Dingoes at Dinnertime
Page 3
And the wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
“Welcome back,” came a soft, lovely voice.
Jack opened his eyes.
It was Morgan! They hadn’t seen Morgan in a long time.
“Morgan!” cried Annie.
She threw her arms around the enchantress. Jack jumped up and hugged Morgan, too.
“It’s good to see you both,” said Morgan.
Arf! Arf!
“And it’s good to see you, too,” Morgan said, smiling at the little dog.
“Look,” said Annie. She reached into Jack’s pack and pulled out the piece of painted bark. “A gift from a kangaroo.”
“We have all four gifts now,” said Jack.
“Good work,” said Morgan.
She picked up their first gift. It was the pocket watch from the Titanic.
“Once upon a time, there was a boy who wasted time,” Morgan said. “This watch teaches him that time is very precious. It must be used wisely.”
Morgan picked up their second gift, the eagle’s feather from the Lakota Indians.
“Sometimes the boy was afraid to stand up for himself,” she said. “The eagle’s feather teaches him that a small creature can be one of the bravest.”
Morgan picked up the lotus flower from the forest in India.
“Sometimes the boy did not respect nature,” she said. “This flower teaches him that nature holds many wonders.”
Morgan picked up the piece of bark with the painting of the Rainbow Serpent.
“Sometimes the boy didn’t want to study other times and places,” she said. “This painting teaches him there is mystery, magic, and wisdom in the traditions of ancient peoples.”
“What boy?” Jack asked.
“Who are you talking about?” asked Annie.
Morgan didn’t answer right away. She placed her hands on Jack’s and Annie’s shoulders.
“Thank you,” she said, “for helping this boy learn his lessons. Thank you for breaking the spell.”
“What boy?” Jack asked again.
Arf! Arf! Arrrrrrrf!
Jack and Annie looked over at Teddy.
Then something magical happened.
In a flutter of time …
in the spin of a whirlwind …
Teddy was changed.
He was no longer a dog.
He was a boy.
The boy was on the ground on his hands and knees.
“Meet my young helper from Camelot,” said Morgan.
The boy glanced up. He had a friendly freckled face and twinkly dark eyes. His hair was the same color that Teddy’s fur had been. He looked a bit older than Jack, about ten or so.
“Am I back?” he asked.
“You’re back,” said Morgan.
The boy leaped up and hugged her.
“Thank you!” he cried.
“And I hope next time you’ll ask before trying the spells in my spell book,” said Morgan.
The boy grinned sheepishly.
“I promise.” Then he looked at Jack and Annie. “I accidentally changed myself into a dog,” he said.
Annie laughed.
“But at least I got to have exciting adventures as a dog!” he said.
“You were a great dog,” said Annie. “We liked you as Teddy. What’s your real name?”
“If you like, you can keep calling me Teddy,” the boy said. “Or how about Ted?”
“Okay, Ted,” said Annie.
Jack just nodded. He was still in shock.
“Ted is training to work in my library at Camelot,” said Morgan. “He has a rare gift for magic.”
“Cool,” said Annie.
“You—you helped us a lot, Ted,” said Jack, finally finding his voice.
“Oh, no, it was both of you who helped me,” said Ted. “You helped break the spell. And I found new stories to take home.”
“You did?” said Annie.
Ted nodded.
“The story of the Titanic, the story of White Buffalo Woman, the story of the wounded tiger, and the story of the Rainbow Serpent,” he said. “I’ll write them down as soon as I get home. So people can read them in Morgan’s library.”
“And home is where we must go now, I’m afraid,” said Morgan.
“Oh,” said Annie sadly. “That’s too bad.”
“Yeah,” said Jack. He was sad, too.
“I know we will meet again someday,” said Ted.
“I hope so,” said Jack.
“Me, too,” said Annie. “Bye!”
She started down the ladder.
Jack pulled on his pack. With a heavy heart, he followed.
When they got to the ground, they looked up.
Morgan and Ted were at the window. They both seemed to glow in the late afternoon light.
“The magic tree house will return for you soon,” said Morgan. “I promise.”
She waved, and they waved back.
“Good-bye, Jack and Annie,” she said.
“Arf!” said Ted.
In a flutter of time …
in the spin of a whirlwind …
the magic tree house was gone.
For a long moment, Jack and Annie stared at the empty tree.
“Ready for dinner?” Annie asked softly.
Jack nodded.
He felt dazed as they walked silently through the Frog Creek woods.
When they came to their street, the sun was setting. A flock of black birds flew through the silvery pink sky.
Annie broke their silence as they headed for their house.
“We had great adventures with Teddy—I mean Ted—didn’t we?” she said.
“Yeah,” said Jack. “It was like … ” He searched for the right words. “Like … ”
“Like living in Dreamtime,” said Annie.
“Yeah,” said Jack. He smiled.
That was exactly what it was like.
MORE FACTS FOR YOU AND JACK
1) Australia is the world’s smallest and flattest continent. The country of Australia is the only nation in the world to occupy a whole continent. The continent is almost 3 million square miles, or the size of the United States without Alaska and Hawaii.
2) At one time, all the continents on earth were part of one huge land mass. Australia became separated from this mass about 200 million years ago. Because it is a separate continent, its animals have evolved differently from those on other continents.
3) Among the animals that live on Australia are 170 different kinds of marsupials, including koalas, wombats, kangaroos, and wallabies (which are like kangaroos, only smaller). The only marsupials that live outside Australia are opossums.
4) Kangaroos have been in Australia for 25 million years. For every person in Australia, there are ten kangaroos—and there are almost 19 million people in Australia! A kangaroo hops at about 11 mph but can put on bursts of speed of up to 30 mph.
5) Dingoes were used as hunting dogs by the Aborigines.
6) Koalas feed on gum trees, which are also known as eucalyptus (say yoo-cuh-LIP-tus) trees. People use the oil of the eucalyptus tree in medicines for colds and flu. Eucalyptus also has a strong smell that many people enjoy.
The Rainbow Serpent
In Aborigine myth, the Rainbow Serpent not only brings rain but also helped create the world.
At the beginning of time, the Rainbow Serpent awoke from sleep and pushed through the earth’s crust. As it traveled over the empty land, it left behind deep tracks.
The Rainbow Serpent called to the frogs to come out from beneath the earth. It tickled the frogs’ bellies, and when they laughed, water poured from their mouths. The water filled the Rainbow Serpent’s tracks, making rivers and lakes.
Grass grew. Then all creatures—birds, lizards, snakes, kangaroos, koalas, and dingoes—woke up and took their places on the earth.
Magic Tree House #21
Civil War on Sunday
Available now!
Excerpt copyright © 2000 by
Published by Random House Children's Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Jack looked out his window.
It was a dreary Sunday afternoon. There were dark clouds in the sky.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Jack stared down the street at the Frog Creek woods.
When is the magic tree house coming back? he wondered.
“Hey, guess what!” Annie said. She charged into Jack’s room. “I saw a light flash in the woods!”
“It was just lightning,” said Jack.
“No, it was magic! A swirl of light!” said Annie. “I think the tree house just came back!”
“I’m sure it was just lightning,” Jack said. “Didn’t you hear the thunder?”
“Yeah,” said Annie. “But let’s go check anyway.”
She started out of Jack’s room. Then she peeked back in.
“Bring your backpack, just in case!” she said.
Jack was always glad for a chance to look for the magic tree house. He grabbed his backpack and followed Annie down the stairs.
“Where are you two going?” their mom called.
“Out to play,” said Annie.
“Don’t go far,” said their mom. “And come in if it starts to rain.”
“We will,” said Jack. “Don’t worry.”
They slipped out the front door. Then they ran up the street and into the Frog Creek woods.
The woods were dark under the storm clouds. A cool wind shook the leaves.
Soon Jack and Annie came to the tallest oak tree.
“Oh, man,” said Jack. “You were right!”
The magic tree house stood out against the gray sky.
“Morgan!” called Annie.
There was no sign of the enchantress.
“Let’s go up!” said Jack.
He grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Annie followed.
They climbed into the tree house. It was hard to see in the dim light.
“Look,” said Annie.
She pointed to a piece of paper and a book lying on the floor.
Jack picked up the paper. Annie picked up the book.
“Listen,” said Jack. He held the paper close to the window and read aloud:
Dear Jack and Annie,
Camelot is in trouble. To save the kingdom, please find these four special kinds of writing for my library:
Something to follow
Something to send
Something to learn Something to lend
Thank you,
Morgan
“Camelot is in trouble?” said Jack. “What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know,” said Annie. “But we better hurry and find these writings. Let’s go look for the first: Something to follow.”
“I wonder where we should look for it,” said Jack. “What’s the title of the book you’re holding?”
Annie held the book close to the window to read the title.
“Yikes,” she said softly. She showed the book to Jack.
On the cover was a painting of a peaceful- looking field and a blue sky. The title said The Civil War.
“The Civil War?” said Jack. “Cool.”
Annie frowned.
“Cool?” she said. “War’s not cool.”
“It sort of is,” Jack said uncomfortably. He knew war was bad. But some parts of it seemed fun, like a game.
“I guess we’ll find out,” said Annie. She pointed at the cover. “I wish we could go there.”
Thunder boomed through the woods.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
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Magic Tree House® Books
#1: DINOSAURS BEFORE DARK
#2: THE KNIGHT AT DAWN
#3: MUMMIES IN THE MORNING
#4: PIRATES PAST NOON
#5: NIGHT OF THE NINJAS
#6: AFTERNOON ON THE AMAZON
#7: SUNSET OF THE SABERTOOTH
#8: MIDNIGHT ON THE MOON
#9: DOLPHINS AT DAYBREAK
#10: GHOST TOWN AT SUNDOWN
#11: LIONS AT LUNCHTIME
#12: POLAR BEARS PAST BEDTIME
#13: VACATION UNDER THE VOLCANO
#14: DAY OF THE DRAGON KING
#15: VIKING SHIPS AT SUNRISE
#16: HOUR OF THE OLYMPICS
#17: TONIGHT ON THE TITANIC
#18: BUFFALO BEFORE BREAKFAST
#19: TIGERS AT TWILIGHT
#20: DINGOES AT DINNERTIME
#21: CIVIL WAR ON SUNDAY
#22: REVOLUTIONARY WAR ON WEDNESDAY
#23: TWISTER ON TUESDAY
#24: EARTHQUAKE IN THE EARLY MORNING
#25: STAGE FRIGHT ON A SUMMER NIGHT
#26: GOOD MORNING, GORILLAS
#27: THANKSGIVING ON THURSDAY
#28: HIGH TIDE IN HAWAII
Merlin Missions
#29: CHRISTMAS IN CAMELOT
#30: HAUNTED CASTLE ON HALLOWS EVE
#31: SUMMER OF THE SEA SERPENT
#32: WINTER OF THE ICE WIZARD
#33: CARNIVAL AT CANDLELIGHT
#34: SEASON OF THE SANDSTORMS
#35: NIGHT OF THE NEW MAGICIANS
#36: BLIZZARD OF THE BLUE MOON
#37: DRAGON OF THE RED DAWN
#38: MONDAY WITH A MAD GENIUS
#39: DARK DAY IN THE DEEP SEA
#40: EVE OF THE EMPEROR PENGUIN
#41: MOONLIGHT ON THE MAGIC FLUTE
#42: A GOOD NIGHT FOR GHOSTS
#43: LEPRECHAUN IN LATE WINTER
#44: A GHOST TALE FOR CHRISTMAS TIME
Magic Tree House® Research Guides
DINOSAURS
KNIGHTS AND CASTLES
MUMMIES AND PYRAMIDS
PIRATES
RAIN FORESTS
SPACE
TITANIC
TWISTERS AND OTHER TERRIBLE STORMS
DOLPHINS AND SHARKS
ANCIENT GREECE AND THE OLYMPICS
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
SABERTOOTHS AND THE ICE AGE
PILGRIMS
ANCIENT ROME AND POMPEII
TSUNAMIS AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS
POLAR BEARS AND THE ARCTIC
SEA MONSTERS
PENGUINS AND ANTARCTICA
LEONARDO DA VINCI
GHOSTS
LEPRECHAUNS AND IRISH FOLKLORE
RAGS AND RICHES: KIDS IN THE TIME OF CHARLES DICKENS
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GAMES AND PUZZLES FROM THE TREE HOUSE