snoogy Bars, doesn’t she?”

“Oh yes,” Willa Bean said. “Especially peanut butter ones. One time, she ate twelve in a row! Without even stopping!”

“My goodness,” Snooze said. “Didn’t she get sick?”

“No.” Willa Bean shook her head. “But she did get super thirsty.”

“I don’t know about Snoogy Bars, Willa Bean,” Snooze said. “Do you think Miss Twizzle would hand out sweets in class?”

Willa Bean wrinkled her nose. “Maybe not.”

“Well, keep on thinking,” said Snooze. “But there’s the North Star up ahead. We have to turn around.”

Willa Bean looked into the distance. Snooze was right. The North Star was shining just above Cloud Eight, bright as a diamond. The silvery purple sky was getting darker, too. She turned around. So did Snooze.

In a few minutes, they were back at her bedroom window. Willa Bean flew inside her room. But as she landed, her foot slipped on a greasy spot. “Oof!” she said, falling to the floor. The seat of her pajamas turned mooshy and sticky.

“Willa Bean!” Snooze flew over and perched on her shoulder. “Are you all right? What happened?”

“I slipped on something.” Willa Bean moved her bottom out of the gluey puddle. On the floor was a small, empty bottle. Without a cap.

“Oh no!” Willa Bean said. “Baby Louie got into my stardust paints! Again!” She stood up, holding the seat of her pajamas away from her. They were covered with sticky blue goo. “He dumped them all over the floor! Now my pajamas are ruined! And so are my paints!”

“Just the blue paint is ruined,” Snooze pointed out. “All the other paint bottles look all right. And I’m sure your mother will be able to wash your pajamas.”

Willa Bean stomped her foot. “I’ve told Baby Louie to stay out of my room! Prob’ly a million-bajillion times! And he never listens!”

“That’s because he’s a baby,” Snooze said. “Babies don’t understand the things that big cupids do. They’re too little.”

Willa Bean stomped her foot again. “But it’s not fair! Yesterday, he crawled into my closet and chewed my sandals! And then the other day, he tore the special picture I made for Mama in school! And now he’s wrecked my jammies—and my blue stardust paint!” Willa Bean crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. “I wish he would just go away! Forever!”

“You don’t mean that.” Snooze gave one of Willa Bean’s curls a tug with his beak. “You love your little brother.”

“I do not,” Willa Bean said. “That baby is a Total Disaster. With a capital T. D.”

“Willa Bean!” Mama called from downstairs. “Time for bed!”

“I can’t go to bed!” Willa Bean wailed. “I’m covered with paint!”

A short silence was followed by the sound of someone running upstairs. Then Daddy appeared in the bedroom doorway. “Willa Bean,” he said, “did you just say you were …”

Willa Bean turned around.

“… covered with paint?” Daddy stared at Willa Bean’s pajama bottoms. “Oh dear. What happened?”

“Baby Louie dumped out my blue stardust paint.” Willa Bean was trying not to cry. “And I slipped on it, and now it’s a huge mess.”

Daddy shook his head. “How many times have Mama and I told you not to leave your paints under your bed? Baby Louie is crawling everywhere now. And when he sees something on the floor—”

“But I forgot!” Willa Bean said.

“Okay.” Daddy picked up the rest of the paints. He set them on top of Willa Bean’s dresser. “Let’s keep them up here from now on, all right?”

Willa Bean sniffed and nodded.

Daddy held out his hand. “Come on, little love,” he said. “We’re going to have to get you in the shower. Mama will have a fit if she finds out you’ve gone to bed with a blue bottom.”

“But I don’t want to take a shower!” Willa Bean hung back. “I hate showers!”

“You hate washing your hair,” Daddy reminded her. “You don’t have to get your hair wet. Or even your face. Just the blue part.” He grinned. “I don’t think I know too many cupids out there with purple wings, brown hair, and blue bottoms.”

Willa Bean wrinkled her nose. “It’s not funny,” she said.

Just then, Mama came into the room. She was holding Baby Louie on her hip. “Everything okay here?” she asked.

Willa Bean looked at her baby brother. He was shoving Babyflakes into his mouth with one hand. In his other hand was his red rubber star-bubble ball. It was his most favorite toy in the universe. Baby Louie never let his red rubber star-bubble ball out of his sight. He even slept with it.

“No,” Willa Bean said. “Baby Louie just wrecked my paints. And now I have a blue bottom, and I have to take a shower, and Daddy thinks it’s funny!” She stomped off to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

But not before she heard Baby Louie say, “Dunny!”

Baby Louie liked to repeat the last word Willa Bean said. Even if it didn’t make any sense.

He was definitely a super-pest.

But he was not a super-smart one.