Buffalo Before Breakfast 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

  Dear Readers,

  For several years I’ve wanted Jack and Annie to visit Native American people in the 1800s. I wasn’t sure which tribe they should visit, for there are many different Native American tribes, and each is unique with its own customs, language, and way of life.

  Finally, I settled on the Lakota, a tribe of the Great Plains. My research was a bit difficult, though, because I discovered that there are several groups of Lakota Indians, each different from the other. Also, many Lakota customs and beliefs have never been written down, so no one can say for sure what their way of life was actually like over a century ago.

  But in Buffalo Before Breakfast, I have tried to share with you the most basic information I’ve learned about the traditional ways of the Lakota people. Jack, Annie, and I feel privileged to have spent a short “visit” with these interesting people. And we hope that you will, too.

  All my best,

  Text copyright © 1999 by Mary Pope Osborne.

  Illustrations copyright © 1999 by Sal Murdocca.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultane- ously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  Buffalo before breakfast / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (Magic tree house ; #18) “A stepping stone book.”

  SUMMARY: The magic tree house takes Jack and his sister Annie into the Great Plains, where they learn about the life of the Lakota Indians.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89475-6

  [1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Tree houses—Fiction. 4. Dakota Indians—Fiction. 5. Indians of North America—Great Plains—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; 18. PZ7.O81167Bu 1999 [Fic] 21 98-37089

  Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

  A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.0

  For Natalie,

  kind and funny grandmother

  of Andrew and Peter

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dear Readers

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. Teddy’s Back!

  2. Oceans of Grass

  3. Black Hawk

  4. Good Manners

  5. Sunlight and Midnight

  6. Stampede!

  7. White Buffalo Woman

  8. Sacred Circle

  9. Lakota School

  10. Good Medicine

  The Legend Of White Buffalo Woman

  More Facts

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #19: Tigers at Twilight

  One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods.

  Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, climbed into the tree house. They found it was filled with books.

  Jack and Annie soon discovered that the tree house was magic. It could take them to the places in the books. All they had to do was point to a picture and wish to go there.

  Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian from the time of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.

  In Magic Tree House Books #5–8, Jack and Annie helped free Morgan from a spell. In books #9–12, they solved four ancient riddles and became Master Librarians.

  In Magic Tree House Books #13–16, Jack and Annie had to save four ancient stories from being lost forever.

  In Magic Tree House Books #17–20, Jack and Annie must be given four special gifts to help free a mysterious dog from a magic spell. They have already received one gift on a trip to the Titanic. And now they are about to set out in search of the second gift.…

  Arf! Arf! Arf!

  Jack finished tying his sneakers. Then he looked out his bedroom window.

  A small dog stood in the early sunlight. He had floppy ears and scruffy brown fur.

  “Teddy!” said Jack.

  Just then, Annie ran into Jack’s room.

  “Teddy’s back!” she said. “It’s time.”

  It was time for their second mission to help free the little dog from a spell.

  Jack threw his notebook and pencil into his backpack. Then he followed Annie downstairs and past the kitchen.

  “Where are you two going?” their mom called.

  “Outside,” said Jack.

  “Breakfast will be ready soon,” she said. “And Grandmother will be here any minute.”<
br />
  “We’ll be right back,” said Jack. He loved his grandmother’s visits. She was kind and funny. And she always taught them new things.

  Jack and Annie slipped out the front door. Teddy was waiting for them.

  Arf! Arf! he barked.

  “Hey, where did you go last week?” Jack asked.

  The small dog wagged his tail joyfully.

  Then he ran up the sidewalk.

  “Wait for us!” Annie shouted.

  She and Jack followed Teddy up the street and into the Frog Creek woods.

  They ran between the trees. Wind rattled the leaves. Birds swooped from branch to branch.

  Teddy stopped at a rope ladder that hung from the tallest oak tree in the woods. At the top of the ladder was the magic tree house.

  Jack and Annie stared up at it.

  “No sign of Morgan,” said Annie.

  “Let’s go up,” said Jack.

  Annie picked up Teddy. She carried him carefully up the ladder. Jack climbed after her.

  Inside the tree house, Teddy sniffed a silver pocket watch on the floor. Beside it was the note that Morgan had written to Jack and Annie.

  Annie picked up the note and read it aloud:

  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 brave. Be wise. Be careful.

  “We’ve got the first special thing,” said Annie, “the gift from a ship lost at sea.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack. He picked up the silver pocket watch.

  The time on the watch was 2:20—the time the Titanic had sunk.

  Jack and Annie stared at the watch.

  Arf! Arf!

  Teddy’s barking brought Jack back from his memories.

  “Okay,” Jack said. He sighed and pushed his glasses into place. “Now it’s time for the gift from the prairie blue.”

  “What’s that mean?” said Annie.

  “I’m not sure,” said Jack. He looked around the tree house. “But I bet that book will take us there.”

  He picked up a book in the corner. The cover was a picture of a wide prairie. The title was The Great Plains.

  “Ready?” Jack said.

  Teddy yipped and wagged his tail.

  “Let’s go,” said Annie. “The sooner we free Teddy, the better.”

  Jack pointed at the cover.

  “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.

  Early sunlight slanted into the tree house. The cool breeze smelled of wild grass.

  “Oh, man,” said Jack. “These are neat clothes.”

  Their jeans and T-shirts had magically changed. Jack had on a buckskin shirt and pants. Annie wore a fringed buckskin dress.

  They both wore soft leather boots and coonskin caps. Jack’s backpack was now a leather bag.

  “I feel like a mountain man,” he said.

  “All you’re missing is a mountain,” said Annie. She pointed out the window.

  Jack and Teddy looked out.

  The tree house sat in a lone tree in a vast golden prairie. The sun was rising in the distance.

  Wind whispered through the tall yellow grass. Shh—shh—shh, it said.

  “We need a gift from the prairie blue,” said Jack.

  “I bet that means the sky,” said Annie, looking up.

  “Yep,” said Jack. The sky was growing bluer as they watched. “But how are we supposed to get it?”

  “Just like last time,” said Annie. “We have to wait till someone gives it to us.”

  “I don’t see any sign of people out there,” said Jack.

  He opened their book and read aloud.

  The Great Plains are in the middle of the United States. Before the 20th century, this vast prairie covered nearly a fifth of America’s land. Some called it “an ocean of grass.”

  Jack pulled out his notebook.

  “Come on,” said Annie.

  She picked up Teddy and carried him down the ladder.

  Jack quickly wrote:

  “Wow, this is like an ocean of grass,” Annie called from below.

  Jack slipped the Great Plains book and his notebook into his leather bag and climbed down.

  When he stepped onto the ground, the grass came all the way up to his chest. It tickled his nose.

  “Ah-ah-CHOO!” he sneezed.

  “Let’s go swimming in the grass ocean,” said Annie.

  She started off with Teddy under her arm.

  The wind blew gently as Jack hurried after her. All he could see was rolling waves of grass.

  They walked and walked and walked. Finally, they stopped to rest.

  “We could walk for months and never see anything but grass,” said Jack.

  Arf! Arf!

  “Teddy says there’s something great up ahead,” said Annie.

  “You can’t tell what he’s saying,” said Jack. “He’s just barking.”

  “I can tell,” said Annie. “Trust me.”

  “We can’t walk all day,” said Jack.

  “Come on,” said Annie. “Just a little farther.” She started walking again.

  “Oh, brother,” said Jack.

  But he kept going through the tall, rippling grass. They went down a small slope, then up a small rise. At the top of the rise, Jack froze.

  “Wow, that is great,” he whispered.

  “Told you,” said Annie.

  Jack stared at a circle of tepees ahead. Busy people in buckskins moved about the circle. Horses and ponies grazed nearby.

  Jack took out their research book and found a picture of the tepees.

  He read:

  In the early 1800s, many different Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains. The Lakota were the largest tribe. They lived mostly in the areas we now call North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

  Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

  Behind Jack and Annie, a horse neighed.

  They turned. A horse and rider were heading toward the tepee camp.

  The sun was very bright behind the rider. Jack could only see the outline of a body with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back.

  Jack quickly flipped through the book. He found a picture of a man on horseback carrying a bow and arrows. Below the picture it said LAKOTA WARRIOR.

  Jack read:

  Everything changed for the Native Americans of the Great Plains after white settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. Fighting broke out between Lakota warriors and white soldiers. By the end of the 1800s, the Lakota were defeated. They lost both their land and their old way of life.

  Jack looked back at the rider. The warrior was coming closer.

  “Get down,” he whispered.

  “Why?” said Annie.

  “This might be a time when the Indians are fighting with the settlers,” said Jack.

  The grass rustled as the warrior passed by them. His horse neighed again.

  Arf! Arf!

  “Shh!” whispered Jack.

  But it was too late. The warrior had heard Teddy’s barking. He galloped toward them, grabbing his bow.

  “Wait!” shouted Jack. He jumped up from the grass. “We come in peace!”

  The rider halted.

  Now Jack saw that he was only a boy on a pony. He couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven.

  “Hey, you’re just a kid,” Annie said, smiling.

  The boy didn’t smile back. But he did lower his bow while he stared at Annie.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Black Hawk,” he said.

  “Cool name,” said Annie. “We’re Jack and Annie. We’re just visiting. We live in
Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.”

  Black Hawk nodded. Then he turned his pony around and started toward the Lakota camp.

  “Hey, can we come with you?” called Annie.

  Black Hawk looked back.

  “Yes,” he said. “Meet my people.”

  “You mean your parents?” asked Annie.

  “No, they died long ago,” said Black Hawk. “I live with my grandmother.”

  “Oh, I’d like to meet your grandmother,” said Annie. “I’m going to see my grandmother today, too.”

  Black Hawk nudged his pony forward again. Annie followed with Teddy.

  Jack didn’t move.

  What if the Lakota are at war with the white settlers? he worried. What if they think we’re enemies?

  “Annie!” Jack called softly. “We don’t know if it’s safe or not!”

  But Annie just waved for him to come on.

  Jack sighed. He opened the research book and quickly flipped through the pages. He wanted information about how to act with the Lakota.

  On one page, he read:

  Good manners to the Lakota mean speaking as few words as possible and sharing gifts when visiting.

  On another page, he read:

  The Lakota admire those who do not show fear.

  Jack’s favorite piece of information was:

  Holding up two fingers means “friend.”

  Jack put the book away. He ran to catch up with Annie.

  Annie was telling Black Hawk all about their grandmother. The boy listened silently.

  “Annie,” Jack whispered. “I just read that it’s good manners to be quiet. And we should give gifts and not show fear. Also, holding up two fingers means ‘friend.’ ”

  Annie nodded.

  “Got that?” said Jack.

  “Sure,” she said. “No talking, no fear, no problem.”

  Jack looked up. He caught his breath.

  Ahead of them, the people at the campsite had stopped what they were doing. All eyes were turned to Jack and Annie.