01 Special Magic

Stage Fright on a Summer Night

1 Special Magic Jack and Annie sat on their porch. Lightning bugs blinked in the warm summer twilight. “ Wow, a shooting star! ” said Annie, pointing at the sky. Jack looked up, just in time to see a streak of light flash through the sky. The light hovered above the Frog Creek woods. Then it disappeared into the treetops. Jack caught his breath. He turned to Annie.

“ That was no shooting star, " he said. “ Right, " she said. They jumped up. Jack grabbed his backpack from inside the front hall. “ Dad, Mom! Can we go out?" he called. “ We'll be back soon! ” “ Ten minutes, no more! " their mom said. “ Okay! " said Jack. He closed the door. “ Let's go! Hurry! ” He and Annie ran across their yard. They ran down their street. They ran into the woods. They ran until they came to the tallest oak, They looked up. “ Yep, " said Annie. Jack just smiled. He was too happy for words. “ That's our shooting star, ” said Annie. “ The magic tree house. ”

She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. When they climbed inside the tree house, they both gasped. A beautiful woman with long white hair stood in the shadowy corner. “ Hello, Jack and Annie, " said Morgan le Fay. “ Morgan! " Jack and Annie cried. They threw their arms around her. “ Why are you here?" said Annie. “ What do you want us to do for you?" “ You have already done many good things for me, " said Morgan, “ and for King Arthur and Camelot. Now I want you to do something good for yourselves. You are going to learn magic. ”

“ Oh, wow, ” said Annie. “ Are we going to become magicians? Will you teach us charms and spells?” Morgan laughed. “ There is magic that does not need charms or spells, " she said. “ You'll find a special magic on each of your next four adventures. “ How?” asked Jack. “ A secret rhyme will guide you on each journey, " Morgan said. “ Here this is the first. " She held up a slip of paper. Annie took the paper from Morgan and read the rhyme aloud: To find a special magic, You must step into the light And without wand, spell, or charm, Turn daytime into night. “ Turn daytime into night?” said Jack. “ How can we do that?" Morgan smiled.

“ That's what you have to find out, ” she said. Jack had lots of questions. But before he could ask any of them, a flash lit up the tree house. He closed his eyes against the light. When he opened them, Morgan le Fay was gone. On the floor where she had stood was a book. “ Morgan didn't tell us enough, " said Jack. “ But she left this research book, ” said Annie. She picked up the book. “ And it'll tell us the first place to go. " She held the book up to the gray light at the window. The cover showed a busy river with boats and a bridge. The title was Merry Olde England “ What's o-l-d-e mean?" asked Annie. “ I think that's the old way of spelling old, " said Jack. “ You say it the same. "