01 Into the Woods

Dinosaurs Before Dark

1. Into the Woods “ Help! A monster! ” said Annie. “ Yeah, sure, ” said Jack. “ A real monster in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. ” “ Run, Jack! ” said Annie, She ran up the road. Oh, brother. This is what he got for spending time with his seven-year-old sister. Annie loved pretend stuff. But Jack was eight and a half. He liked real things. “ Watch out, Jack! The monster’s coming! Race you! ”

“ No, thanks, ” said Jack. Annie raced alone into the woods. Jack looked at the sky. The sun was about to set. “ Come on, Annie! It’s time to go home! ” But Annie had disappeared. Jack waited. No Annie. “ Annie! ” he shouted again. “ Jack! Jack! Come here! ” Jack groaned. “ This better be good, ” he said. Jack left the road and headed into the woods. The trees were lit with a golden late-afternoon light. “ Come here! ” called Annie. There she was. Standing under a tall oak tree. “ Look, ” she said. She was pointing at a rope ladder.

The longest rope ladder Jack had ever seen. “ Wow, ” he whispered. The ladder went all the way up to the top of the tree. There—at the top—was a tree house. It was tucked between two branches. “ That must be the highest tree house in the world, ” said Annie. “ Who built it?” asked Jack. “ I’ve never seen it before. ” “ I don’t know. But I’m going up, ” said Annie. “ No. We don’t know who it belongs to, " said Jack. “ Just for a teeny minute, ” said Annie. She started up the ladder. “ Annie, come back! ” She kept climbing.