"Welcome back," came a soft, lovely voice. Jackopened his eyes.
It was Morgan! They hadn't seen Morgan in a longtime.
"Morgan!" cried Annie.
She threw her arms around the enchantress. Jackjumped up and hugged Morgan, too.
"It's good to see you both," said Morgan.
Arf! Arf!
"And it's good to see you, too," Morgan said,smiling at the little dog.
"Look," said Annie. She reached into Jack's pack andpulled out the piece of painted bark. "A gift from a kangaroo.""We have all four gifts now," said Jack.
"Good work," said Morgan.
She picked up their first gift. It was the pocketwatch from the Titanic.
"Once upon a time, there was a boy who wastedtime," Morgan said. "This watch teaches him thattime is very precious. It must be used wisely."Morgan picked up their second gift, the eagle'sfeather from the Lakota Indians.
"Sometimes the boy was afraid to stand up forhimself," she said. "The eagle's feather teaches himthat a small creature can be one of the bravest."Morgan picked up the lotus flower from the forestin India.
"Sometimes the boy did not respect nature," shesaid. "This flower teaches him that nature holds manywonders." Morgan picked up the piece of bark with thepainting of the Rainbow Serpent.
"Sometimes the boy didn't want to study othertimes and places," she said. "This painting teaches himthere is mystery, magic, and wisdom in the traditionsof ancient peoples.""What boy?" Jack asked.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Annie.
Morgan didn't answer right away. She placed herhands on Jack's and Annie 's shoulders.
"Thank you," she said, "for helping this boy learnhis lessons. Thank you for breaking the spell.""What boy?" Jack asked again.
Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!
Jack and Annie looked over at Teddy. Thensomething magical happened. In a flutter of time... inthe spin of a whirlwind... Teddy was changed.
He was no longer a dog. He was a boy. |