“Why, stranger?” said Pandora. “Why do you want me to open this box?”

“Just do it, sweetheart,” Zeus-in-disguise said.

That Zeus would stoop to this to win a bet shouldn’t have surprised me. But it did. I shouldered invisibly closer to the big cheater. I gave him a nudge. He lost his balance, and his glasses, nose, and mustache went flying.

“Whoa!” cried Zeus, reaching out and trying to catch them.

Pandora’s eyes widened. “Why has part of your face fallen off, stranger?” she asked.

“Dad?” said Hermes. “Is that you?”

The “stranger” quickly scuttled away, trying to keep his face hidden.

Pandora turned to Hermes. “Was this unusual?” she asked.

“You could say that,” said Hermes. “Come on, Pandy. Back on the bus.”

Pandora winced. “Is there no other way I can travel to meet Epi?”

“Nope,” he said. “The bus is the only way.”

I made a fast decision. I took off my helmet. FOOP! I appeared before them.

Hermes jumped back, startled. “Hades!”

“Where did you come from?” asked Pandora.

“It’s the helmet,” I told her. I gave a little demonstration. “I put it on, and I disappear.” POOF! “I take it off, here I am.” FOOP! “Listen, I have a chariot parked right over there. Would you like me to give you a ride to Epi’s house, Pandora?”

Pandora turned to Hermes. “Would you mind terribly?”

“No!” said Hermes quickly. “I mean, whatever you want to do.”

She turned back to me. “Can you take me, Hades?”

“Be glad to,” I told her. And I walked with her over to the chariot.

“Are you a guard dog?” Pandora asked Cerbie, patting each of his heads in turn. It was evidently the right thing to say. Cerberus triple licked her hand and voluntarily jumped into the backseat.

“Oh, has the dog left a stain on your upholstery?” said Pandora, rubbing a spot on the seat with her bright green thumb. “Do you want to me try to get this out? Do you have any club soda?”

“Don’t worry, it’s a rental,” I said. “Climb in!”

She sat down in the front seat, holding the box on her lap.

“Let’s go, steeds,” I said. Midas had forgotten to tell me their names.

The steeds started down the hill at a nice clip, not too fast, not too slow.

“What is earth like, Hades?” Pandora asked.

“It’s pretty much like this,” I said, gesturing toward the countryside.

“Who lives here?” asked Pandora.

“Animals,” I told her. “And guys.”

“What are guys, Hades?” asked Pandora. “Will I enjoy meeting them?”

“Well, that depends,” I answered. “Do you like talking about fast chariots and contact sports?”

“Do I?” Pandora shrugged. “Who knows.”

I steered my steeds onto a path that wound through the woods. “Now, let me ask you a question, Pandora. Are you curious about what’s inside that box?”

“How could I not be?” Pandora asked.

“Are you tempted to open it and find out?” I asked her.

“Do you think I want to break a fingernail, Hades?” asked Pandora. She waggled her shapely fingertips at me playfully.

I smiled. Athena’s gift of good judgment seemed to be overpowering Zeus’s gift of curiosity.

“Keep a lid on it, Pandora,” I said. “That’s my advice. Because whatever Zeus has stuffed into that box is bound to be bad news.”

“Do you like the gift Aphrodite gave me, Hades?” she asked.

I glanced at her strange, hot-pink hairdo. “Um, well, it’s interesting.”

She put a hand up and felt her oddly-styled locks. “Is it a good gift, Hades?” she asked.

I didn’t want to lie to her. But I didn’t want her to feel bad about her looks, either. So I said, “It is the latest thing in hairstyles, Pandora.”

That seemed to satisfy her.

“May I ask you a question, Hades?” said Pandora.

She’d already asked me more than a dozen. Why not one more?

“Sure,” I said.

“Do you know where I can buy some lovely stationery?” she asked.

“Stationery?” I said. “I don’t think it’s been invented yet. Why? What do you need stationery for?”

“Don’t you think I should write thank-you notes for all of the nice gifts I have received?” Pandora asked.

“Not necessary,” I said. “None of the gods are expecting you to do that.”

We came out of the woods. Beside the road was a little stand. A crude, hand-lettered sign over it said:

ZORBA THE GREAT
THE WORLD’S BEST GUESSER!
IF I GUESS RIGHT, YOU WIN A PRIZE!

Zorba stood behind the stand. His shaggy hair hung down, hiding his face entirely.

“What is that, Hades?” said Pandora.

“Beats me,” I said, slowing the steeds.

“Can we stop, Hades?” asked Pandora. “Can we meet the world’s best guesser?”

“Why not?” I said. I was starting to sound like Pandora.

Pandora got out of the chariot, still holding her box. I hopped out, too. So did Cerbie. He immediately started growling. The closer he got to Zorba, the louder he growled.

“Greetings, travelers!” said Zorba. “Oh, what a cute little doggie.”

Cerberus let out a triple snarl.

“Cerbie, hush!” I said.

Over Zorba’s stand hung an assortment of garishly colored plush animals, cheesy dolls, and cheap beaded jewelry. Among all the glitz was one gold necklace set with a large green stone. Every precious jewel on earth comes from the caves in my kingdom, so I know a thing or two about gems. This was one fine emerald.

“Why are you here?” Pandora asked Zorba.

“Roadside entertainment!” said Zorba. “What can I guess for you today?”

“Can you guess where we are going?” asked Pandora.

Zorba put a hand to his shaggy forehead. “You are going to meet someone,” he said. “Yes! Yes! You are going to Epi’s house. Did I guess right?”

Pandora nodded. “Do I win a prize?” she asked.

“You win this,” said Zorba, pointing to a plush pig. “Or you can let me guess again and try to win a bigger prize. Do you want to do that?”

Pandora nodded. “Can you guess my name?” she asked.

Once more Zorba put his hand to his head. “It begins with a B . . .” he said. “No, wait. Make that a P. Yes! P for . . . Pandora! Did I guess right?”

Pandora nodded again. “What prize do I win now?”

“You can win this pair of fuzzy dice!” said Zorba. “Or, I can guess once more, and maybe you’ll win an even better prize.”

Pandora eyed the necklace. Athena’s gift of good judgment was evidently telling her that it was the real thing.

“Can I go for the necklace?” she said.

“No problem!” said Zorba.

I had to admit it, he was a very good guesser. Cerbie wasn’t impressed, however. He had turned down the volume. But he hadn’t entirely stopped growling at Zorba.

“I see you are holding a box,” Zorba said to Pandora. “May I guess what’s inside?”

“Why not?” said Pandora.

This time Zorba put both hands on his head. He swayed and mumbled, as if thinking very hard. “Aha!” he said at last. “I’ve got it! There’s cake in the box. A delicious lemon cake. Did I guess right?”

“How would I know?” Pandora asked.

“You mean you don’t know if there’s a cake in there or not?” asked Zorba.

Pandora shook her head. “Do I win that necklace?”

“I think so!” said Zorba. “I always guess right! But open the box a teeny bit, will you? Show me the cake to prove that I’m right.”

Pandora looked down at the box. She looked back at the world’s best guesser. “Zorba?” she asked. “Have you heard the one about the chicken?”

I must have loosened my grip on Cerbie’s collar, for suddenly the dog bounded away from me. He ran at Zorba.

“Aaaaah!” the world’s best guesser cried as Cerbie lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.

“Cerbie!” I cried. “Stop! Sit! Stay!”

But the dog ignored me. He grabbed Zorba’s hair between one of his sets of teeth and ripped it from his head.

I gasped.

There on the ground sat my cheating little brother, Zeus!