A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time Read online

  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 © 2010 by Mary Pope Osborne

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Sal Murdocca

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  A ghost tale for Christmas time/by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (Magic tree house ; #44)

  “A Stepping Stone book.”

  “A Merlin mission.”

  Summary: Jack and Annie travel back to Victorian London when Merlin asks them to use their magic to inspire Charles Dickens to write “A Christmas Carol.”

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89467-1

  [1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 4. Dickens, Charles, 1812–1870—Fiction. 5. London (England)—History—19th century—Fiction. 6. Great Britain—History—Victoria, 1837–1901—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.O81167 Gh 2010

  [Fic]—dc22

  2009046171

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.0

  For Jack and Cathy Desroches

  When I was in high school, I spent most of my free time at our town’s little theater, acting in plays or working behind the scenes. One year, I was involved in a production of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, a timeless story that readers and theater audiences have enjoyed for over 150 years. After weeks of working backstage, I felt as if I had really visited the exciting, dramatic world of Charles Dickens’s Victorian England. One reason I decided to write A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time is that I was eager to revisit that world.

  That’s the magic of using your imagination: whether you put on a play, write a story, or read a novel, you often end up feeling as if you’ve actually visited other places, met new people, and shared their adventures. After you finish this book, I hope you’ll feel that you’ve just spent time with Jack, Annie, and Charles Dickens—that you’ve escaped an angry crowd with them, feasted in an old inn with them, and seen three ghosts with them!

  So get ready to wander the twilight streets of London, England, long ago. Horses clomp over the cobblestones, and soon the fog will be rolling in.…

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Dear Reader

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  1. Did You See That?

  2. Two Gentlemen from Frog Creek

  3. Riches to Rags

  4. Out! Out! Out!

  5. Stop, Thief!

  6. To Jail

  7. Bah, Humbug!

  8. A Terrible Story

  9. The Three Ghosts

  10. A Christmas Carol

  11. Gifts to the World

  More Facts About Charles Dickens

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #45: A Crazy Day With Cobras

  More Magic Tree House

  Magic Tree House® Books

  “There is probably a smell of roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things all the time, for we are telling Winter Stories—Ghost Stories … round the Christmas fire …”

  —Charles Dickens, from “A Christmas Tree”

  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 had 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. 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 helped them make their own magic. With the wand, Jack and Annie were then able to find four secrets of happiness to help Merlin when he was in trouble.

  Now Merlin wants Jack and Annie to bring happiness to others by helping four creative people give their special gifts to the world. They have already helped the first three—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Louis Armstrong, and Lady Augusta Gregory. Now Jack and Annie are ready to find the last person.…

  Jack and Annie were walking home from soccer practice. It was four-thirty in the afternoon. Sunlight was fading quickly.

  “November has really short days,” said Jack.

  “Yeah, but it has really beautiful skies,” said Annie.

  The horizon glowed with the orange light of sunset. Suddenly a streak of light blazed over the Frog Creek woods.

  “Whoa!” said Jack. “Did you see that?”

  “See what?” said Annie.

  “A streak of light!” said Jack. “Like a shooting star!”

  “Over the woods?” asked Annie.

  “Over the woods!” said Jack. He started to run.

  “Run!” said Annie.

  “I’m running!” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie ran down the sidewalk and into the Frog Creek woods. Their feet crunched through fallen leaves as they raced among the shadows. Finally they came to the tallest oak in the woods. The magic tree house sat high in the branches.

  Teddy and Kathleen were looking out of the tree house window. The two young enchanters seemed to glow in the fading daylight. Teddy was grinning and waving. Kathleen’s long dark hair blew in the breeze.

  “Hello!” Teddy called.

  “Hello yourself!” Annie shouted back.

  “Come up!” called Kathleen.

  Jack and Annie hurried up the rope ladder. They climbed inside the tree house and hugged Teddy and Kathleen.

  “We haven’t seen you guys in so long!” said Jack. “What have you been doing?”

  “Oh, learning more magic—and practicing it,” said Teddy. “Turning frogs into boys.”

  “And boys into frogs,” said Kathleen, smiling at Teddy.

  “Yes, I rather enjoyed being a frog for a day,” said Teddy.

  Jack and Annie laughed.

  “We missed you!” said Annie.

  “We missed you, too,” said Kathleen. “We were both delighted when Merlin told us it was time to send you on a new mission.”

  “Does he want us to help another great artist give their gifts to the world?” asked Jack.


  “Yes,” said Teddy. “So far you have helped Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Louis Armstrong, and Lady Augusta Gregory. Now your mission is to travel to Victorian England and help Charles Dickens.”

  “His name sounds familiar,” said Jack. “But I can’t remember why.”

  “Me neither,” said Annie.

  “I am sure you will know a great deal about him by the end of your mission,” said Kathleen. “In the meantime, here is something to help you.” She reached into the folds of her robe and pulled out a book.

  The cover showed two girls wearing long skirts and big bonnets. The girls were walking along a path lined with trees. Behind the trees were buildings with towers and tall chimneys.

  “London?” said Jack. “That’s the city in England where we met William Shakespeare!”

  “Yes, but Charles Dickens lived over two hundred years after Shakespeare’s time,” said Kathleen. “He lived in the 1800s, during Victorian times.”

  “What’s that mean? ‘Victorian times’?” asked Annie.

  “It means the years during which a queen named Victoria ruled the British Empire,” said Teddy.

  “Cool, a queen,” said Annie. “But can I ask you something? This cover shows girls in long hoop-skirts like I wore when we went to the time of Mozart. It was really hard to run and do stuff in those clothes. Can I please wear something else?”

  Teddy laughed. “Yes, I think we can arrange for you to wear more comfortable clothing,” he said. “But you may have to pretend to be a boy.”

  “That’s okay,” said Annie.

  “So do we have a magic instrument for this mission?” asked Jack.

  “Indeed,” said Kathleen. “We gave you a magic flute to help Mozart, a magic trumpet to help Louis Armstrong, and a magic Irish whistle to help Lady Augusta Gregory. Do you still have the whistle?”

  “Sure, we left it here,” said Annie. She grabbed the whistle from the corner of the tree house and gave it to Kathleen.

  “Thank you,” said Kathleen. She tossed the whistle into the air. It spun around and around. There was a flash of blue. The whistle was gone. Floating in its place were a small violin and bow. Kathleen reached up and took them from the air.

  “Here is a magic violin to help you on your journey,” she said.

  “I really like violin music,” said Jack.

  “Good,” said Kathleen. She handed the violin and bow to Jack. “Then on this mission, perhaps you should play while Annie makes up a song.”

  “No problem,” said Annie. “And whatever I sing will come true, right?”

  “Exactly,” said Teddy.

  “Any more questions?” asked Kathleen.

  “Nope,” said Annie.

  Jack was sure he had more questions. But before he had time to think of any, Annie pointed to the cover of the book.

  “I wish we could go there!” she said.

  The wind started to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  Jack and Annie were both dressed in brown-and-green velvet jackets and dark pants. They wore loose wool caps and shiny new boots. Jack’s backpack had become a green velvet bag with a brass buckle.

  “Fancy clothes,” said Jack.

  “Well, at least I’m not wearing a giant skirt, like I wore in Vienna,” said Annie.

  “Yeah, and these boots aren’t full of holes, like the boots we wore in Ireland,” said Jack.

  “So where did we land?” said Annie. She and Jack looked out the window.

  The tree house had landed in a row of big trees. Beyond the trees was a grassy park with gardens and pathways.

  Bordering the park was a busy road filled with horse-drawn carriages. Autumn sunlight shone on rooftops, towers, and church steeples. Black smoke rose from hundreds of chimneys.

  “London looks great,” said Annie. “Let’s start looking for Charles Dickens.”

  “Wait, I’ll check the book first,” said Jack.

  Jack looked in the index of their book and found Charles Dickens. He turned to a page with a photograph of a handsome man with wavy brown hair and huge eyes. Jack read:

  Charles Dickens was born in England in 1812. He is one of the most famous writers of all time.

  “Of all time?” said Annie. “Wow, he shouldn’t be hard to find.”

  “Maybe he isn’t famous yet,” said Jack. “If he is, why would he need our help?”

  “Good question,” said Annie. “Let’s start looking for the answer.”

  “Okay, but first you’d better hide your pigtails,” said Jack.

  “Oh, right. I’m supposed to be a boy,” said Annie. She tucked her pigtails under her cap. “In the past, girls didn’t have many choices, did they? How do I look?”

  “Fine,” Jack said.

  “Good, let’s go,” said Annie.

  As Annie climbed out of the tree house, Jack unbuckled the green velvet bag. He put their research book and magic violin and bow inside. Then he buckled the bag and followed Annie down the ladder.

  When Jack stepped off the ladder, he heard jingling in his coat pocket. He reached in and pulled out a handful of coins. “Hey, I have money!” he said.

  Annie dug into her pockets. “Me too!” she said.

  “Great,” said Jack. “I didn’t like being poor on our last two missions.”

  Jack and Annie crunched through fallen leaves until they came to the open park area. A man stood on a platform giving a speech. Women pushed baby buggies. Children sailed toy boats on a pond.

  “We have to ask someone for help,” said Annie, looking around. “Excuse me!” she called to a woman in a flowery bonnet. “Do you know where Charles Dickens lives?”

  “Why, yes, he and his family live at One Devonshire Terrace,” the woman said, “below Regent’s Park.”

  “Thanks,” said Annie.

  “That was easy,” said Jack as the woman strolled on.

  “I guess he’s already famous,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack, pulling out their book again. “Let’s see if there’s a map.” He thumbed through the book until he found a map of London. “Here it is. Regent’s Park.” He looked up. “Where are we now?”

  “That sign over there says Hyde Park,” said Annie.

  “Wrong park,” said Jack. He looked at the map again. “Okay. Hyde Park is here … and Regent’s Park is here. They’re pretty far away from each other.”

  “That’s okay,” said Annie. “We have money, and London has carriages. This will be fun!”

  “Right,” said Jack. “Let’s go catch a ride.”

  Jack and Annie hurried over the grass to the busy street bordering the park. Carriages of all shapes and sizes clattered over the cobblestones. Four high-stepping horses pulled an elegant black coach. Two donkeys pulled an old wooden wagon with benches.

  “Excuse me!” Jack called to the driver of a small red carriage waiting on the street. “Can you take us to One Devonshire Terrace, below Regent’s Park?”

  The driver smiled down from his seat. “Indeed, sir!” he said. “I would be proud to carry two fine young gentlemen across our fair city.”

  Jack caught Annie’s eye and smiled. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Climb into my cab, if you please,” said the driver. “Where are you gentlemen from?”

  “Frog Creek,” said Annie in a deep voice.

  “Frog Creek!” said the driver. “Lovely place, I’m sure.” Then he flicked the reins, and his fat little horse started clopping up the cobblestone street.

  In the cool autumn air, the red cab clattered by toy shops, bootmakers, and hatmakers. The cab passed brick mansions with gardens and ornate buildings with turrets and towers.

  “This is a beautiful city,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack. He pulled out their book and turned to the beginning. One of the first pages showed a portrait of a plump-faced woman in a red robe. S
he wore a small crown on her head.

  The Victorian era in England began when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837. She ruled for the rest of the century and helped her country become a powerful world empire.

  “Wow,” said Annie. She stuck her head out the window of the cab and called up to the driver, “Excuse me, sir! Where’s the queen today?”

  “I believe she’s on holiday with Prince Albert,” said the driver.

  “How long has she been queen?” asked Annie.

  “Let’s see, she was crowned and moved into Buckingham Palace six years ago,” the driver said.

  “Thanks!” said Annie. She sat back in her seat. “I love this time in history, with a queen, a prince, and a palace.”

  “Yep,” said Jack. He read on:

  During the reign of Queen Victoria, England went through a period known as the Industrial Revolution. People no longer worked mainly on farms. The invention of machines led to work in factories and mines. Many people became very wealthy.

  Jack glanced out the window. The people on the sidewalks did look wealthy. Women and girls dressed in ruffles and ribbons strolled in and out of elegant shops. Boys wore frilly white shirts. Men wore top hats and suits.

  Jack read on:

  But while many people became rich in Victorian England, many more worked under terrible conditions. Even young children worked in factories and mines. Rich and poor lived side by side, but they lived in very different worlds. While the rich feasted in grand mansions, the poor often died young of hunger and disease.

  “Whoa,” said Annie. “Maybe I don’t love this time as much as I thought.”

  The horse and cab came to a halt. “Here we are!” the driver called. “One Devonshire Terrace.”

  Jack closed their book and looked up. The cab had stopped in front of a high brick wall with an iron gate. Jack and Annie stepped down to the sidewalk. The driver climbed off of his perch.

  “How much do we owe you?” asked Jack.

  “One shilling, if you please, sir,” said the driver.

  Jack reached into his pocket and took out a large coin. He had no idea how much it was worth, but he gave it to the driver. “I hope this is enough,” he said.