Earthling Ambassador Read Online Free PDF Page B

sort of birthday would it be if she woke up to see tin cans and tea bags and rotten vegetables raining down from the sky? She didn’t especially like it when rain fell on her birthday, let alone other people’s garbage.
    At that moment the helicopter swerved sharply and Nicola saw they were flying along the coast. She could see curving beaches and dramatic sandstone cliffs.Tiny yachts with billowing sails skimmed across the satin-smooth water. It was all so beautiful. How could someone decide to destroy it?
    She turned back to Georgio. Her fingernails dug into her palms. “Can’t someone stop her?”
    â€œWe’ve been doing our best,” said Georgio. “You see, I’m president of the Save the Little Earthlings Committee. My wife and I formed the Committee when we first heard the news about the princess’s plan on television.We’ve been working night and day trying to create interest in the cause.We’ve raised money with raffles and parties and dances.We’ve spoken at playgroups and schools and universities.We even hired a skywriter to write ‘Save the Little Earthlings’ across the sky. Oh, it’s been a whirlwind of activity, hasn’t it, Plum?!”
    â€œAbsolutely.” Keeping one hand on the helicopter controls, Plum turned around. She tapped a round badge on her collar with her fingertip. It said EARTHLINGS rock!
    â€œUmm, thank you,” said Nicola, ashamed that all these nice people were working so hard to try to save Earth, while Earth didn’t even know Globagaskar existed.
    â€œWell, that’s our pleasure, Nicola, but I’m afraid it’s quite hard work getting people interested in a cause that doesn’t directly affect their day-to-day lives,” said Georgio. “However, I’m proud to say that last week we presented a petition to the princess with over three thousand signatures.”
    â€œAnd what did the princess say?”
    â€œShe folded the petition into a paper airplane, tossed it out the palace window, and demanded someone bring her a banana milkshake.”
    Nicola despised this girl with her whole heart. “So, that’s when the Committee came up with the idea of selecting an Earthling Ambassador to visit the princess. At first, the obvious choice was someone in a position of authority, like a prime minister or a king or queen. However, my wife cleverly suggested that an Earthling the same age as the princess might be more persuasive. Of course, that Earthling couldn’t be just anyone. It needed to be someone with very special qualities. So, the Committee came up with a list of questions that would help us identify exactly the right person.”
    It was as if a giant hand was squeezing Nicola’s stomach. “But I don’t think I am the right person at all! I think you should pick someone else! And those questions were so . . . unusual.” She had been about to say wacky, but she didn’t want to offend Georgio.
    â€œWe’ve made an appointment for you with Princess Petronella at the Rainbow Palace tomorrow morning at ten.”
    She had an appointment at a palace with a princess. Nicola felt a moment of giddy excitement, before remembering the particular princess she was meeting.
    â€œSo that’s your mission in a nutshell: to convince the princess not to destroy your planet.Think you can handle it?”
    â€œNo!” said Nicola. “I don’t think I can handle it at all.”
    Oh, why hadn’t she just sat down when Georgio asked the first question? Someone bossy and confident like Greta Gretch would have been a much better choice!
    â€œGood!” said Georgio. “I like that self-doubt; it will make you work even harder. I dislike nothing more than overly confident people! I expect you’re feeling extremely nervous right now. Heart racing, stomach churning, hands trembling, head pounding—that sort of thing?”
    â€œUh, yes.”