Dolphins at Daybreak (2 page)

The tree house is back,
Morgan had said.
I'm waiting.

Jack wished that dreams were real. He missed Morgan's magic tree house.

“Jack!” His little sister Annie appeared in the doorway. “We have to go to the woods
now!”
she said.

“Why?” Jack asked.

“I had a dream about Morgan!” exclaimed Annie. “She said the tree house is back and she's waiting for us!”

“That was
my
dream,” said Jack.

“Oh, wow,” said Annie. “She told you, too? So it
must
be important.”

“But dreams aren't real,” said Jack.

“Some dreams aren't. But this one is,” said Annie. “I can just feel it.” She opened the back door. “I'll see you later!”

“Wait—wait. I'm coming!” said Jack.

He raced up the stairs.
Having the same dream must mean
something, he thought.

He grabbed his backpack and threw his
notebook and pencil into it.

Then he ran downstairs.

“We'll be back soon, Mom!” Jack called into the living room.

“Where you going so early?” his dad called.

“Just for a quick walk!” said Jack.

“It rained last night,” called his mom. “Don't get your shoes wet.”

“We won't!”

Jack slipped out the door. Annie was waiting for him.

“Let's go!” she said.

The sky was pale gray. The air felt freshly washed.

Jack and Annie ran up their quiet street to the Frog Creek woods.

They headed between the trees. Soon they
came to the tallest oak in the woods. There was a wooden house high in the treetop.

“It
is
back!” whispered Jack.

Someone looked out the window of the tree house—a lovely old woman with long white hair. Morgan le Fay.

“Come up,” called the magical librarian.

Jack and Annie climbed up the rope ladder and into the tree house.

In the dawn light, they stared at Morgan le Fay. She looked beautiful in a red velvet robe.

Jack pushed his glasses into place. He couldn't stop smiling.

“We both had dreams about you!” said Annie.

“I know,” said Morgan.

“You do?”

“Yes, I sent them to you,” said Morgan, “because I need your help.”

“What kind of help?” said Jack.

“Merlin the Magician has been up to his tricks again,” said Morgan. “So I haven't had any time to collect books for Camelot's library.”

“Can we collect them for you?” asked Annie.

“Yes, but in order to gather books through time you must be Master Librarians,” said Morgan.

“Oh, well,” Annie said sadly.

“But you can
become
Master Librarians,” said Morgan, “if you pass the test.”

“Really?” said Annie.

“What kind of test?” Jack asked.

“You must show that you know how to do
research,” said Morgan, “and show that you can find answers to hard questions.”

“How?” said Annie.

“By solving four riddles,” said Morgan. She reached into the folds of her robe and pulled out a rolled-up paper.

“The first riddle is written on this ancient scroll,” she said. “This book will help you find the answer.”

She held out a book. On the cover were the words
Ocean Guide
.

“This is where you have to go,” said Morgan.

“The ocean! Oh, boy!” said Annie. She pointed at the cover. “I wish we—”

“Stop!” Jack grabbed Annie's hand. “How will we know if we've found the right answer to the riddle?” he asked Morgan.

“You will know,” Morgan said mysteriously. “I promise you will know.”

Jack let go of Annie's hand. She pointed again at the cover and finished her wish: “I wish we could go there.”

The wind started to blow.

“Are you coming with us, Morgan?” Jack said.

Before Morgan could answer, the tree house started to spin.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut.

The tree house spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

Jack opened his eyes.

Morgan le Fay was gone.

Only the ancient scroll and the ocean book were left in her place.

A breeze blew through the window. Sea gulls cried. Waves lapped the shore.

Annie picked up the riddle scroll. She unrolled it. Together she and Jack read the riddle:

“Let's go find the answer,” said Annie.

She and Jack looked out the window. The tree house wasn't in a tree. It was on the ground.

“Why is the ground pink?” said Jack.

“I don't know,” said Annie. “But I'm going out there.”

“I'm going to do a little research first,” said Jack.

Annie climbed out of the tree house.

Jack picked up the ocean book and flipped through it.

He found a picture of a pink island surrounded by water. He read:

“Oh, man, tiny skeletons,” said Jack. He pulled out his notebook and wrote:

“Jack! Jack! Come look at
this
,” cried Annie.

“What is it?”

“I don't know. But you'll love it!” she said.

Jack threw his notebook and the ocean book into his pack. He climbed out the window.

“Is it the answer to the riddle?” he called.

“I don't think so. It doesn't look very plain,” said Annie.

She was standing at the edge of the water. Beside her was a strange-looking machine.

Jack hurried over the bumpy coral to get a better look.

The machine was half on the reef and half in the clear blue water. It looked like a huge white bubble with a big window.

“Is it a special kind of boat?” asked Annie.

Jack found a picture of the machine in the ocean book. He read:

“It's a mini-sub,” said Jack. He pulled out his notebook.

“Let's get inside it,” said Annie.

“No!” said Jack. Actually, he did want to see what the sub looked like inside. But he shook his head. “We can't. It's not ours.”

“Just a teeny peek,” said Annie. “It might
help us figure out the riddle.”

Jack sighed. “Okay. But we have to be careful. Don't touch anything,” he said.

“Don't worry,” said Annie.

“And take off your shoes so they won't get wet,” said Jack.

He and Annie slipped off their shoes and socks and threw them toward the tree house.

Then they stepped carefully over the sharp coral.

Annie turned the handle on the hatch of the mini-sub. It opened.

She and Jack climbed inside. The hatch slammed shut.

The mini-sub was tiny. Two seats faced the big window. In front of the seats was a computer built into a control panel.

Annie sat down.

Jack opened the ocean book and read more on the mini-sub page:

“Oops,” said Annie.

“What's wrong?” Jack looked up.

Annie was waving her hands in front of the computer. Now the screen showed a map.

“What's going on?” said Jack.

“I just pressed a few keys—” said Annie.

“What? I said not to touch anything!” said Jack.

An air blower came on. The mini-sub jerked backward.

“Get out!” said Jack.

He and Annie scrambled for the hatch. Jack grabbed the handle.

But they were too late.

The mini-sub slid off the reef.

Then it dove silently down into the deep.