"Good morning, Catrina! We have had a flood! Did you sleep well?"

"What are you doing rowing about? You might fall out of your boat," she called down to him.

"I'm a good rower," Whiskers called back calmly. "I felt it was my duty to save everyone!"

"Did you?" asked Catrina, suddenly remembering all the people of Nice Town, some of whom didn't appear to have houses anymore.

"Every one of them, I am happy to say!" called Whiskers, who reached the side of the castle and stepped out of his rowboat, which he tied to the doorknob. "They are all inside the castle, drying off in front of the fireplace in the third floor banquet hall!"

"Good for you, Whiskers! Well done!" said Catrina admiringly. Her brother was so quiet and sometimes nervous that she forgot how truly brave he could be at times. Only recently, he had faced the wicked Lord Mandible for her sake.

"They will all be cold and need towels," thought Catrina now, and she hurried to her cupboards and pulled out all her blankets and towels and washcloths. Then she pulled out all her dry cloaks and dresses, except for her Princess clothing, which was for special occasions only.

When she reached the third floor banquet hall, everyone was delighted to see that she was safe and sound.  They were even more delighted to see the dry towels and clothes.   Catrina passed out the blankets and towels and washcloths and cloaks and dresses.

The knights were in the banquet hall too, and they were worried.  "Princess Catrina," said the head knight, "what will we do?  Many of our houses have floated away!"

Another knight said, "We're afraid the castle will float away as well.  We should go somewhere safe."

"But where and how?" said a third knight, and all the knights started to argue.

While they argued, Catrina thought.  The second knight had given her an idea.   Finally she interrupted the argument, which was a good thing because one of the knights was so upset he was almost in tears.  "What if we made a big raft and put the castle on the raft?" she asked.  "We could all get in boats and bring the castle along with us."

"Along with us where?" asked the head knight.

"I don't know yet," Catrina said.  "We will have to find somewhere to build Nice Town again--somewhere with lots of sunshine and flowers, and a big grassy space for picnics, and friendly neighbors, and just enough rain but never too much."

The knights looked worried again.  The nervous knight, who was still dabbing at his eyes a little, said, "I'm not sure I want another adventure after the terrible one we had last time."  This was not really very fair since he was the knight who had lost his sword and had hidden when all the other knights went with Prince Whiskers to rescue Catrina.

"Nonsense!" Catrina said briskly.  "We all love adventures.   Don't we, Whiskers?"  She had to nudge Whiskers in the foot just a little before he nodded.

No one spoke.

"Then it's decided.  As soon as everyone's dry, we'll all get in boats and gather all the wood we can find floating around, to make a raft.  I will help!" Catrina said, and everyone cheered.

Next: The Great Raft