Ch1-Seriously

#1 New York Times Bestselling Series MAGIC TREE HOUSE #52 Soccer on Sunday

ONE Seriously? Slowly and carefully, Jack ran his hands over the face of the stony cliff. His fingers gripped ridges and bumps. He lodged his bare toes into cracks in the rock. He knew he had to get to the top. He pushed with his legs and pulled with his hands. He

was almost there. He reached up and grabbed the overhang of the cliff. The wind screamed and blew against Jack, knocking him off balance. His feet slipped! He was dangling by one hand! "Jack!" Jack opened his eyes. It was dark. He could faintly see Annie in the moonlight. "Annie!" he whispered. "We have to go," she said. "Have to get down," said Jack. He closed his eyes. He was still hanging from the cliff. Annie shook his shoulder. "Jack! Wake up!" "Oh! Whoa…" Jack sat straight up. "Oh, man, I was hanging from a cliff in Egypt—you—" "You were dreaming about our last mission," interrupted Annie. "Remember—you were hanging from a cliff, but everything turned out okay. We saved Koku. Remember? The little baboon?" "Right… right," breathed Jack. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Annie. "What's going on? What time is it? Why are you awake?" "We have to go to the woods," said Annie. "It's back."

"How do you know?" said Jack. "I couldn't sleep," said Annie. "I was looking out my window and saw the streak of light—" "That's it," said Jack, jumping out of bed. "Let's go. Are Mom and Dad awake?" "No. If we leave now, we'll be back before they get up," said Annie. "Meet you outside." She slipped out of Jack's room. Jack didn't even turn on his light. He changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He pulled on his socks and sneakers. He threw his notebook and pencil into his backpack. Then he tiptoed down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. Annie was waiting on the porch. The sun was about to rise, and birds had started to chirp in the warm summer dawn. "Ready," Jack whispered. Jack and Annie left the front porch and stepped lightly over the wet grass of their front yard. They hurried up the sidewalk and crossed the street into the Frog Creek woods. As they walked between the dark trees, the purple-blue sky overhead was growing lighter. Birdsong filled the woods. "I wonder where we'll go today," said Jack.

"And what will be the secret of greatness that makes the Ring of Truth glow?" Annie said. Then she began to speak in a dramatic voice, like a TV announcer. "What amazing person will Jack and Annie meet today?" Jack laughed, then spoke dramatically, too. "And when will they sniff the mist-gathered-at-first-light-on-the- first-day-of-the-new -moon-on-the-Isle-of-Avalon?" "And when they do, what great talent will they choose for themselves?" said Annie. Jack laughed again and shook his head. "Our lives are kind of crazy," said Annie. "You think?" said Jack. The chorus of birds grew louder as the pale gold of dawn filtered down through the trees. When Jack and Annie came to the tallest oak in the woods, they looked up into the branches. The magic tree house was outlined against the sky. Without a word, Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. Jack and Annie climbed into the shadowy tree house. A ray of sunlight slanted through a window. It shone directly on a sheet of paper lying on the

wooden floor. On the paper,Jack had written the secrets of greatness they had learned on their last three missions: HUMILITY HARD WORK MEANING AND PURPOSE A gold ring, a tiny bottle, and a yellowed scroll, lay next to the paper. Jack picked up the scroll, unrolled it, and read aloud: Dear Jack and Annie, I hope you enjoyed traveling to Egypt and learning the third secret of greatness from florence Nightingale. Now you must learn the fourth from one of the finest athletes of all time, Pele, the Great——