Sunset of the Sabertooth 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

  Text copyright © 1996 by Mary Pope Osborne.

  Illustrations copyright © 1996 by Sal Murdocca.

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

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope. Sunset of the sabertooth / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (The Magic tree house series ; # 7) “A first stepping stone book.” SUMMARY: The magic tree house transports Jack and Annie on a mission to the Ice Age where they encounter Cro-Magnons, cave bears, sabertooth tigers, and woolly mammoths.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89424-4

  [1. Man, Prehistoric—Fiction. 2. Prehistoric animals—Fiction.

  3. Time travel—Fiction. 4. Magic—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series. Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; #7.

  PZ7.O81167Su 1996 [Fic]—dc20 95-34697

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

  www.randomhouse.com

  www.randomhouse.com/magictreehouse

  v3.0

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. The “M” Things

  2. Bones

  3. Brrr!

  4. Cave Kids

  5. Snow Tracks

  6. Song on the Wind

  7. The Sorcerer’s Gift

  8. The Great Parade

  9. Master of the Animals

  10. This Age

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #8: Midnight on the Moon

  To all the kids who’ve helped me

  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 to point to a picture and wish to go there.

  Jack and Annie visited dinosaurs, knights, an Egyptian queen, pirates, ninjas, and the Amazon rain forest.

  Along the way, they discovered that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay. Morgan was a magical librarian. She traveled through time and space, gathering books for King Arthur’s library.

  On their fifth adventure, in Night of the Ninjas, Jack and Annie found a little mouse in the tree house. Annie named their new friend “Peanut.”

  Jack and Annie also found a note from Morgan. The note told them that she was under a spell. To free her, Jack and Annie must find four special things.

  They found the first thing in old Japan, and the second in the Amazon rain forest.

  Now Jack and Annie and Peanut are about to set out in search of the third thing … in Sunset of the Sabertooth.

  “Let’s go to the tree house,” said Annie.

  She and Jack were passing the Frog Creek woods on their way home from their swimming class at the Y.

  “No. I want to go home and change out of my bathing suit,” said Jack.

  “Oh, that’ll take too long,” said Annie. “Don’t you want to save Morgan as soon as possible?”

  “Of course,” said Jack.

  “Then come on! Before the sun sets!” said Annie.

  She darted into the woods.

  Jack sighed. He gave up on the idea of changing out of his bathing suit.

  He pushed his glasses into place. He followed Annie into the Frog Creek woods.

  The warm air smelled fresh and green.

  He moved through patches of sunlight and shadow. Soon he came to a small clearing.

  He looked up. There it was. The magic tree house in the tallest tree in the woods.

  “Hurry!” called Annie. She was climbing the rope ladder up to the tree house.

  Jack grabbed the ladder. He started up after her.

  Finally they reached the tree house.

  Squeak. A mouse sat on the window sill.

  “Hi, Peanut!” cried Annie.

  Jack patted the tiny head.

  “Sorry we didn’t come sooner,” Annie said. “But we had to go to our swimming lesson.”

  Squeak.

  “What happened while we were gone?” asked Annie, looking around the tree house.

  Jack stared at the large M carved into the wooden floor.

  On the M were a moonstone and a mango, the special things they’d found on their last two journeys.

  “Hey, guess what?” said Jack. “Moonstone and mango start with the letter M. Just like Morgan.”

  “You’re right,” said Annie.

  “I bet all four things start with an M,�
� said Jack.

  “Right,” said Annie. “I wonder where we’ll find the next one.”

  She and Jack stared at the stacks of books in the tree house. Books on the Amazon rain forest, ninjas, pirates, mummies, knights, and dinosaurs.

  All of them were closed. Only one book lay open in the corner.

  “We’re just about to find out,” said Jack.

  They walked over to the open book.

  They looked at the page the book was opened to. It showed a picture of rocks and snow.

  “Wow,” said Annie, running her finger over the picture. “I love snow. I wish we could go there right now.”

  “Wait,” said Jack. “We’re not prepared.” Then he had another thought. “And we’re wearing our bathing suits! Stop!”

  “Oops,” said Annie.

  Too late. The wind started to blow.

  The leaves started to shake.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster!

  Then everything was silent.

  It was as silent as the falling snow.

  Jack, Annie, and Peanut looked outside.

  Snow was falling from a gray sky.

  The tree house was in the tallest tree in a grove of tall, bare trees.

  The grove was on a wide, white plain. Beyond the plain were high, rocky cliffs.

  “I’m c-cold,” said Annie. Her teeth chattered. She wrapped her towel tightly around her.

  Sq-squeak. Peanut sounded cold, too.

  “Poor mouse,” said Annie. “I’ll put you into Jack’s pack. You’ll be warmer there.”

  Annie slipped Peanut into the pocket of the backpack.

  “We have to go home,” said Jack. “We need warmer clothes.”

  “We can’t go home,” said Annie. “We can’t find the Pennsylvania book. Not until our mission is complete. Remember? That’s the way the magic works.”

  “Oh … right,” said Jack. He looked around. There was no sign of the Pennsylvania book that always took them home.

  Annie peered out the window again. “Where are we, anyway?” she asked.

  “I’ll find out,” said Jack. He picked up the open book and read the title on the cover. “Life in the Ice Age.”

  “Ice Age?” said Annie. “No wonder we’re cold.”

  “We better find the third M thing soon,” said Jack. “Before we freeze to death.”

  “Look,” whispered Annie, “people.” She pointed out the window.

  Jack saw them, too: four figures on a cliff. Two big figures and two little ones—all holding long spears.

  “Who are they?” said Annie.

  “I’ll look in the book,” said Jack.

  He found a picture of some people. He read the caption to Annie:

  Early modern humans were called Cro-Magnons. During the late Ice Age in Europe, they sometimes lived in caves beneath cliffs.

  “Why are they carrying spears?” said Annie.

  Jack turned the page. He found another picture of the Cro-Magnons. He read aloud:

  The Cro-Magnon family often hunted together. They covered deep pits with branches. Then they drove reindeer and mammoths into the traps.

  “Oh, trapping the animals—that’s sad,” said Annie.

  “No, it’s not,” said Jack. “They couldn’t live without hunting. They didn’t have supermarkets, you know.”

  They watched the family disappear over the other side of the cliff.

  “Come on, I’m freezing,” said Jack. “Let’s hurry and find the M thing while the Cro-Magnons are hunting.”

  “But I want to meet them,” said Annie.

  “Forget it,” said Jack. “They don’t have books that tell them about us. They’ll think we’re some enemy and hurl their spears.”

  “Yikes,” said Annie.

  Jack put his book away.

  Squeak. Peanut peeked out of the backpack.

  “Stay in there,” said Annie.

  Jack pulled on his pack and started down the rope ladder.

  Annie followed.

  On the icy ground, they huddled together.

  The wind was biting. Jack put his towel over his head. Snow blew against his glasses.

  “Hey, Jack,” said Annie. “Look at me.”

  Annie had put on her swimming goggles. “Now I can see,” she said.

  “Good thinking,” said Jack. “Now cover your head with your towel. Most of your body heat is lost through your head.”

  Annie wrapped her towel around her head.

  “We should find a cave or someplace warmer,” said Jack.

  “I bet there are caves in those cliffs,” said Annie.

  She and Jack started across the white plain. The snow wasn’t deep yet. But the wind was blowing hard.

  “I told you!” Annie pointed to an opening in the rocks—a cave.

  They ran to it.

  “Careful,” said Jack. They stepped carefully into the shadowy cave.

  It was only slightly warmer inside. But at least the wind wasn’t blowing.

  In the gray light, they stamped the snow off their sneakers.

  Annie took off her goggles.

  “It smells in here,” said Jack.

  “Yeah, like a wet dog,” said Annie.

  “Let me see what I can find out,” said Jack.

  He pulled out the Ice Age book.

  “I’ll look around,” said Annie. “Maybe the M thing is here. Then we can go home and get warm.”

  Jack stood by the entrance so he could read the book.

  “This cave is filled with sticks,” Annie said.

  “What?” said Jack. He didn’t look up from the book.

  “No, wait. I think they’re bones,” said Annie.

  “Bones?” echoed Jack.

  “Yeah. Lots of them back here. All over the floor.”

  Jack turned the pages of his book. He found a picture of a cave filled with bones.

  “I hear something,” said Annie.

  Jack read the writing below the picture of the cave. It said:

  The great cave bears of the Ice Age were over eight feet tall. These bears were larger and fiercer than today’s grizzlies. Their caves were filled with the bones of their ancestors.

  “Annie!” whispered Jack. “Get back here now!”

  They were in the cave of a great cave bear!

  “Annie!” whispered Jack again.

  No answer.

  He put his book quietly into his pack. He stepped deeper into the cave.

  “Annie!” he said a little louder.

  Jack stepped on the bones.

  The wet dog smell grew stronger.

  He kept going, deeper into the smelly blackness.

  He ran into something. He gasped.

  “Jack?” said Annie. “Is that you?”

  “Didn’t you hear me calling?” Jack whispered. “We have to get out of here!”

  “Wait,” she said. “Someone’s sleeping back there. Hear him snoring?”

  Jack heard a low, deep moaning. It was loud, then soft. Loud, then soft.

  “That’s not a person,” he said. “It’s a great cave bear!”

  A booming snore shattered the air.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  “Go! Go!” said Jack.

  He and Annie ran through the cave, over the bones, and out into the falling snow.

  They kept on going. They ran between fallen rocks and under jagged cliffs.

  Finally they stopped and turned around.

  All they could see was snow and rocks and their own footprints.

  No bear.

  “Whew,” said Annie. “That was lucky.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack. “He probably never even woke up. We just got in a panic.”

  Annie huddled close to Jack. “Brrr! I’m f-freezing,” she said.

  “Me too,” he said.

  He took off his glasses to wipe off the snow. The cold wind blew against his bare legs.

  “Wow,” Annie said. “Look.”
She pointed to something behind Jack.

  “What?” Jack put his glasses back on and turned around.

  Under a cliff was a wide ledge. Under the ledge was another cave.

  Only this cave seemed to have a golden glow.

  This one looked cozy and safe and warm.

  Jack and Annie crept to the cave and peeked inside.

  A small flame danced from a bed of glowing coals.

  Near the fire were knives, axes, and hollowed-out stones.

  Animal skins were neatly stacked against the wall.

  “People must live here,” said Annie.

  “Maybe it’s the home of the Cro-Magnons we saw,” said Jack, looking around.

  “Let’s go inside and get warm,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie moved quickly to the fire and warmed their hands.

  Their shadows danced on the stone walls.

  Jack pulled out his Ice Age book. He found a picture of a cave. He read:

  Cro-Magnons made many things from animals, plants, and stone. They made flute-like musical instruments from mammoth bones. They made ropes by braiding plant fibers. They made axes and knives from stone.

  Jack pulled out his notebook and pencil. He started a list:

  “Ta-da!” said Annie.

  Jack looked up. Annie was wearing a coat.

  It had a hood and long sleeves. It went all the way down to her sneakers.

  “Where did you get that?” said Jack.

  “From that pile of furry skins,” said Annie, pointing. “These must be their clothes. Maybe they’re being mended.”

  She picked up another coat and handed it to Jack.

  “Try one. It’s really warm,” she said.

  Jack put his backpack and towel down on the hard dirt floor. He slipped on the coat.

  It did feel very warm—and soft.

  “We look like cave kids,” said Annie.

  Squeak. Peanut peeked out of Jack’s pack lying on the floor.