3

Stuck in the Muck

Athena skipped happily along the Hello Brick Road. Oliver trotted beside her. There were bunches of colorful flowers planted on both sides of the path. At the far end of the road ahead, she could see tiny rainbow-colored sparkles. That was Sparkle City!

“Too bad Sparkle City is waaay up at the top of Mount Olympus,” she told Oliver. “It’s going to take forever to get there. I wish there were a faster way.”

At Athena’s words, the wings on her sandals began flapping. The sandals lifted her a few inches off the ground. They flew her sideways. Whoosh! They zigzagged her backward. Swoosh!

“Oof!” She brushed against a flower bush as tall as she was. She spun her arms, trying not to fall. Not again! This was almost as bad as being tossed around by that storm.

“Hey! Stop, you silly sandals!” Athena shouted.

Right away the wings stopped flapping. They floated her lower. Finally the sandals rested on the brick road once more. But now their wings sagged. It seemed that she’d embarrassed them with her yelling. And maybe hurt their feelings too.

Athena knew how that felt. It’s how Medusa made her feel all the time. Mostly when she teased Athena about how bad she was at playing Happy Perky Pets.

“Thank you for trying to help me go faster,” she told the sandals kindly. “It’s not your fault I’m not good at flying. I probably just need more practice.” Hearing this, the wings perked up, starting to flap again.

“Wait! Not right now though. Maybe later,” Athena said quickly. She wasn’t ready to try flying again quite yet!