Free Polar Bears Past Bedtime by Mary Pope Osborne Page A

regions—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Tree houses—Fiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; #12. PZ7.O81167Po 1997 [E]—dc21 97-15624
    Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland
    v3.0.30

For Mallory Loehr
with gratitude for taking the journey
twelve times.



Whoo
. The strange sound came from outside the open window.
    Jack opened his eyes in the dark.
    The sound came again.
Whoo.
    Jack sat up and turned on his light. He put on his glasses. Then he grabbed the flashlight from his table and shone it out the window.
    A white snowy owl was sitting on a tree branch.
    â€œ
Whoo,
” the owl said again. Its large yellow eyes looked right into Jack’s.
    What does he want?
Jack wondered.
Is he a sign, like the rabbit and the gazelle?
    A long-legged rabbit and a gazelle had led Jack and Annie to the magic tree house for their last two adventures.
    â€œ
Whoo
.”
    â€œWait a second,” Jack said to the owl. “I’ll get Annie.”
    Jack’s sister, Annie, always seemed to know what birds and animals were saying.
    Jack jumped out of bed and hurried to Annie’s room. She was sound asleep.
    Jack shook her and she stirred.
    â€œWhat?” she said.
    â€œCome to my room,” whispered Jack. “I think Morgan’s sent another sign.”
    In a split second, Annie was out of bed. She hurried with Jack to his room.
    Jack led her to the window. The snowy owl was still there.
    â€œ
Whoo,
” said the owl. Then he raised his white wings and took off into the night.
    â€œHe wants us to go to the woods,” said Annie.
    â€œThat’s what I thought,” said Jack. “Meet you downstairs after we get dressed.”
    â€œNo, no. He says
go now
. Right now,” said Annie. “We’ll have to wear our pajamas.”
    â€œI
have
to put on my sneakers,” said Jack.
    â€œOkay, I’ll put on mine, too. Meet you downstairs,” said Annie.
    Jack pulled on his sneakers. He threw his notebook into his backpack. Then he grabbed his flashlight and tiptoed downstairs.
    Annie was waiting at the front door. They silently slipped outside together.
    The night air was warm. Moths danced around the porch light.
    â€œI feel weird,” said Jack. “I’m going back to put on some real clothes.”
    â€œYou can’t,” said Annie. “The owl said
right now
.”
    She jumped off the porch and headed across their dark yard.
    Jack groaned.
How did Annie know exactly what the owl said?
he wondered.
    Still, he didn’t want to be left behind. So he took off after her.
    The moon lit their way as they ran down their street. When they entered the Frog Creek woods, Jack turned on his flashlight.
    The beam of light showed shadows and swaying branches.
    Jack and Annie stepped between the trees. They stayed close together.
    â€œ
Whoo
.”
    Jack jumped in fear.
    â€œIt’s just the white owl,” said Annie. “He’s somewhere nearby.”
    â€œThe woods are creepy,” said Jack.
    â€œYeah,” said Annie. “In the dark, it doesn’t even feel like our woods.”
    Suddenly the owl flapped near them.
    â€œYikes!” said Annie.
    Jack shone his flashlight on the white bird as it rose into the sky. The owl landed on a tree branch—
right next to the magic tree house.
    And there was Morgan le Fay, the enchantress librarian. Her long white hair gleamed in the beam of Jack’s flashlight.

    â€œHello,” Morgan called softly in a soothing voice. “Climb up.”
    Jack used his flashlight to find the rope ladder. Then he and Annie climbed up into the tree house.
    Morgan was holding three scrolls. Each one held the answer to an ancient riddle that Jack and Annie had already solved.
    â€œYou have journeyed to the ocean, the Wild West, and Africa to find the answers to these three riddles,” said Morgan. “Ready