Eve of the Emperor Penguin 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, one of my favorite places to visit has been the Central Park Zoo in New York City. My husband, Will, and I love going there for one main reason: to visit the building where about sixty gentoo and chinstrap penguins live. The penguins always make us laugh—especially when they jump out of the water onto the edge of their pool. We also love watching their keepers call each penguin by name and hand-feed fish to them.

  While I was writing this book, I combined my memories of watching the penguins at the zoo with my research on Antarctica. And I used my imagination to think about Jack and Annie searching for a secret of happiness to share with Merlin. I always mix these three things together to create a Magic Tree House book: memory, research, and imagination. But there’s one other ingredient that goes into my work on this series: joy. I love to write—and I love sharing Jack and Annie’s adventures with you. That’s one of my own personal secrets of happiness.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2008 by Mary Pope Osborne

  Illustrations copyright © 2008 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 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.magictreehouse.com

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at

  www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  Eve of the emperor penguin / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to Antarctica to search for the fourth secret of happiness for Merlin.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89462-6

  [1. Tree houses—Fiction. 2. Voyages and travels—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.

  4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 5. Antarctica—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.O81167Ev 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2008005769

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

  v3.0

  For Nory van Rhyn,

  who reminds me of Penny

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dear Reader

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. Smile

  2. Lots of Ice

  3. Short Grown-ups

  4. Happy Campers

  5. Lava Bombs

  6. All Fall Down

  7. The Emperor

  8. A Good Story

  9. Penny and Merlin

  10. The Secret

  More Facts About Antarctica

  More Facts About Penguins

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #41: Moonlight on the Magic

  “Glittering white, shining blue, raven black;

  in the light of the sun the land looks like a fairy tale.”

  —Roald Amundsen,

  the first explorer to reach

  the South Pole, 1911

  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.

  For their next four Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie were told they must travel to real times and real places in history and prove to Merlin that they could use magic wisely.

  Now Jack and Annie must save Merlin himself. Morgan le Fay has asked them to find four secrets of happiness to help Merlin out of a deep sadness. Having found the first three secrets, they are waiting to find out where they are going to search for the fourth…

  Jack was raking leaves on a chilly Novem
ber afternoon. Geese honked overhead.

  “Smile,” said Annie.

  Annie was pointing her camera at him. “No pictures now,” he said.

  “Come on,” said Annie. “Smile!”

  Jack gave her a goofy smile.

  “A real one,” said Annie. “I’m taking pictures for our family project at school.”

  Jack crossed his eyes and made his smile even goofier.

  “Okay. Be that way,” said Annie. “I’m going into the woods.”

  “Good,” said Jack. “Go.”

  “Maybe the tree house is back,” said Annie.

  “You always say that when you want me to stop what I’m doing and do something with you,” said Jack.

  “Maybe Teddy and Kathleen are waiting for us,” said Annie.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Jack.

  “Maybe today’s the day they want us to look for a fourth secret of happiness for Merlin,” said Annie. “Maybe they’re going to send us to a super-cool place.”

  “Good. Hope they do. Have fun,” said Jack. “I want to finish raking these leaves before dark.” He glanced up at the late-afternoon sky—just in time to see a bright streak of light pass over the Frog Creek woods. “Whoa!” Jack turned to Annie with a smile. “Did you see that?”

  “Hold that smile!” said Annie as she took Jack’s picture. “Thanks! Perfect.”

  “But did you see that?” Jack asked. “The light going over the woods?”

  “Ha-ha,” said Annie.

  “No, I’m serious! It was a bright light! Wait a second!” Jack put down his rake and dashed into the house. “Mom! Dad!” he shouted. “Annie and I are going for a walk, okay?”

  “Okay,” called their dad, “but be home before dark!”

  “And wear your scarves and hats!” called their mom.

  “We will!” Jack grabbed their scarves, their hats, and his backpack from the hall closet and ran back outside. “Let’s go!” he said to Annie.

  Annie put her camera in her jacket pocket and took off running with Jack. They ran up the sidewalk, crossed the street, and headed into the shadowy Frog Creek woods. They crunched over a carpet of fallen leaves until they came to the tallest tree.

  The magic tree house was there! Kathleen and Teddy were looking out the window. The two young enchanters were both wearing dark cloaks.

  “Hi! Hi!” Annie shouted.

  “We were about to come looking for you!” said Kathleen. “How did you know we were here?”

  “I saw the light!” said Jack.

  “Climb up!” said Teddy.

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

  “Is it time to go on another mission?” said Annie.

  “Indeed,” said Kathleen.

  “And it is quite urgent now,” said Teddy.

  “Merlin is failing quickly,” said Kathleen. She blinked back tears.

  “Oh, no!” said Annie.

  “Morgan wants you to find the final secret of happiness today,” said Teddy. “And then you must return to Camelot to present all four secrets to Merlin. You remember the first three, do you not?”

  “Sure!” said Jack. “We have three gifts to help us remember. I kept them in my backpack.”

  “A poem, a drawing, and a seashell,” said Annie.

  “Good,” said Teddy. “Here is where you will look for the final secret.” He took a book from his cloak and handed it to Jack.

  On the cover was a picture of a volcano surrounded by snow and ice. The title said:

  “Antarctica?” said Jack. “We studied Antarctica in school. There’s hardly anything there. Where would we find a secret of happiness in Antarctica?”

  “I do not know,” said Kathleen. “But Morgan has sent a rhyme to help your search.” She handed Annie a slip of parchment.

  Annie read Morgan’s rhyme aloud:

  For the final secret, you must go

  To a burning mountain of ice and snow

  On wheels, by air, then all fall down,

  Till you come to the Cave of the Ancient Crown.

  Then speed to Camelot by close of day,

  Lest grief take Merlin forever away.

  “Forever away?” said Annie.

  “I fear so,” said Teddy.

  “I don’t understand,” said Jack. “This rhyme sounds like we’re going to a fantasy world, a place with ‘a burning mountain’ and a ‘Cave of the Ancient Crown.’ But Antarctica’s a real place, totally real.”

  “Aye, Morgan’s rhyme is a mystery to me, too,” said Teddy.

  “But you still have the Wand of Dianthus to help you, do you not?” asked Kathleen.

  “Yes,” said Jack. But he looked inside his backpack just to make sure. There it was: the gleaming spiraled wand of the unicorn.

  “Good,” said Kathleen. “And you remember the three rules of the wand?”

  “Sure,” said Annie. “The wand’s magic only works if our wish is for the good of others. It only works after we’ve tried our hardest. And it only works if our wish is five words.”

  “Excellent,” said Teddy.

  “I wish you guys could come with us,” said Jack.

  “We must return to Morgan and try to help Merlin,” said Kathleen. “But with your courage and intelligence, I know you will be able to find the secret by yourselves.”

  Jack nodded, embarrassed. But Kathleen’s words did make him feel more confident.

  “And after you have found it, you must hurry to meet us in Camelot,” said Teddy. “Just point to the word ‘Camelot’ on the rhyme from Morgan and make a wish to go there.”

  “Got it,” said Annie.

  “Go now. Quickly,” said Kathleen. “And good luck.”

  “See you soon,” said Annie.

  Jack took a deep breath, then pointed to the cover of the book. “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.

  “Welcome to Antarctica,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie were bundled in cold-weather gear. They both wore snow pants, gloves, boots with spikes, and thick red parkas with hoods. Goggles covered their eyes, and wool masks covered their mouths and noses. A hiker’s backpack had replaced Jack’s own pack.

  Jack felt trapped by all the gear. He pulled his mask down under his chin and pushed his goggles onto his forehead. Annie did the same. Their breath made clouds of mist in the freezing air.

  “It’s really cold here!” said Jack. The wind stung his bare face and made his eyes water. But he kept his mask and goggles off as he looked out the window with Annie.

  The tree house was on the ground. It was tucked under the overhang of an ice cliff near the ocean. Icy seawater sparkled in the sunlight. The shore was silent and deserted.

  “It looks totally empty out there,” said Jack. “I still don’t get it—how do we find the Cave of the Ancient Crown here? No king or queen ever ruled Antarctica. In fact, no people ever lived here at all until explorers came in recent times.”

  “Let’s get started and try to figure it all out,” said Annie.

  “Not so fast,” said Jack. He pulled off his glove and opened their research book to the first chapter. He read aloud:

  The continent of Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest place on earth. Larger in area than the United States, it is a land filled with ice—ice cliffs, icebergs, ice sheets, ice shelves—

  “Okay, lots of ice,” said Annie. “Got it. Let’s go.”

  “In a minute.” Jack kept reading:

  But Antarctica was not always a land of ice. Eons ago, it was part of a supercontinent scientists have named Gondwana. It had forests, flowers, and many animals, including dinosaurs. But no people ever lived there.

  “See?” said Jack. “No kings, no queens, no crowns.”

>   “Yep, let’s go,” said Annie.

  But Jack kept reading:

  Over millions of years, Antarctica broke off from Gondwana and drifted south.

  “Okay, I’m drifting now myself, Jack,” said Annie. “Byeee—” She climbed out the window and disappeared from the tree house.

  Jack looked back at the book, but before he could read further, he heard Annie whoop with laughter. “Oh, wow! Jack, come look!” she yelled.

  “What is it?” said Jack, closing the book.

  “You won’t believe this!” said Annie. “You have to come see!”

  Jack put his glove back on and pulled on his backpack. He folded the paper with Morgan’s rhyme and put it in his pocket. Then, clutching the research book to his chest, he climbed out of the window.

  Jack followed the sound of Annie’s laughter beyond the tree house. On the frozen seashore was a group of penguins, grown-ups and babies. The grown-ups had orange streaks on their cheeks, puffy white chests, and black wings they held straight by their sides. The babies were fluffy balls of gray fuzz. All the penguins were waddling toward Annie. They rocked from side to side, taking funny little steps.

  Jack burst out laughing. The big penguins looked like a committee of little men in black suits.

  The group stopped in front of Annie and squawked at her.

  “Hi, guys,” said Annie. “Glad to meet you!”

  The penguins stared back at her with friendly curiosity.

  “They’re so cool,” said Jack. He opened the book and found a picture that looked like the group of penguins around Annie. He read:

  Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of the penguin species and are also the most ancient. Over three feet tall, grown penguins can weigh up to ninety pounds. Researchers say the penguin’s closest ancestors lived 40 million years ago.