Akiko on the Planet Smoo Read Online Free PDF

lot of questions about him, but I didn’t know if it would be considered impolite. I decided just to keep an eye on him and see if I could figure anything out on my own.
    â€œNow, before we go any further, Akiko, I must tell you about the person who kidnapped my son, and where you’ll have to go to rescue him.” King Froptoppit led us all out onto a balcony overlooking the entire palace. The sun had risen a bit higher in the sky, and the view was quite spectacular. The King cleared his throat, as if he were preparing to deliver a speech.
    â€œPrince Froptoppit was kidnapped by an evil, misguided woman named Alia Rellapor,” he began, stroking his chin and drawing his eyebrows together in an expression of grave seriousness. “She was once the loveliest woman in the galaxy, but that was long ago. Now she is my sworn enemy and desires nothing more than the ruination of my kingdom. Without my son upon the throne, there will be nothing to stop her from destroying us once and for all.
    â€œWe know only that she is keeping the Prince in her remote castle hideaway in the mountains,” he continued. “What I need you to do, then, is go to this castle, find him, and bring him back. It should be a relatively simple matter once you’ve gotten inside Alia’s castle. With any luck you’ll be able to get him out of there without ever having to deal with Rellapor herself.”
    Mr. Beeba nodded in agreement, while Poog hovered silently over his shoulder. I felt a little better about going on the mission now that I knew I wouldn’t have to do it alone. I still wished King Froptoppit hadn’t put
me
in charge of it, though.
    â€œI thought you said there were
four
people who were going to help me out here,” I reminded him.
    â€œYes, of course, Akiko,” King Froptoppit said, his face brightening. “You’ll
love
the other two chaps I’ve got lined up for you. Won’t she, Mr. Beeba?”
    â€œSpuckler and Gax?” Mr. Beeba asked, as if he was not entirely sure how to answer. “They are both . . . reasonably competent, Your Majesty, yes.”
    â€œVery well then!” King Froptoppit exclaimed, slapping Mr. Beeba on the back. “Off you go!”

We said goodbye to King Froptoppit and made our way down through the palace to a kind of parking garage for spaceships. It was filled with dozens of little round ships just like the one Bip and Bop had used to bring me to Smoo. Mr. Beeba was carrying a large bag along with him, groaning and panting under its enormous weight.
    â€œDo you want me to help you with that, Mr. Beeba?” I asked.
    â€œNo, no, Akiko. I’ve got it, thank you,” he replied, dropping it to the ground and pushing it from behind. “On second thought, yes, Akiko. I probably
could
use a hand here.”
    I lifted one end of it while he took the other, and we carried it the last hundred yards or so together.

    â€œWhat’s
in
this thing, anyway?” I asked.
    â€œWhy, books, of course, Akiko,” he replied as if the question didn’t even need to be asked. “Can’t go
anywhere
without books.”
    â€œAre they books about rescuing people?” I asked.
    â€œRescuing people?” he replied with a blank expression.
    â€œYes,” I answered. “I mean, we
are
supposed to be—”
    â€œOh,
rescuing
people!” he interrupted. “Yes, of course, I see what you’re getting at. No, I’m afraid I haven’t
got
any books about rescuing people. These books are mainly just for my pleasure reading, you see. There are a number of useful
maps,
however. . . .”
    â€œBut you said a minute ago that you’d read a
lot
of books about rescuing people!”
    â€œYes, well, I can see where you might have gotten that impression, Akiko,” he replied with a certain amount of embarrassment. “The fact is, books written on the subject of rescuing