Sofia the First: The Princess Who Cried Wolf

To Pretend Or Not to Pretend

The next morning, Amber woke up, pretending to feel bad. She started to fake a few coughs and sneezes.

"Are you okay, Miss Amber?" asked Suzette.

"Just a little sick," Amber fake-sniffled.

"Oh you don't sound too good," said Marcy.

After breakfast, Amber was happy to get as much attention as Sofia was getting. Sofia dropped into her big sister's bedroom to see her. "How do you feel, Amber?" she asked.

"Not too good, Sofia," Amber fake-coughed.

"Oh, that's too bad," said Sofia.

"Shouldn't you go back to bed, Sofia?" Amber asked with a fake sniffle. "You have to rest your ankle if you want to recover."

"Yeah, and I just might get better by the time the hootenanny is postponed," said Sofia.

"Feel better, Amber."

As soon as Sofia left, Amber happily jumped out of bed. "Being sick is the best thing in the whole world," she said to herself happily. "I get to have all the attention I want—and I'm even getting more attention than Sofia did yesterday."

When it was close to noon, Suzette and Marcy were with Amber, reading a few books. Amber was enjoying all the attention she was getting. After Suzette and Marcy each read two books, Marcy said, "Alright, Miss Amber. Now you'd best get some sleep if you want to feel better."

"Alright," Amber fake-sniffled.

When Suzette and Marcy left, Amber jumped out of bed and started dancing around happily. "What could be better than getting so much attention when you're sick—or pretending to be sick?" she asked herself happily.

Later that day, Hugo dropped in to see Sofia. Just as he and Violet were passing Amber's bedroom, he saw Amber in her usual gown and dancing in her room. He wondered what Amber was so happy about. Then he caught up with Violet and entered Sofia's bedroom.

"Princess Sofia, your friend Prince Hugo is here to see you," said Violet.

"Thanks, Violet," said Sofia. "What's new, Hugo?" she asked her friend.

"Not very much, Sofia," said Hugo. "I have a flying horseshoe lesson with my brother later today. How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine as long as I stay off my feet," said Sofia. "Dad says it takes a long time for sprained ankles to heal."

"I know what you mean," Hugo remarked. "When I sprained my ankle in that flying derby accident, my injury was so severe that it lasted for less than two months."

"Yikes," said Sofia. "I'm glad my injury isn't severe. It's getting pretty busy around the castle—and it's not just because I can't walk on my feet."

"Why else is the castle busy?" Hugo asked.

"Because Amber is in bed with a cold," said Sofia.

 But Hugo was very surprised at this statement. "Amber is sick?" he asked. "But I was just walking by her room, and she was dancing all over the place."

Sofia was shocked to hear this. "She was?" she asked. "But she said this morning that she was sick."

"Well, she looked perfectly fine when I walked by her room on my way here, Sofia," Hugo said.

Sofia was starting to feel suspicious. "If Amber was fine when you saw her, then I'm starting to get the feeling that she could be faking," she stated. "Let's go and see if she's really sick."

Hugo got Sofia's crutches and carefully helped her get out of bed.

Sofia and Hugo discretely went over to Amber's bedroom. Sofia quietly peeked into the door and saw Amber dancing around happily. "You're right," she whispered to Hugo. "She looks perfectly fine." Then the two royals went back into Sofia's own bedroom.

"I can't believe Amber would do such a dishonest thing like that," Sofia said. She was really angry with Amber for being dishonest.

"If she were a good sister, she'd be helping you feel better instead of pretending to be sick," said Hugo. "My brother always helps me feel better whenever I get hurt." Sofia wished Amber was that way.