Free Buffalo Before Breakfast by Mary Pope Osborne Page B

blue.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?” said Annie.
    â€œI’m not sure,” said Jack. He looked around the tree house. “But I bet that book will take us there.”
    He picked up a book in the corner. The cover was a picture of a wide prairie. The title was
The Great Plains
.
    â€œReady?” Jack said.
    Teddy yipped and wagged his tail.
    â€œLet’s go,” said Annie. “The sooner we free Teddy, the better.”
    Jack pointed at the cover.
    â€œI 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.

Early sunlight slanted into the tree house. The cool breeze smelled of wild grass.
    â€œOh, man,” said Jack. “These are neat clothes.”
    Their jeans and T-shirts had magically changed. Jack had on a buckskin shirt and pants. Annie wore a fringed buckskin dress.
    They both wore soft leather boots and coonskin caps. Jack’s backpack was now a leather bag.
    â€œI feel like a mountain man,” he said.
    â€œAll you’re missing is a mountain,” said Annie. She pointed out the window.
    Jack and Teddy looked out.
    The tree house sat in a lone tree in a vast golden prairie. The sun was rising in the distance.
    Wind whispered through the tall yellow grass.
Shh—shh—shh
, it said.
    â€œWe need a gift from the prairie blue,” said Jack.
    â€œI bet that means the sky,” said Annie, looking up.
    â€œYep,” said Jack. The sky was growing bluer as they watched. “But how are we supposed to get it?”
    â€œJust like last time,” said Annie. “We have to wait till someone gives it to us.”
    â€œI don’t see any sign of people out there,” said Jack.
    He opened their book and read aloud.
    The Great Plains are in the middle of the United States. Before the 20th century, this vast prairie covered nearly a fifth of America’s land. Some called it “an ocean of grass.”
    Jack pulled out his notebook.
    â€œCome on,” said Annie.
    She picked up Teddy and carried him down the ladder.
    Jack quickly wrote:

    â€œWow, this
is
like an ocean of grass,” Annie called from below.
    Jack slipped the Great Plains book and his notebook into his leather bag and climbed down.
    When he stepped onto the ground, the grass came all the way up to his chest. It tickled his nose.
    â€œ
Ah-ah-CHOO!
” he sneezed.
    â€œLet’s go swimming in the grass ocean,” said Annie.
    She started off with Teddy under her arm.
    The wind blew gently as Jack hurried after her. All he could see was rolling waves of grass.
    They walked and walked and walked. Finally, they stopped to rest.
    â€œWe could walk for months and never see anything but grass,” said Jack.
    Arf! Arf!
    â€œTeddy says there’s something great up ahead,” said Annie.
    â€œYou can’t tell what he’s saying,” said Jack. “He’s just barking.”
    â€œI
can
tell,” said Annie. “Trust me.”
    â€œWe can’t walk all day,” said Jack.
    â€œCome on,” said Annie. “Just a little farther.” She started walking again.
    â€œOh, brother,” said Jack.
    But he kept going through the tall, rippling grass. They went down a small slope, then up a small rise. At the top of the rise, Jack froze.
    â€œWow, that
is
great,” he whispered.
    â€œTold you,” said Annie.

Jack stared at a circle of tepees ahead. Busy people in buckskins moved about the circle. Horses and ponies grazed nearby.
    Jack took out their research book and found a picture of the tepees.
    He read:
    In the early 1800s, many different Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains. The Lakota were the largest tribe. They lived mostly in the areas we now call North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
    Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

    Behind Jack and Annie, a horse neighed.
    They