Polar Bears Past Bedtime 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,

  A while ago, I began researching the Arctic because so many of you wanted Jack and Annie to go there. When I came across a certain astonishing fact, I got very excited about writing the story. The fact was this: Even though polar bears can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, they can walk on ice that is too thin to hold a person! How do they do this? They lie flat on the ice and perfectly balance their weight so that the ice won’t crack. Then they move forward by pulling with their claws, all the while maintaining their perfect balance.

  As you’ll see, this particular fact, combined with my imagination, helped me plot the story.

  So if you were to ask me where I get the inspiration for my Magic Tree House books, I’d have to say: readers, research, and my imagination. And I get further inspiration from my editor, Mallory Loehr, who has worked on all the books with me. She and I have fun meetings in which we go over and over the ideas for each book.

  I hope you enjoy reading Polar Bears Past Bedtime as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it. And I hope it will inspire you to try researching and writing your own book.

  All best,

  Text copyright © 1998 by Mary Pope Osborne.

  Illustrations copyright © 1998 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 simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope. Polar bears past bedtime / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (Magic Tree House ; #12) “A Stepping Stone book.”

  SUMMARY: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to the Arctic, where a polar bear leads them onto very thin ice.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89469-5

  [1. Polar bear—Fiction. 2. Arctic regions—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.

  4. Tree houses—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; #12. PZ7.O81167Po 1997 [E]—dc21 97-15624

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

  v3.0.30

  For Mallory Loehr

  with gratitude for taking the journey

  twelve times.

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dear Readers

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Are You Serious?

  2. The Howling

  3. Mush!

  4. Snow House

  5. You’re It!

  6. Flying Bears

  7. Spirit Lights

  8. Riddle Solved

  9. Oh, No, One More!

  10. Master Librarians

  More Facts

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #13: Vacation Under the Volcano

  Whoo. The strange sound came from outside the open window.

  Jack opened his eyes in the dark.

  The sound came again. Whoo.

  Jack sat up and turned on his light. He put on his glasses. Then he grabbed the flashlight from his table and shone it out the window.

  A white snowy owl was sitting on a tree branch.

  “Whoo,” the owl said again. Its large yellow eyes looked right into Jack’s.

  What does he want? Jack wondered. Is he a sign, like the rabbit and the gazelle?

  A long-legged rabbit and a gazelle had led Jack and Annie to the magic tree house for their last two adventures.

  “Whoo.”

  “Wait a second,” Jack said to the owl. “I’ll get Annie.”

  Jack’s sister, Annie, always seemed to know what birds and animals were saying.

  Jack jumped out of bed and hurried to Annie’s room. She was sound asleep.

  Jack shook her and she stirred.

  “What?” she said.

  “Come to my room,” whispered Jack. “I think Morgan’s sent another sign.”

  In a split second, Annie was out of bed. She hurried with Jack to his room.

  Jack led her to the window. The snowy owl was still there.

  “Whoo,” said the owl. Then he raised his white wings and took off into the night.

  “He wants us to go to the woods,” said Annie.

  “That’s what I thought,” said Jack. “Meet you downstairs after we get dressed.”

  “No, no. He says go now. Right now,” said Annie. “We’ll have to wear our pajamas.”

  “I have to put on my sneakers,” said Jack.

  “Okay, I’ll put on mine, too. Meet you downstairs,” said Annie.

  Jack pulled on his sneakers. He threw his notebook into his backpack. Then he grabbed his flashlight and tiptoed downstairs.<
br />
  Annie was waiting at the front door. They silently slipped outside together.

  The night air was warm. Moths danced around the porch light.

  “I feel weird,” said Jack. “I’m going back to put on some real clothes.”

  “You can’t,” said Annie. “The owl said right now.”

  She jumped off the porch and headed across their dark yard.

  Jack groaned. How did Annie know exactly what the owl said? he wondered.

  Still, he didn’t want to be left behind. So he took off after her.

  The moon lit their way as they ran down their street. When they entered the Frog Creek woods, Jack turned on his flashlight.

  The beam of light showed shadows and swaying branches.

  Jack and Annie stepped between the trees. They stayed close together.

  “Whoo.”

  Jack jumped in fear.

  “It’s just the white owl,” said Annie. “He’s somewhere nearby.”

  “The woods are creepy,” said Jack.

  “Yeah,” said Annie. “In the dark, it doesn’t even feel like our woods.”

  Suddenly the owl flapped near them.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  Jack shone his flashlight on the white bird as it rose into the sky. The owl landed on a tree branch—right next to the magic tree house.

  And there was Morgan le Fay, the enchantress librarian. Her long white hair gleamed in the beam of Jack’s flashlight.

  “Hello,” Morgan called softly in a soothing voice. “Climb up.”

  Jack used his flashlight to find the rope ladder. Then he and Annie climbed up into the tree house.

  Morgan was holding three scrolls. Each one held the answer to an ancient riddle that Jack and Annie had already solved.

  “You have journeyed to the ocean, the Wild West, and Africa to find the answers to these three riddles,” said Morgan. “Ready for another journey?”

  “Yes!” said Jack and Annie together.

  Morgan pulled a fourth scroll from the folds of her robe. She handed it to Annie.

  “After we solve this riddle, will we become Master Librarians?” asked Annie.

  “And help you gather books through time and space?” said Jack.

  “Almost … ” said Morgan.

  Before Jack could ask what she meant, Morgan pulled out a book and gave it to him. “For your research,” she said.

  Jack and Annie looked at the book’s title: ADVENTURE IN THE ARCTIC.

  “Oh, wow, the Arctic!” said Annie.

  “The Arctic?” said Jack. He turned to Morgan. “Are you serious?”

  “Indeed I am,” she said. “And you must hurry.”

  “I wish we could go there,” said Annie, pointing at the cover.

  “Wait—wait a minute—we’ll freeze to death!” said Jack.

  “Fear not,” said Morgan. “I am sending someone to meet you.”

  The wind started to blow.

  “Meet us? Who?” said Jack.

  “Whoo?” said the snowy owl.

  Before Morgan could answer, the tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  The air was crisp and cold.

  Jack and Annie shivered. They looked out the window at a dark gray sky.

  The tree house was on the ground. There were no trees and no houses—only an endless field of ice and snow. Morgan and the owl were gone.

  “R-r-read the riddle,” said Annie, her teeth chattering.

  Jack unrolled the scroll. He read:

  I cover what’s real

  and hide what’s true.

  But sometimes I bring out

  the courage in you.

  What am I?

  “I’d better write it down,” said Jack, shivering.

  He pulled out his notebook and copied the riddle. Then he opened the book. He found a picture of a barren white field. He read aloud:

  The Arctic tundra is a treeless plain. During the dark winter, it is covered with snow and ice. In early spring, snow falls, but the sky begins to get lighter. During the summer season, the snow and ice melt and the sun shines 24 hours a day.

  “It must be early spring now,” said Jack. “There’s snow, but the sky is a little light.”

  He turned the page. There was a picture of a man wearing a hooded coat with fur trim.

  “Look at this guy,” said Jack. He showed Annie the picture.

  “We need his coat,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack. “Listen to this … ”

  He read aloud:

  This seal hunter wears sealskin

  clothing to protect him from icy winds.

  Before modern times, native people

  of the Arctic lived by hunting seals,

  caribou, polar bears, and whales.

  Jack took out his notebook. He wrote:

  He was too cold to write any more.

  He clutched his pack against his chest and blew on his fingers. He wished he were back home in bed.

  “Morgan said someone was coming to meet us,” said Annie.

  “If they don’t come soon, we’ll freeze to death,” said Jack. “It’s getting darker and colder.”

  “Shh. Listen,” said Annie.

  A howling sound came from the distance … then more howling sounds … and more.

  “What’s that?” said Jack.

  They looked out the window. Snow was falling now. It was hard to see.

  The howling grew louder. It was mixed with yipping and yelping noises. Jack and Annie saw dark shapes coming through the snow. They seemed to be running toward the tree house.

  “Wolves?” said Annie.

  “Great. That’s all we need,” said Jack. “We’re freezing, and now a pack of wolves is coming for us.”

  Jack pulled Annie into the corner of the tree house. They huddled close together.

  The howling got louder and louder. It sounded as if the wolves were circling the tree house. They whined and yelped.

  Jack couldn’t stand it any longer. He grabbed the Arctic book.

  “Maybe this can help us,” he said.

  He searched for a picture of wolves.

  “Oh—hi!” Annie said.

  Jack looked up. He caught his breath.

  A man was looking through the tree house window. His face was surrounded by fur.

  It was the seal hunter from the Arctic book.

  “Did you come with the wolves?” asked Annie.

  The seal hunter looked puzzled.

  “Did Morgan send you to us?” said Jack.

  “I had a dream,” the man said. “You were in it. You needed help.”

  Annie smiled.

  “Morgan sends dreams sometimes,” she said. “We came in Morgan’s tree house. It flies through time.”

  Oh, brother, thought Jack. Who will believe that?

  The seal hunter smiled as if he was not surprised at all.

  “We do need help,” said Jack. “W-w-we’re fr-fr-freezing.”

  The seal hunter nodded. Then he left the window. He returned a moment later with two small parkas like his own. They were made of heavy dark skins with fur-trimmed hoods.

  He passed one to Jack and one to Annie.

  “Thanks!” said Jack and Annie.

  They put the parkas on.

  “Hooray!” said Annie. “It’s warm!”

  “Yeah,” said Jack. “They’re made of sealskin.”

  “Poor seals,” said Annie.

  “Don’t think about it,” said Jack. He pulled his hood up. His head and upper body were very snug now. Only his legs, hands, and feet were still freezing.

  “Oh, thanks!” said Annie.

  Jack looked up. The seal hunter was giving Annie a pair of fur pants. Then he handed a pair to Jack.

  “Thanks,” said Jack. He quickly pulled the pants on over his pajamas.

  Next the seal hunter gave each of them a pair of fu
r boots and mittens.

  Jack took off his sneakers and pulled on the boots. He wiggled his frozen fingers into the warm mittens.

  “I have a quick question,” Jack said to the seal hunter. “Do you know the answer to this riddle?”

  He opened his notebook and read:

  I cover what’s real

  and hide what’s true.

  But sometimes I bring out

  the courage in you.

  What am I?

  The seal hunter shook his head.

  “Come,” he said to Jack and Annie. Then he disappeared from the window.

  “What about those wolves out there?” Jack called.

  But the seal hunter didn’t answer.

  Jack grabbed the Arctic book and looked for a picture of the seal hunter.

  When Jack found the picture, he smiled. The seal hunter was standing beside a dogsled.

  Jack read:

  In cold weather, the seal hunter travels by dogsled. Siberian Huskies often howl like wolves. A lead dog controls the others. The sled’s runners are sometimes made of frozen fish rolled up in sealskin.

  “Hey, Annie, they’re not wolves,” said Jack. “They’re—” He looked up.

  Annie was gone.

  Jack threw the book and notebook into his pack. But he was so fat in his furry clothes that the backpack wouldn’t fit. Jack loosened the shoulder straps and tried to put the backpack on again. It fit.

  Jack looked at the small window. That would be a tight fit, too. He went out headfirst and barely squeezed through.

  Jack fell onto the snowy ground. The snow was still drifting down. The air was misty white.

  Jack heard barking and howling. He moved carefully toward the noise.

  At first, he couldn’t see the dogsled. But when he got closer, he counted nine Siberian Huskies. They had thick fur, big heads, and pointy ears.

  The lead dog barked at him.

  Jack stopped.

  “He’s telling you to climb on!” said Annie.