10 Sunrise

Chapter 10 Sunrise “ Boy, I’m glad to be back in my jeans, ” said Annie. Jack opened his eyes. He still felt damp. But he was glad to be wearing his jeans again, too. “ Welcome home, ” said Morgan. She was standing in the shadows. “ Are you all right?” “ Of course! ” piped Annie. “ And we brought back the lost book, ” said Jack.

He reached in his backpack and took out the jeweled book of Brother Michael. He handed it to Morgan. The enchantress sighed. She ran her hand over the sparkling cover. “ A great work of art, ” she said. Morgan then put the book next to the scroll from Roman times and the bamboo book from ancient China. “ I’m afraid the story you wanted is not all there, ” said Jack. “ Brother Michael didn’t get the chance to finish it. ” Morgan nodded. “ I know, ” she said. “ Sadly, we have only bits and pieces of many wonderful old stories. ” “ What’s the story about?” asked Annie. “ It’s an ancient Irish tale about a great serpent named Sarph, ” said Morgan.

“ He saved us by pushing our ship over the stormy waves! ” Annie said. “ Sarph was a huge, ugly monster, ” said Jack. Morgan smiled. “ Sometimes monsters can be heroes, ” she said. “ What about Vikings?” asked Jack. “ Oh, most definitely, Vikings could be heroes, too, ” she said. “ In fact, once the Vikings settled down, they became more than just a warrior people. They actually added a lot to civilization. ” “ We found civilization on our trip, ” said Annie. “ Yeah, ” said Jack, “ in the library of the monastery. ”

Morgan smiled again. “ Their library was a light in the Dark Ages, wasn’t it?” she said. Jack nodded. He thought of Brother Michael and the other monks making their beautiful books by candlelight. “ Thank you also for your great courage, ” Morgan said. “ You are both heroes, too. ” Jack smiled shyly. “ Go home now and rest, ” said Morgan. “ Bye, ” Jack and Annie said together. They started down the tree house ladder. The sky was turning pink and gold. When they reached the ground, Morgan called out to them, “ Come back in two weeks. I need you to find one more lost book. ” “ Where is it?” said Jack.

“ Ancient Greece, ” said Morgan. “ A place with the highest civilization —and the first Olympic games. ” “ Oh, wow! ” said Annie. Jack was thrilled. He had always wanted to go to ancient Greece. Jack and Annie took off through the woods. The sun was rising when they got to their front porch. Annie opened the front door. She stuck her head inside and listened. “ Everything’s quiet, ” she whispered. “ I think Mom and Dad are still sleeping. ” She moved quietly inside. Jack turned back to watch the red sun rise through a clear blue sky. He thought about how it was the same sun that had risen in Ireland—over a thousand years ago.

“ Shine, O light of the sun, ” Jack whispered, “ on this day filled with wonder. ” Then he slipped inside his quiet house.