Dragon of the Red Dawn Read online

  Here’s what kids have to say to

  Mary Pope Osborne, author of

  the Magic Tree House series:

  WOW! You have an imagination like no other.—Adam W.

  I love your books. If you stop writing books, it will be like losing a best friend.—Ben M.

  I think you are the real Morgan le Fay. There is always magic in your books.—Erica Y.

  One day I was really bored and I didn’t want to read … I looked in your book. I read a sentence, and it was interesting. So I read some more, until the book was done. It was so good I read more and more. Then I had read all of your books, and now I hope you write lots more.—Danai K.

  I always read [your books] over and over … 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times … —Yuan C.

  You are my best author in the world. I love your books. I read all the time. I read everywhere. My mom is like freaking out.—Ellen C.

  I hope you make these books for all yours and mine’s life.—Riki H.

  Teachers and librarians love

  Magic Tree House® books, too!

  Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.—J. Cameron

  It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books … I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.—C. Rutz

  I discovered your books last year … WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can’t order enough copies! … Thanks for contributing so much to children’s literature!—C. Kendziora

  I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home … I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! … My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.—M. Payne

  I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.—R. Gale

  We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.—J. Korinek

  Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can’t keep your books on the library shelf.—J. Rafferty

  Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.—S. Smith

  The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.—K. Mortensen

  My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.—K. Mahoney

  For many years, I have admired Japan’s literature and art. I collect books of Japanese poetry, and I also collect books of old Japanese prints that show people going about their everyday lives. Japanese art and poetry were my inspiration for writing this book, because I wanted to live in the scenes the artists and poets created. I wanted to ride on a fishing boat, sip tea in a teahouse, see cherry-blossom petals float down a river. When I’m writing a book, I feel as if I am living in another time and place. Working on this particular Magic Tree House adventure, I couldn’t wait to get to my writing desk every day … to visit the world of my dreams.

  This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2007 by Mary Pope Osborne

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Sal Murdocca

  Temporary tattoo illustrations copyright © 2007 by Sal Murdocca

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

  Random House and colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. Magic Tree House is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

  www.magictreehouse.com

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this work as follows:

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  Dragon of the red dawn / by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (Magic tree house; #37)

  “A Merlin mission.”

  “A Stepping Stone book.”

  Summary: When Merlin is weighed down by sorrows, Jack and Annie travel back to feudal Japan to learn one of the four secrets of happiness.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89459-6

  [1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Happiness—Fiction.

  4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.

  5. Japan—History—Tokugawa period, 1600-1868—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.O81167Dr 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2006017188

  v3.0

  For Griffin Loehr van Rhyn,

  a good friend of Jack and Annie’s

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dear Reader

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. For Merlin’s Sake

  2. The Imperial Garden

  3. Basho

  4. Sushi and Sumo

  5. An Excellent Student?

  6. The Banana Tree

  7. Clang, Clang, Clang!

  8. In the Red Dawn

  9. Flowers of Edo

  10. Journey of a Thousand Miles

  More About Basho, Edo, and Haiku

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #38: Monday with a Mad Genius

  Now I shall dream,

  Lulled by the patter of rain

  And the song of the frogs.

  —poem from old Japan,

  translated by Lafcadio Hearn

  One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. A brother and sister named Jack and Annie soon learned that the tree house was magic—it could take them to any time and any place in history. They also learned that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot.

  After Jack and Annie traveled on many adventures for Morgan, Merlin the magician began sending them on “Merlin Missions” in the tree house. With help from two young sorcerers named Teddy and Kathleen, Jack and Annie visited four mythical places and found valuable objects to help save Camelot.

  On their next four Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie once again traveled to real times and real places in history: Venice, Baghdad, Paris, and New York City. After they proved to Merlin that they knew how to use magic wisely, he awarded them the Wand of Dianthus, a powerful magic wand that will help them make their own magic. Jack and Annie are now waiting to hear from Merlin again….

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Jack was dreaming that a white bird was pecking at his window. Tap … tap. A red bird appeared and pecked with the white bird. Tap … tap.

  “Ja
ck, wake up!” said Annie.

  Jack opened his eyes.

  “They’re here!” said Annie.

  “Who? The birds?” said Jack.

  “No! Teddy and Kathleen!” Annie rushed to the window and waved outside. “They’re tossing pebbles at our windows.”

  “Teddy and Kathleen!” Jack jumped out of bed and joined Annie at the window.

  The two young enchanters of Camelot were standing in Jack and Annie’s front yard. They were dressed in long, dark cloaks. They smiled and waved up at Jack and Annie.

  “Merlin must have sent them!” said Jack.

  Teddy made a walking motion with his fingers and pointed toward the Frog Creek woods.

  Annie nodded eagerly. “They want us to meet them at the tree house!” she said to Jack. “Hurry and get dressed! Before Mom and Dad wake up!”

  Annie started out of Jack’s room. When she got to the door, she turned. “Oh, and don’t forget to bring the Wand of Dianthus!”

  Jack threw on his clothes. He grabbed his backpack and peeked inside. The wand was there. Jack put his pack on his back. Then he slipped quietly downstairs and out the door.

  Annie was standing on the front porch. “Let’s go!” she said.

  Jack and Annie ran across their yard and dashed up the sidewalk.

  “I wonder why they came for us!” said Annie.

  “I wonder where we’re going!” said Jack.

  “I wonder everything!” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie crossed the street and hurried into the Frog Creek woods. The early-March trees looked weary from winter, gray and brown with no leaves on them yet.

  “Look—” said Annie, out of breath. “They’re waiting for us!”

  Jack looked up. Teddy and Kathleen were waving from the window of the magic tree house.

  Jack grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Annie followed. When Jack and Annie climbed inside the tree house, they threw their arms around Teddy and Kathleen.

  “We’re so glad to see you!” cried Annie.

  “And we are happy to see you, also,” said Kathleen. The sea girl’s lovely water-blue eyes sparkled.

  “Indeed,” said Teddy. “It has been too long.”

  “What’s our mission this time?” asked Jack. “Where’s Merlin sending us?”

  Teddy glanced at Kathleen. “I fear Merlin does not even know we are here,” said Teddy. “We have come not at his bidding, but for his sake.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Jack.

  “Merlin is not well,” said Kathleen. “He complains that he is getting old and feeble and that life is full of sorrows. He does not eat or sleep.”

  “Oh, no!” said Annie.

  “All of Camelot wishes to help him,” said Teddy. “But no one knows quite how.”

  “What can we do to help?” asked Jack.

  Teddy picked up a book from the corner of the tree house. “Throughout the ages, people all over the world have sought the secrets of happiness,” he said. “Morgan wants you to search for four of these secrets to share with Merlin. She believes that the first one might be found here.”

  Jack took the book from Teddy. He read the title aloud.

  “Oh, wow, we’ve been to Japan before!” said Annie.

  “Before we met you,” Jack said to Teddy and Kathleen. “We had an adventure with ninjas.”

  “Yes, Morgan told us,” said Teddy. “But she said that on that journey, you visited the countryside. This time you must travel to the capital city.”

  “Are you guys coming with us?” asked Annie.

  “I am afraid not,” said Kathleen. “We must return to Camelot now to help Morgan. Since Merlin has fallen ill, she has taken on much of his work.”

  “You have the wand, do you not?” asked Teddy.

  “Yep,” said Jack. He reached into his backpack and took out the Wand of Dianthus. The spiraled wand was shaped like a unicorn’s horn.

  “With the help of the wand, you will make your own magic,” said Teddy.

  “That’s what Merlin said when he gave it to us,” said Annie.

  “But he didn’t say how,” said Jack.

  “It is very simple,” said Teddy. “The wand has three rules. First, it only works for the good of others. The wand can never be used for selfish reasons.”

  “Second, the wand works only after you have tried your very hardest without its help,” said Kathleen. “Do not attempt to use its magic too quickly.”

  “And third, the wand only works with a command of five words,” said Teddy. “So you must choose your words carefully.”

  “Can we review all that, please?” asked Jack.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” said Annie. “We have to go. We have to help Merlin as soon as we can.”

  “If the tree house takes us to Japan, how will you go back to Camelot?” Jack asked Teddy and Kathleen.

  Teddy and Kathleen held up their hands. They each wore a sparkling blue ring. “Our magic rings will take us home,” said Kathleen.

  “And this book from Camelot’s library will bring you back home to Frog Creek,” said Teddy, “after you have completed your mission.” He picked up another book lying in a corner. It was the book about Pennsylvania that Jack and Annie had used on their first magic tree house adventures.

  “Thanks,” said Jack.

  “Good-bye,” said Annie. “Take good care of Merlin.”

  “We will try,” said Kathleen. She and Teddy raised their magic rings to their lips. They whispered words too softly for Jack and Annie to hear, then blew on the rings. As they blew, the young sorcerers began to fade into the cool morning air. In a moment, they had disappeared completely.

  Silence filled the tree house.

  Annie turned to Jack. “Ready?” she said.

  Jack nodded. He pointed to the cover of the Japan book. “I wish we could go there!” he said.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  Jack opened his eyes. Soft morning light shone across the floor of the tree house. Pink flowers bloomed on a branch outside the window.

  Jack and Annie were wearing brown baggy pants and brown silk robes with blue sashes. On their feet were stiff white socks and straw sandals. Jack’s backpack had turned into a burlap bag.

  “Are we wearing bathrobes?” asked Jack.

  “I think they’re called kimonos,” said Annie.

  “Oh, right,” said Jack. “Where’d we land exactly?” Jack and Annie looked out the window.

  Below the tree house was a beautiful garden filled with cherry trees and long-leafed willows. A waterfall tumbled into a sparkling green pool.

  “Wow,” said Annie.

  Jack opened the Japan book and found a painting that looked like the garden. He read aloud to Annie:

  In the 1600s, the Imperial Garden surrounded the Imperial Palace in the capital city of Japan. The city was called Edo (say EE-doh). In the mid-1800s, its name was changed to Tokyo (say TOH-kee-oh).

  “Tokyo?” said Annie. “I’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo!”

  “Me too,” said Jack. He read on:

  The late 1600s in Japan were years of peace and prosperity. Art and culture thrived. But it was a time when the country was completely closed to the outside world. No one was allowed to come in. The citizens of Edo were frequently checked to make sure they had passports.

  “What’s a passport exactly?” said Annie.

  “It’s an official booklet that says who you are,” said Jack. “It also lists the different countries you traveled to.” He read more:

  Anyone who did not have a passport was considered a spy and punished severely.

  “Uh-oh,” said Annie. “We don’t have passports.”

  “Yeah, that’s a problem,” said Jack.

  “Hey! What if we use the Wand of Dianthus to make passports?” said Annie.

  “Good idea!” said Jack. He peeked in
side his bag. Good, the Wand of Dianthus was there.

  “Wait, wait,” said Annie. “We can’t. Remember the rules. We can only use the magic wand for the good of others.”

  “Oh, right,” said Jack.

  “And we have to try our hardest before we use the wand,” said Annie.

  “We haven’t tried anything yet,” said Jack.

  “I guess we should just start looking for a secret of happiness and hope no one catches us,” said Annie.

  “Shh,” said Jack, “listen.”

  A bell was ringing in the distance. The ringing grew louder. Then came the sound of horses. Jack and Annie crouched down. They raised their heads just high enough to peek out the window. Through the flowery tree branches, they saw a small procession coming through the garden.

  The man leading the procession was ringing a bell. Two men walked behind him, holding up banners. Behind them, four men rode slowly on horseback. They all wore baggy trousers and puffy shirts. Their heads were shaved, except for knots of black hair. Each had two swords—a long one and a short one—hanging from his belt.

  At the very end of the procession rode a man in a billowing purple robe and a small purple hat. Red tassels hung from the bridle of his large black horse.

  Jack looked at their research book again. He found a picture that looked like the man on the black horse. He read the caption to himself:

  In the 1600s, the military ruler known as the shogun (say SHOW-gun) lived in the center of the Imperial Garden in a palace that had hundreds of rooms.

  “That last guy is a shogun,” Jack whispered to Annie. “He lives in a big palace in the garden.” He kept reading: