Annie sat on the porch steps. She stared down thestreet at the Frog Creek woods.
"Hey, Jack," she said. "Do you hear it?"Jack sat next to her. He was reading a book.
"Hear what?" he said.
"Teddy's calling us," said Annie.
"You're kidding," said Jack. But he looked down thestreet and listened, too.
A faint bark came from the distance.
Arf! Aff.'
A big smile crossed Jack's face.
"You hear it!" Annie said.
"Yep," said Jack. "You're right. Time to go."He stood up and grabbed his backpack.
"Be back soon!" Annie shouted through the screendoor.
"Don't be late for dinner!" their dad called.
"We won't!" said Jack.
He and Annie ran down the street and into the FrogCreek woods.
Soon they came to the tallest oak.
There was the magic tree house. A little black nosestuck out the window.
"Hi, silly!" Annie called. "We're coming!" Arf! came a happy bark.
Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started climbing.
Jack followed her up into the tree house.
A small dog sat in a circle of afternoon sunshine.
His tail wagged.
"Hey, Teddy!" said Jack.
Jack and Annie hugged Teddy. And the dog lickedboth of them.
"Morgan's note is still here," said Annie.
"Yep," said Jack. He knew the note by heart now.
This little dog is under a spell and needs your help.
To free him, you must be given four special things:
A gift from a ship lost at sea,A gift from the prairie blue,A gift from a forest far away,A gift from a kangaroo.
Be wise. Be brave. Be careful.
Morgan Beside the note were the gifts from their first threetrips:
1. a pocket watch from the Titanic2. an eagle's feather from the prairie skies3. a lotus flower from a forest in India"We just need to get a gift from a kangaroo "'saidAnnie, "and Teddy will be free from his spell.""We must be going to Australia," said jack. "That'swhere kangaroos live.""Cool," said Annie.
Teddy whined and scratched at a book lying in thecorner.
Jack picked it up.
"What'd I tell you?" he said.
He showed the cover to Annie. The title wasAdventure in Australia.
"Great," said Annie. She looked at Teddy.
"Ready to meet a kangaroo?" Arf! Arf!
Jack opened the book. He found a page with smallpictures of different animals and a big picture of aforest. Jack pointed at the forest.
"I wish we could go there," he said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still. |