Jack pushed his glasses into place. “You know, I think maybe I’ll stay home this year,” he said, “and help Mom and Dad give out the treats.”
“Yeah, maybe I will, too,” said Annie. “But I think I’ll wear my vampire-princess costume anyway.”
Jack smiled. “Cool,” he said.
Then he and Annie slipped inside their warm, cozy house—and closed the door against the dark of All Hallows Eve.
Fairy tales and mythology often inspire ideas for my work. While I was writing Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve, details of old stories from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, and Persia found their way into my story. For example, in a book of Celtic tales from Ireland and Wales, I read many stories about people being transformed into animals. I also read about an army of ravens called the “raven troops.” In a collection of stories from The Arabian Nights, I came across a magnificent bird called the Roc. All these legends stirred my imagination—and the next thing I knew, I was writing a story in which my characters transformed into ravens and saved the life of an amazing bird named Rok.
When researching the ancient world of the British Isles, I learned that it was common for people to have awe and respect for sacred stones. I learned, in particular, about a famous stone in Scotland known as the “Stone of Destiny,” which is surrounded by myth and legend. The stone was once used in sacred ceremonies for enthroning kings. This information inspired me to create Merlin’s “Diamond of Destiny.” And where did I get my idea for Teddy’s magic hazel wand? For many years, I have loved a certain poem by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. In the first stanza of “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” Yeats writes:
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.
Old tales and poetry from around the world are a constant source of inspiration for story-tellers. Creating something new from something old allows us to link hands with people of the past. Or, as Morgan le Fay once said to Jack and Annie (in Magic Tree House #16, Hour of the Olympics), “The old stories are always with us. We are never alone.”
Mary Pope Osborne is the award-winning author of many novels, picture books, story collections, and nonfiction books, including Adaline Falling Star, Kate and the Beanstalk, New York’s Bravest, Favorite Medieval Tales, Favorite Greek Myths, and One World, Many Religions. Her bestselling Magic Tree House series has been translated into many languages around the world. Highly recommended by parents and educators everywhere, the series introduces young readers to different cultures and times in history, as well as to the world’s legacy of ancient myth and storytelling. Mary Pope Osborne is married to Will Osborne, a co-author of many of the Magic Tree House Research Guides. They live in northwestern Connecticut.
Here’s a special preview of
Magic Tree House #31
(A Merlin Mission)
Summer of the Sea Serpent
Available now!
Excerpt copyright © 2004 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Jack was sitting on the porch reading the newspaper. It was a warm summer day, but the porch was shady and cool.
Annie poked her head out of the screen door. “Hey, Mom says she’ll drive us to the lake this afternoon,” she said.
Jack didn’t raise his eyes from the weather page. “Did you know today is the summer solstice?” he said.
“What’s that?” asked Annie.
“It’s the official first day of summer,” said Jack. “There’s more daylight today than on any other day of the year.”
“Cool,” said Annie.
“Starting tomorrow, the days will get shorter and shorter,” said Jack.
A loud screech came from overhead.
“Look,” said Annie, “a seagull!”
Jack looked up. A large white gull was circling in the bright noon sky. “What’s he doing here?” asked Jack. “The ocean’s two hours away.”
The gull swooped down and screeched again.
“Maybe he’s a messenger from Morgan or Merlin,” said Annie. “Maybe one of them sent him to tell us the tree house is finally back.”
Jack’s heart began to pound. He put down the newspaper. “You think so?” he asked.
Jack and Annie hadn’t seen the magic tree house since their Merlin Mission to a haunted castle last Halloween. Jack had begun to worry that the tree house might never come back.
“Look, he’s flying toward the woods,” said Annie.
Jack jumped up. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“We’ll be back soon, Mom!” Annie called. Then she and Jack dashed across their yard. They ran down their street and into the Frog Creek woods.
The shady woods were dappled with sunlight. The air smelled fresh and clean. Jack and Annie hurried past the leafy trees, until they came to the tallest oak. High in the oak branches, the magic tree house was waiting for them.
“Wow,” Jack and Annie said together. The tree house looked exactly the same as when they’d last seen it.
Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. When they climbed inside the tree house, no one was there.
“Look, our Royal Invitation is still here,” said Annie. She picked up the card that had taken them to Camelot on Christmas Eve.
“And our leaf from Merlin is still here,” said Jack. He picked up the yellow autumn leaf that had sent them on their Halloween mission.
“This is new,” said Annie. She picked up a pale blue seashell. The shell was shaped like a small fan. There was writing on it.
“Hey, this looks like Merlin’s handwriting!” said Annie. “We must be going on another mission for Merlin!” She read aloud the message from the magician:
Annie looked up. “What rhyme?” she said.
“Let me see.” Jack took the shell from her and turned it over. On the other side was a poem. Jack read the poem aloud:
Before night falls on this long summer day,
A shining sword must find its way
Into your hands and out of the gloom—
Or Camelot’s king shall meet his doom.
To begin your quest for this Sword of Light,
Call for the help of the Water Knight.
Then pass through the Cave of the Spider Queen—
“Spider Queen?” Annie interrupted. She frowned. Spiders were about the only thing she was afraid of.
“Don’t think about it now,” said Jack. “Let’s keep going.” He read on:
… pass through the Cave of the Spider Queen
And swim with a selkie clothed in green.
Enter the Cove of the Stormy Coast,
Dive ’neath the Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost—
Jack stopped reading. “Old Gray Ghost?” he said.
“Don’t think about it now,” said Annie. “Keep going.”
Jack read more:
Answer a question with love, not fear.
With rhyme and sword, your home is near.
Both Jack and Annie were silent for a moment. “That’s a lot to do before nightfall,” Jack finally said.
“Yeah,” said Annie, “and I’m a little worried about the spider part.”
“And the ghost part,” said Jack.
“Hey,” said Annie, “if we’re going on another Merlin Mission, I’ll bet Teddy will come with us! He can help us get through the scary parts.”
“Right,” said Jack. Just hearing Teddy’s name made him feel braver.
“So,” said Annie. “Onward?” Onward was Teddy’s favorite word.
“Onward!” said Jack. He pointed to the handwriting on the pale blue shell. “I wish we could go to the
time before Camelot!”
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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Discover the facts
behind the fiction with the
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
More Magic Tree House®
GAMES AND PUZZLES FROM THE TREE HOUSE
Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve Page 5