Tigers at Twilight

by Mary Pope Osborne

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  the Magic Tree House series:

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  Dear Readers,

  Years ago, I spent several months in India and found it to be a spectacularly colorful and interesting country. So it was a great joy for me to go back there in my imagination as I worked on Tigers at Twilight.

  I also did research closer to home. To learn more about tigers, I visited the world-famous Bronx Zoo, in New York City. There I saw some magnificent tigers, and I learned that tigers are in danger of disappearing from the earth because so many are being killed by poachers. Many great zoos around the country help educate people about the need to protect wild animals.

  As I wrote this book, the plight of the tiger greatly touched my heart. I hope it will touch yours, too. I also hope that people around the world will work together quickly to save these fierce and beautiful animals.

  All my best,

  Text copyright © 1999 by Mary Pope Osborne.

  Illustrations copyright © 1999 by Sal Murdocca.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  www.randomhouse.com/magictreehouse

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  Tigers at twilight / by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (Magic tree house; #19) “A Stepping Stone book.”

  SUMMARY: Having used their magic tree house to travel to India, where they must get a gift to help free the dog Teddy from a spell, Jack and Annie have adventures involving a tiger and other endangered jungle animals.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89476-3

  [1. India—Fiction. 2. Dogs—Fiction. 3. Tigers—Fiction.

  4. Jungle animals—Fiction. 5. Endangered animals—Fiction.

  6. Space and time—Fiction. 7. Magic—Fiction. 8. Tree houses—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series; #19. PZ7.O81167Ti 1999 [Fic]—dc21 99-23493

  Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.0

  Cover

  Dear Readers

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. How Far Away?

  2. Kah and Ko

  3. Life or Death

  4. Swing Time

  5. Night Walk

  6. Swamp Creature

  7. Trapped!

  8. Wonder Dog

  9. The Hermit

  10. Who Are You, Really?

  More Facts

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #20: Dingoes at Dinnertime

  For Joy La Brack,

  with gratitude for all her help

  * * *

  Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

  In the forests of the night;

  What immortal hand or eye

  Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

  In what distant deeps or skies

  Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

  On what wings dare he aspire?

  What the hand dare seize the fire?

  —From The Tyger by William Blake, 1794

  * * *

  One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods.

  Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, climbed into the tree house. They found that it was filled with books.

  Jack and Annie soon discovered that the tree house was magic. It could take them to the places in the books. All they had to do was point to a picture and wish to go there.

  Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian from the time of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.

  In Magic Tree House Books #5–8, Jack and Annie helped free Morgan from a spell. In Books #9–12, they solved four ancient riddles and became Master Librarians.

  In Magic Tree House Books #13–16, Jack and Annie had to save four ancient stories from being lost forever.

  In Magic Tree House Books #17–20, Jack and Annie must be given four special gifts to help free an enchanted dog from a spell. They have already received a gift on a trip to the Titanic and a gift from the Lakota Indians. Now they are about to set out in search of the third gift …

  Jack and Annie walked past the Frog Creek woods on their way home from the library.

  “I miss Teddy,” said Annie.

  “Me, too,” said Jack.

  “He’s a really smart dog,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” s
aid Jack, “and brave.”

  “And wise,” said Annie.

  “And funny,” said Jack.

  “And here!” said Annie.

  “What?” said Jack.

  “Here!” Annie pointed at the Frog Creek woods.

  A small dog with tan-colored fur was peeking out from the bushes.

  Arf! Arf! he barked.

  “Oh, wow! Teddy!” said Jack.

  The little dog ran off into the woods.

  “Let’s go!” said Annie.

  She and Jack raced after Teddy. The Frog Creek woods glowed with late afternoon sunlight.

  The dog ran between the trees and finally stopped at a rope ladder. It hung from the tallest oak tree and led up to the magic tree house.

  Teddy waited for Jack and Annie to catch up. He panted and wagged his tail.

  “Hi, you!” cried Annie. She picked up the little dog and hugged him. “We missed you!”

  “Yeah, silly!” said Jack. He kissed Teddy. Teddy licked his face.

  “Is it time to get our third gift?” asked Annie.

  Teddy sneezed, as if to say, Of course!

  Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack put Teddy inside his backpack and followed.

  They climbed into the tree house. There was the note from Morgan le Fay. It was on the floor, just where it had been two days ago.

  Jack let Teddy out of his pack.

  Annie picked up the note and read:

  This little dog is under a spell and needs your help. To free him, you must be given four special things:

  A gift from a ship lost at sea,

  A gift from the prairie blue,

  A gift from a forest far away,

  A gift from a kangaroo.

  Be wise. Be brave. Be careful.

  Morgan

  Jack touched the first two gifts, which they had already gotten: a pocket watch from the Titanic and an eagle’s feather from the Lakota Indians of the Great Plains.

  “Now we have to get the gift from a forest far away,” said Annie.

  “I wonder how far away?” said Jack.

  “I know how to find out,” said Annie. “Where’s our book?”

  She and Jack looked around the tree house for one of the research books that Morgan always left them.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy pawed a book in the corner.

  Jack picked it up and read the title: Wildlife of India.

  “Oh, man. India,” he said. “That’s very far away.”

  “Let’s get going,” said Annie, “so we can free Teddy.”

  Jack pointed at the cover of the book.

  “I wish we could go there,” he said.

  The wind started to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  But only for a moment …

  The warm air burst with sound.

  Kah-ko!

  Eee-eee!

  Akkk-awkk!

  “What’s going on?” said Jack.

  He and Annie looked out the window.

  The sky was lit by an orange glow as the sun went down.

  The tree house was in a tree by a stream at the edge of a forest.

  The wild screeching and cawing came from the forest’s tall, leafy trees.

  Just then, two creatures leaped onto the windowsill.

  “Aaah!” Jack and Annie yelled, jumping back.

  Annie burst out laughing.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked.

  Two small monkeys peered at them. Their dark faces were framed with light gray fur. They looked as if they were wearing tiny parkas.

  “Hi,” said Annie. “I’m Annie. He’s Jack. And he’s Teddy. What are your names?”

  Kah-ko, kah-ko, the monkeys chattered.

  “Cool,” said Annie. She turned to Jack. “Her name is Kah. His name is Ko.”

  “Oh, brother,” said Jack.

  “I bet he is her brother,” said Annie.

  Kah and Ko whooped as if laughing at Annie’s joke. Their yellow eyes twinkled.

  “We came to get a gift from the forest,” said Annie. “Do you know where we can find it?”

  The monkeys nodded and chattered. Then they started down the tree.

  Using their long tails and arms, they swung from branch to branch. They jumped to the ground and looked up.

  “Coming! Bring Teddy, Jack,” Annie said. Then she started down the ladder.

  Jack quickly flipped through Wildlife of India. He found a picture of the gray monkeys. He read:

  This monkey is called a langur (say lun-GOOR). The word langur means “having a long tail.”

  Jack pulled his notebook and pencil out of his backpack. He wrote:

  Annie’s laughter came from below. It blended with the sounds of the forest.

  Arf! Arf! barked Teddy.

  “Okay, okay,” said Jack.

  He put the book, his notebook, and Teddy into his pack. Then he hurried down the ladder.

  Annie was playing with the langurs on the stream bank.

  Jack put Teddy on the ground.

  Kah bounded over to Jack and grabbed his hand. The langur’s paw felt like a tiny human hand.

  Kah pulled Jack toward the forest. Ko pulled Annie, and Teddy scampered after them.

  The langurs climbed the huge, leafy trees. Then they began swinging from branch to branch, like kids on a jungle gym.

  Annie dashed beneath the swinging monkeys. Teddy ran after her.

  “Wait, wait!” Jack called, hurrying after them all. “Annie, slow down! We don’t know anything about this place.”

  The langurs slowed down, as if they understood Jack’s words. Jack caught up with Annie. They walked on through the forest.

  “This is so amazing,” said Annie.

  Jack agreed.

  The sunset gave the trees a fiery glow.

  The hot air smelled sweet.

  Blue peacocks spread their tails.

  Yellow birds flew from tree to tree.

  Small deer ate red flowers in a clearing.

  “It’s like paradise,” said Annie.

  “Yeah, but don’t forget the title of our book: Wildlife of India,” said Jack. “ ‘Wildlife’ means scary animals, too.”

  Jack noticed long, deep gashes in a tree as they walked by. He stopped.

  “What happened there?” he said.

  Annie shrugged and kept walking.

  Jack pulled the book out of his pack. There was a picture of a tree with gashes.

  He read aloud:

  Tigers sharpen their claws on tree trunks. They leave big gashes in the bark.

  “What?” said Annie. She stopped and looked back at the tree.

  “See what I mean?” said Jack. “Tigers live here. And one of them just came this way.”

  “Tigers?” said Annie. “Cool.”

  Jack read more:

  A wild tiger eats almost 5,000 pounds of fresh raw meat a year.

  “Oh, not so cool,” said Annie. Jack went on:

  Tigers usually leave elephants alone. And like many smaller cats, tigers often avoid wild dogs.

  Teddy growled.

  “Wild dogs, not a shrimp like you,” Jack said to Teddy. “A tiger would eat you in a minute.”

  Teddy growled again.

  Just then, Kah and Ko began hooting. Koo-koo-koo!

  The peacocks cried Kok! Kok!

  The small deer made short barking sounds and stamped their hooves.

  “What’s going on?” said Annie.

  “We better put Teddy in my pack,” said Jack, “to keep him safe.”

  Jack slipped the dog into his pack. Teddy’s head poked out the top.

  “All set?” Jack asked the little dog.

  Teddy growled again.

  This time, a deep, fierce growl answered back. It seemed to surround them.

  Jack’s hair stood on end.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

 
“A tiger!” said Jack.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked.

  Kah and Ko screeched at Jack and Annie from their tree.

  “They want us to join them!” said Annie. “Come on!” She grabbed a branch and climbed up.

  Jack’s hands were shaking as he put his backpack on. He grabbed a branch and pushed off the ground. He pulled himself into the tree.

  Another growl shook the forest.

  “Oh, man,” said Jack.

  Koo-koo-koo! The langurs climbed higher up the tree.

  Jack and Annie followed them, climbing from branch to branch.

  The sky above was no longer glowing. The bright orange had faded to a twilight gray.

  Jack looked down. He couldn’t see the ground at all.

  He listened for another scary roar.

  Only the cries of frightened forest creatures filled the air.

  “Maybe the tiger’s gone,” said Annie.

  Jack glanced at Kah and Ko. The langurs cuddled together. Their dark faces looked worried.

  “And maybe not,” said Jack.

  “How can we get through the forest without running into him?” said Annie.

  “That’s a problem,” said Jack. “And it’s getting dark. Soon we won’t be able to see anything.”

  Kah and Ko hooted again. They pointed down the tree trunk.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked from Jack’s pack.

  “Do they see the tiger?” Jack asked, his heart thumping again. He couldn’t see anything but leaves and branches.

  Then, far below, he saw the tree trunk move!

  “A snake!” said Annie.

  The snake was slithering around the trunk. It had black-and-tan markings. The snake’s body was as thick as the tree trunk!

  “A python,” breathed Jack.

  The python kept curling up the tree trunk.