Night of the Ninjas

by Mary Pope Osborne

  “YIKES!” They both screamed and jumped out.

  It was the coldest water Jack had ever felt! It was colder than ice. It was so cold it felt like fire.

  “I can’t go back in,” said Annie, shivering.

  “Me neither,” said Jack. “I’ll have a heart attack.”

  The ninjas looked at Jack and Annie. Then they turned around and came back.

  The tall ninja grabbed Jack.

  “Help!” Jack cried.

  But the ninja lifted Jack high into the air. And put him on his shoulder.

  The short ninja put Annie on his shoulder.

  Then the two ninjas stepped into the stream again. The icy wild waters swirled around them. It went up to the short ninja’s waist.

  But the ninjas moved through the stream as calmly as two sailing ships.

  The water grew shallow again. Then they were on dry land. The ninjas lowered Jack and Annie to the ground.

  “Thanks,” said Annie.

  “Thanks,” said Jack.

  Squeak, said the mouse.

  The ninjas said nothing, but they looked around.

  Jack looked around, too. A full moon was rising in the sky. Dark rocks dotted the side of the mountain.

  Then the ninjas started moving. They went silently up the slope, between the rocks.

  Jack and Annie followed them. Jack wasn’t afraid of the ninjas now. In fact, he was starting to like them. Maybe they really could help find Morgan.

  The ninjas moved silently. But Jack and Annie made plenty of noise.

  They panted as they climbed the rocky hillside. Their wet sneakers made squishy sounds.

  Suddenly the ninjas froze. Jack could see their eyes darting around. Voices were coming from the valley below. Jack saw torches flaming in the mist.

  The ninjas started moving faster. Jack and Annie hurried after them.

  “Who’s carrying the torches?” Annie asked.

  Jack was too out of breath to speak. He also didn’t have an answer.

  They came to a pine forest. Night birds called out. Wind rattled the branches.

  The ninjas moved like ghosts through the forest. They appeared and disappeared, through moonlight and shadows.

  Jack and Annie struggled to keep up.

  Finally the ninjas came to a stop.

  One ninja held out his hand, as if to say, Wait. Then both ninjas stepped away into the shadows of the trees. And were gone.

  “Where did they go?” said Annie.

  “I don’t know,” said Jack. “Maybe the book can tell us.”

  He pulled the ninja book out of his pack.

  He turned the pages until he came to a picture of a cave.

  By the light of the full moon, he read:

  Sometimes ninjas held meetings in hidden mountain caves to plan secret missions.

  “Oh man,” said Jack, “I bet they went inside a hidden cave.”

  He pulled out his notebook and pencil. He wrote:

  Jack turned the page. He stared at a picture of a ninja sitting on a mat. He read:

  Ninjas took orders from a ninja master. The master was a mysterious wise person who knew many secrets of nature.

  “Wow,” whispered Jack.

  Just then the two ninjas returned. Jack quickly put his books away.

  The short ninja motioned for Jack and Annie to follow. In the shadows was the entrance of a dark cave.

  “What’s in there?” Annie whispered.

  “The ninja master,” Jack whispered back.

  Jack and Annie went into the cave. They followed the ninja through the darkness.

  The back of the cave was lit with dozens of candles. Shadows danced on the walls.

  In the flickering light, Jack saw a dark figure sitting on a woven mat.

  The ninja master.

  The ninja bowed to the master. Then he stepped to one side.

  The master stared at Jack and Annie.

  “Sit,” he said.

  Jack and Annie sat on the cold, hard floor.

  Squeak.

  The mouse poked its head out of Annie’s pouch.

  “It’s okay, Peanut,” said Annie.

  The master stared at the mouse for a moment. Then he looked at Jack. “Who are you?” he asked.

  “I’m Jack and that’s my sister, Annie,” Jack answered.

  “Where do you come from?” the master asked.

  “Frog Creek, Pennsylvania,” Annie answered.

  “Why are you here?” he asked.

  “We’re trying to help our friend Morgan le Fay,” said Jack. “She left us a message.”

  Annie pointed to the short ninja. “We gave the message to him.”

  “You mean, you gave the message to her,” said the ninja master. “And she has given it to me.”

  “She?” said Jack and Annie together.

  The woman ninja’s eyes sparkled. Jack thought she might be smiling.

  The master held up Morgan’s note.

  “Perhaps I can help you,” he said. “But first you must prove yourselves worthy of my help.”

  Just then the tall ninja appeared. He made a sign to the master.

  The master stood up. He handed Morgan’s note to Annie.

  “We must go now,” he said. “The samurai are close.”

  “Samurai?” said Jack. He knew that the samurai were fierce Japanese fighters.

  “Were they the ones in the valley?” Jack asked. “The ones with the torches?”

  “Yes, our family is at war with them,” said the master. “We must leave before they find us.”

  “But what about helping Morgan?” said Annie.

  The master strapped on his sword.

  “I have no time now,” he said. “I must go.”

  “Can’t we go with you?” said Annie.

  “No, there is no place for you where we are going. You must find your way back to your house in the trees.”

  “Alone?” said Jack.

  “Yes. You must go alone. And beware of the samurai.”

  “Why?” said Jack.

  “They will think you are one of us,” said the master. “They will ask you no questions. They will show you no mercy.”

  “Yikes,” whispered Annie.

  “But you have seen the way of the ninja. You can practice it yourselves now,” said the master.

  “H-how?” said Jack.

  “Remember three things,” said the master.

  “What?” said Jack.

  “Use nature. Be nature. Follow nature.”

  “I can do that!” Annie said.

  Jack looked at her. “You can?” he said.

  The master turned to Jack. “Your tree house lies to the east. That is the way you must go,” he said.

  How? wondered Jack. How do we find the east?

  Before he could ask, the master bowed. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

  The two ninjas led Jack and Annie out of the cave, into the moonlight.

  The tall one pointed at the pine forest. Then they too disappeared into the darkness.

  Jack and Annie were all alone.

  Jack and Annie stood still for a long moment.

  Annie spoke first. “Well, I guess the tall ninja was pointing to the east,” she said. “I guess that’s the way we go.”

  “Wait,” said Jack. “I need to write some stuff down.”

  He took out his notebook. In the moonlight, he wrote:

  Look, Jack,” whispered Annie. “Do I look like a ninja?”

  He looked at her. She had pulled her sweatshirt hood over her head and tied the strings tightly.

  She did look like a ninja—a very small one.

  “Good idea,” Jack whispered. He pulled his hood up, too.

  “Okay, let’s go,” said Annie.

  Jack put his notebook away. Then he and Annie headed east into the woods.

  They slipped between trees. And more trees. And more trees.

  All the trees looked the same. Jack got confused. Were they still going in
the right direction?

  “Wait,” he said.

  Annie stopped. They both stared at the woods around them.

  “Do you think we’re still going east?” asked Jack.

  “I guess so,” said Annie.

  “We can’t just guess,” said Jack. “We have to know for sure.”

  “How do we do that?” said Annie. “We don’t have a compass.”

  Just then the master’s words came back to Jack.

  “The ninja master said to use nature,” he said.

  “How do we do that?” said Annie.

  “Wait, I remember something—” Jack closed his eyes.

  He remembered something in a camping book. Now what was it?

  He opened his eyes. “I’ve got it! First we need a stick,” he said.

  Annie picked up a stick. “Here—” she said.

  “Great, now we just need a space with moonlight,” said Jack.

  “There—” said Annie.

  They moved into a moonlit space between the shadows.

  “Now push the stick into the ground,” Jack said.

  Annie pushed the stick into the ground.

  “The stick’s shadow looks like it’s more than six inches,” said Jack. “What do you think?”

  “It looks like it,” said Annie.

  “Okay. Then that means the shadow’s pointing east,” said Jack.

  “Neat,” said Annie.

  “So that way is east!” Jack pointed to a new direction. “At least I hope it is.”

  “We’re real ninjas now!” said Annie.

  “Yep,” said Jack. “Maybe we are. Come on!”

  They took off—heading east, they hoped.

  Soon they were out of the pine woods and walking down the rocky mountainside. They moved slowly from rock to rock. Finally they rested against a giant rock.

  “Let’s check our direction again,” said Jack.

  Annie stuck another stick into the dirt.

  “There,” he said. He pointed to the shadow on the ground. “That way—”

  Annie peeked over the rock, down the mountain.

  “Yikes,” she said softly.

  Jack looked, too. His heart nearly stopped.

  There were flames of fire coming up the mountain. The samurai!

  Jack and Annie ducked behind the rock.

  Squeak, said the mouse.

  “Quiet, Peanut,” said Annie.

  Jack reached into his pack. He pulled out the ninja book.

  “I hope something in here can help us,” he said.

  Jack flipped through page after page until he found what he was looking for. It was a picture of warriors wearing bamboo armor. They were holding swords. He read:

  The samurai were fierce Japanese fighters. They carried two swords to cut down their enemies.

  Annie tapped Jack on the shoulder.

  Jack looked at her.

  She pointed up the mountain.

  A figure was coming down toward them. He was very near.

  In the moonlight, his bamboo armor was shining. His two swords were gleaming.

  It was a samurai warrior!

  Jack and Annie crouched together. Samurai were on both sides of them now. They were trapped!

  Jack pressed against the rock.

  The warrior stepped closer and closer. He looked to the right. He looked to the left.

  Jack held his breath.

  “Be nature,” whispered Annie.

  “What?” Jack whispered back.

  “Be nature. Be a rock.”

  Oh brother, thought Jack. This was nuts. But he squeezed his eyes shut. Then he tried to be part of the rock.

  Jack tried to be as still as the rock. As solid as the rock. As quiet as the rock.

  Soon he started feeling as strong as the rock. As safe as the rock. He wanted to be the rock forever.

  Squeak.

  “He’s gone,” said Annie. “They’re all gone.”

  Jack opened his eyes. The samurai warrior was gone. Jack stood up and looked over the rock. The torches were gone, too.

  “Let’s go,” Annie said.

  Jack took a deep breath. He felt great—he was getting more and more like a ninja every minute. Maybe even like a ninja master.

  “East!” he said.

  And they went east. Down the mountain, between the rocks. Until they came to the wide, icy stream.

  The water seemed even wilder than before.

  “I don’t see the tree house,” said Annie.

  Jack looked across the stream to the dark grove of trees. Moonlight shone on their pale flowers. But where was the tree house?

  “I don’t see it either,” said Jack. “We have to cross the water first. Then we’ll try and find it.”

  The water was crashing and rushing over the rocks.

  Squeak. The mouse peeked out from its pouch.

  “Don’t be afraid,” said Annie. She patted the mouse’s little head. “Be like us. Be like a ninja, too.”

  “Let’s go,” Jack said.

  He took a deep breath and stepped into the stream. The icy water swirled up to his knees. The current knocked him over.

  Jack grabbed some weeds. He held on tight as water swirled around him.

  He was freezing to death!

  “Jack!” Annie grabbed Jack’s arms. She helped him back onto the bank.

  “That was close!” said Annie.

  Jack wiped his glasses. Luckily, they hadn’t fallen off in the water.

  “Are you okay?” said Annie.

  “N-not really,” said Jack, his teeth chattering. He was chilled to the bone.

  “We’ll never get across,” said Annie.

  “We’ll drown if we try.”

  “Or fr-freeze to death,” said Jack.

  He pulled off the hood of his sweatshirt. He didn’t feel much like a ninja anymore.

  Annie pulled off her hood, too. She sighed. “What can we do?” she said.

  Squeak.

  Peanut climbed out of Annie’s sweatshirt pouch and leaped onto the ground.

  The mouse scampered away.

  “Peanut, come back!” Annie called.

  “No,” said Jack. “We have to follow Peanut.”

  “Why?” asked Annie.

  “We have to do what the master said!” said Jack. “Follow nature!”

  “Oh. Right!” said Annie. “Follow Peanut! But where is Peanut?”

  In the moonlight Jack saw the little mouse. It was running through the grass along the stream.

  “There!” he cried. “Come on!”

  Annie hurried after Jack. Jack hurried after Peanut. They ran beside the rushing waters.

  A moonlit branch had fallen across a narrow part of the stream. It touched both shores.

  The mouse was running over the branch.

  “Peanut’s going over a bridge!” said Annie. She started to follow.

  “Wait!” cried Jack. “We can’t go on that branch. It’s too small! It’ll break!”

  The mouse vanished into the tall grass on the other side of the stream.

  Jack and Annie stared at the tree branch.

  “We have to try to cross it,” said Annie. “We’re supposed to follow nature.”

  “Forget it,” said Jack. “It’s too little. It’ll crack in a second.”

  “Maybe if we pretend we’re mice, we can do it,” said Annie.

  “Oh brother,” said Jack. “Not again.”

  “If you could be a rock, you can be a mouse,” said Annie. “Just be teeny and light and fast.”

  Jack took a deep breath.

  “We have to,” said Annie.

  “Okay,” Jack said.

  “Say ‘squeak,’ ” said Annie.

  “You’re nuts!” said Jack.

  “Just do it,” said Annie. “It’ll help you feel more like a mouse.”

  Jack groaned. “Okay,” he said. “Squeak.”

  “Squeak,” said Annie.

  “Squeak, squeak, squeak,” they said tog
ether.

  “Let’s go! Hurry!” said Annie.

  Jack stepped onto the branch.

  I’m teeny. I’m light. I’m fast, he thought. Then he darted across the branch.

  Jack moved so quickly, he didn’t think about anything—except getting to the other side.

  He forgot the wild, freezing water. He forgot the smallness of the branch.

  Suddenly Jack was on the other side. Suddenly Annie was right beside him.

  They laughed and fell together into the grass.

  “See! See! The branch didn’t break!” said Annie.

  “I guess it was big enough,” said Jack. “I guess we just had to think the right way.”

  “The Peanut way,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack, smiling. He felt great.

  He was still wet from his fall into the stream. But he didn’t mind anymore.

  Jack pushed his glasses into place and stood up. “Okay, now we just have to find the tree house,” he said.

  “No, we don’t,” said Annie. She pointed up.

  The tree house was outlined against the moonlit sky. High in a tree. Surrounded by white flowers.

  In the distance came the sound of voices. Then Jack saw flames.

  “The samurai are coming back,” said Jack. “We have to go.”

  “Where’s Peanut?” said Annie. “We can’t leave Peanut.”

  “We have to,” said Jack.

  The voices of the samurai were getting closer. So were their torches.

  “Come on,” Jack said. He grabbed Annie’s hand. He pulled her toward the rope ladder.

  “Oh Jack—” she said sadly.

  “Go! Go!”

  Annie started up the rope ladder.

  Jack followed. He felt sad, too. He liked that little mouse now. He liked it a lot.

  They climbed up and up.

  Just before they got to the top, Jack heard it.

  Squeak.

  “Oh wow!” cried Annie. “Peanut’s inside!”

  Annie pulled herself into the tree house. Jack followed.

  He gasped.

  Someone else was in the tree house, too.

  A dark figure was sitting in the corner.

  “You have done well,” the figure said.

  It was the ninja master.

  “You have followed the way of the ninja,” he said.

  “Oh man,” breathed Jack.