Today is Princess Magnolia's birthday party, and she wants everything to be perfect. But just as her guests are arriving ... Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! Princess Magnolia runs to the broom closet, ditches her frilly clothes, and becomes the Princess in Black! She rushes to the goat pasture, defeats the monster, and returns to the castle before her guests discover her secret. But every time Princess Magnolia is about to open her presents, the...

A humorous story about imaginative excuses for being late to school.

A little boy denies spilling the milk.

Tom Gates is the master of excuses for late homework: dog attacks, spilt water, lightening. Tom's exercise book is full of his doodles, cartoons and thoughts, as well as comments from his long-suffering teacher, Mr Fullerton. After gaining five merits for his 'Camping Sucks' holiday story, Tom's work starts to go downhill, which is a pity, as he's desperate to impress Amy Porter, who sits next to him.

Henry spins an imaginative tale to explain why he was late finding his class at the museum where they are on a field trip.

Focuses on where excuses come from, why people make excuses, and how to stop making excuses. Told in the first person.

A humorous story about the absurd excuses for not doing homework.

"When Farmer Simpson tries to put his sheep to bed, they think of every excuse to stay awake. Finally, he thinks of a warm and cozy solution that will help lull the sheep right to sleep"--