Mermaid Reef
Page 4
“What shall we watch?” asked Summer, looking through her pile of DVDs.
But Jasmine and Ellie weren’t paying attention. They had taken the Magic Box down from among the rows of books and piles of stuffed toys on Summer’s tall bookcase and put it on top of Ellie’s sleeping bag.
The Magic Box was about the size of a jewelery box and was heavy and wooden. The sides were carved with pictures of magical creatures, and it had a mirror set into its curved lid, which was surrounded by six beautiful green gemstones.
“I know what I’d like to watch,” said Ellie. “The Magic Box shining!”
“Ooh, yes!” agreed Jasmine, tracing the carvings with her finger. “And a riddle appearing to tell us where the next thunderbolt is!”
Jasmine lay on her front and stared at the box, willing a message to appear, until her eyes watered. “It’s no good!” she said finally. “Let’s just put a movie on.”
Summer put in a DVD, and the girls ended up laughing so much that Mrs. Hammond had to come in and tell them it was bedtime. After that they talked in whispers for a while, then one by one they drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Summer suddenly woke up. Blinking sleepily, she looked around to find out what had disturbed her.
Ellie and Jasmine were curled up in their sleeping bags on the floor, and everything looked normal. Then Summer realized what was strange — the fact that she could see at all! Instead of being dark, her room was lit up by a dim glow.
But it can’t be morning already, she thought. Then she glanced up at her shelves and her heart jumped with excitement — the light was coming from the Magic Box!
Suddenly feeling wide-awake, she slipped out of bed and crept between the two sleeping bags that were taking up most of her floor. With trembling hands, she nudged Ellie and Jasmine.
“The Magic Box,” she whispered, reaching up to get it. “It’s glowing!”
Ellie and Jasmine woke up and quickly scrambled out of their sleeping bags.
As the girls gathered around the box, light flickered across their faces and words began to form in the mirror on its lid:
“Where the brownies slide, not run,
Where they ride on boards for fun,
Where cheeks are red and breath is white,
That’s where you must go tonight!”
Read
Magic Mountain
to find out what happens next!
Text copyright © 2012 by Hothouse Fiction Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Orchard Books.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 by arrangement with Orchard Books. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First Scholastic printing, May 2014
e-ISBN 978-0-545-53628-8
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