Free Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne Page A

Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca. — 1st ed.
   p. cm.
Summary: The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to Antarctica to search for the fourth secret of happiness for Merlin.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89462-6
[1. Tree houses—Fiction. 2. Voyages and travels—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 5. Antarctica—Fiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.O81167Ev 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2008005769
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    v3.0

For Nory van Rhyn,
who reminds me of Penny

“Glittering white, shining blue, raven black;
in the light of the sun the land looks like a fairy tale.”
    —Roald Amundsen,
the first explorer to reach
the South Pole, 1911



O ne summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. A brother and sister named Jack and Annie soon learned that the tree house was magic—it could take them to any time and any place in history. They also learned that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot.
    After Jack and Annie traveled on many adventures for Morgan, Merlin the magician began sending them on “Merlin Missions” in the tree house. With help from two young sorcerers named Teddy and Kathleen, Jack and Annie visited four mythical places and found valuable objects to help save Camelot.
    For their next four Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie were told they must travel to real times and real places in history and prove to Merlin that they could use magic wisely.
    Now Jack and Annie must save Merlin himself. Morgan le Fay has asked them to find four secrets of happiness to help Merlin out of a deep sadness. Having found the first three secrets, they are waiting to find out where they are going to search for the fourth…

J ack was raking leaves on a chilly November afternoon. Geese honked overhead.
    “Smile,” said Annie.
    Annie was pointing her camera at him. “No pictures now,” he said.
    “Come on,” said Annie. “Smile!”
    Jack gave her a goofy smile.
    “A
real
one,” said Annie. “I’m taking pictures for our family project at school.”
    Jack crossed his eyes and made his smile even goofier.
    “Okay. Be that way,” said Annie. “I’m going into the woods.”
    “Good,” said Jack. “Go.”
    “Maybe the tree house is back,” said Annie.
    “You always say that when you want me to stop what I’m doing and do something with you,” said Jack.
    “Maybe Teddy and Kathleen are waiting for us,” said Annie.
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Jack.
    “Maybe today’s the day they want us to look for a fourth secret of happiness for Merlin,” said Annie. “Maybe they’re going to send us to a super-cool place.”
    “Good. Hope they do. Have fun,” said Jack. “I want to finish raking these leaves before dark.” He glanced up at the late-afternoon sky—just in time to see a bright streak of light pass over the Frog Creek woods. “Whoa!” Jack turned to Annie with a smile. “Did you see that?”
    “Hold that smile!” said Annie as she took Jack’s picture. “Thanks! Perfect.”
    “But did you see that?” Jack asked. “The light going over the woods?”
    “Ha-ha,” said Annie.
    “No, I’m serious! It was a bright light! Wait a second!” Jack put down his rake and dashed into the house. “Mom! Dad!” he shouted. “Annie and I are going for a walk, okay?”
    “Okay,” called their dad, “but be home before dark!”
    “And wear your scarves and hats!” called their mom.
    “We will!” Jack grabbed their scarves, their hats, and his backpack from the hall closet and ran back outside. “Let’s go!” he said to Annie.
    Annie put her camera in her jacket pocket and took off running with Jack. They ran up the sidewalk, crossed the street, and headed into the shadowy Frog Creek woods. They crunched over a carpet of fallen leaves until they came to the tallest tree.
    The magic tree house