Hour of the Olympics (6 page)
“Pegasus?” she said. “Where are you? Pegasus?”
“Turn off your flashlight, Annie,” said Morgan. She was looking down from the tree house window.
Annie switched off the light.
“In the night, you can see
all
the story characters that saved you on your last four missions,” said Morgan. “They are all here—Hercules and the silk weaver; Sarph, the serpent monster; and Pegasus.”
Jack pushed his glasses into place and studied the dark woods.
“Where are they, Morgan?” cried Annie. “Where’s Pegasus?”
“Look hard,” said Morgan.
“I can’t see him!” said Annie.
“Yes, you can,” said Morgan. “The old stories are always with us. We are never alone.”
Has Morgan gone crazy?
wondered Jack.
“Look up,” said Morgan. “Your friends are in the night sky. They are stars.”
“Stars?” whispered Jack.
He stared at the shimmering field of tiny stars overhead.
“Hercules is a constellation,” said Morgan. “The Romans imagined him kneeling in the sky, holding a club over his head.”
Morgan waved her finger at the sky. For a moment Jack saw a living, breathing Hercules outlined by stars.
“And there’s the silk weaver, with her beloved cowherd,” said Morgan. “The ancient Chinese believed that they were two stars on either side of the Milky Way.”
Morgan waved her hand again. The lovely silk weaver was outlined in the heavens.
“And long ago, the Irish believed the Milky Way itself was the serpent monster Sarph,” said Morgan.
Morgan waved her hand. A giant serpent glittered through the sky.
“And the ancient Greeks named one of their constellations Pegasus,” said Morgan.
She waved her hand again and the white horse’s head, wings, and galloping legs glowed in the sky.
“I see him!” said Annie. Then she whispered, “I love you, Pegasus.”
Jack thought he saw the stars move as if Pegasus was rearing back in the sky.
After a breathless moment of silence, Morgan lowered her arm. The night sky became a field of tiny glittering stars again.
“You have done amazing work as Master Librarians,” said Morgan. “I would trust you with any important mission.”
“Does that mean we’re going on more trips?” asked Jack.
“Indeed it does,” said Morgan. “
Many
more.”
Jack smiled with relief.
“When is our next mission?” asked Annie.
“As soon as I need your help, I will send for you,” said Morgan. “Go home now and rest.”
“Good-bye,” said Annie.
“Good-bye,” said Jack.
“Farewell,” said Morgan.
There was a sudden rushing of wind, then a blur of blinding light. And Morgan le Fay and the magic tree house vanished.
The night was still.
“Home?” asked Annie.
“Sure,” said Jack.
As they walked between the trees, the Frog Creek woods were pitch-black.
Jack couldn’t see a thing.
But he didn’t ask Annie to turn on the flashlight. For once, he wasn’t worried about finding his way home.
He felt as if someone—or something—was leading them through the woods.
Morgan’s words came back to him:
The old stories are always with us. We are never alone.
Jack looked up at the stars again. They were beginning to fade in the growing light of dawn.
But he thought he could hear the beating of giant wings, somewhere high above.
MORE FACTS FOR YOU AND JACK
The Olympics
The Olympics of ancient Greece were held for over a thousand years, from 776
B.C.
to
A.D.
394.
Every four years, the games were held in several cities, including the town of Olympia, for five days in August. (The modern Olympics were named after Olympia.)
For two months, all fighting and wars ceased so people could travel safely to and from the Olympics.
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
Greek athletes believed that having a physically fit body was a way to honor their chief god, Zeus. Olympia’s statue of Zeus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately, it no longer exists.
Greek Language
The word
anonymous
comes from a Greek word that means “nameless.”
The English language has many words that were originally Greek, especially words having to do with sports, such as
gymnasium
,
marathon
, and
athlete
; words having to do with science, such as
psychology
and
astronomy
; and words related to the arts, such as
drama
,
theater
, and
scenery
.
The word
museum
is also of Greek origin. Over 2,000 years ago, the Greeks built a temple to the nine goddesses known as the Muses. They called the temple the Museum.
Some Greek letters are similar to ours. The Greek A is called
alpha
. The B is called
beta
. That’s where we get our word
alphabet
.
Democracy
About 2,500 years ago, the Greeks adopted a system of government called a
democracy
. Under the Greek democracy, all citizens had a say in the government. At that time, however, women and slaves were not considered citizens.
Plato
Plato the philosopher lived in ancient Greece in the fourth century
B.C.
Plato founded a school called the Academy. In both his teachings and his writings, Plato explored the best way for a government to be set up. His ideas are still talked about today.
Zeus
Zeus was god of the skies and ruler of all the Greek gods and goddesses. Zeus and his family were called Olympians because they lived on top of a mountain called Mount Olympus. The major Greek gods and goddesses were later adopted by the Romans. Zeus was called Jupiter by the Romans.
Pegasus
In Greek mythology, a great winged horse sprang from the neck of a snake-haired monster known as Medusa. The horse was named Pegasus, which may come from a Greek word that means “spring.” Pegasus was tamed by a young man named Bellerophon.
Star Myths
In ancient times, mythic characters from different world cultures were sometimes identified as patterns of stars in the night sky. Once a hero or heroine took a place in the heavens, he or she became famous forever.
