To the Future Ben Franklin! Read online

  Dear Reader,

  Did you know there’s a Magic Tree House® book for every kid? From those just starting to read chapter books to more experienced readers, Magic Tree House® has something for everyone, including science, sports, geography, wildlife, history…and always a bit of mystery and magic!

  Happy reading!

  Here’s what kids and grown-ups have to say about the Magic Tree House® books:

  “Oh, man…the Magic Tree House series is really exciting!” —Christina

  “I like the Magic Tree House series. I stay up all night reading them. Even on school nights!” —Peter

  “Jack and Annie have opened a door to a world of literacy that I know will continue throughout the lives of my students.” —Deborah H.

  “As a librarian, I have seen many happy young readers coming into the library to check out the next Magic Tree House book in the series.” —Lynne H.

  #1: DINOSAURS BEFORE DARK

  #2: THE KNIGHT AT DAWN

  #3: MUMMIES IN THE MORNING

  #4: PIRATES PAST NOON

  #5: NIGHT OF THE NINJAS

  #6: AFTERNOON ON THE AMAZON

  #7: SUNSET OF THE SABERTOOTH

  #8: MIDNIGHT ON THE MOON

  #9: DOLPHINS AT DAYBREAK

  #10: GHOST TOWN AT SUNDOWN

  #11: LIONS AT LUNCHTIME

  #12: POLAR BEARS PAST BEDTIME

  #13: VACATION UNDER THE VOLCANO

  #14: DAY OF THE DRAGON KING

  #15: VIKING SHIPS AT SUNRISE

  #16: HOUR OF THE OLYMPICS

  #17: TONIGHT ON THE TITANIC

  #18: BUFFALO BEFORE BREAKFAST

  #19: TIGERS AT TWILIGHT

  #20: DINGOES AT DINNERTIME

  #21: CIVIL WAR ON SUNDAY

  #22: REVOLUTIONARY WAR ON WEDNESDAY

  #23: TWISTER ON TUESDAY

  #24: EARTHQUAKE IN THE EARLY MORNING

  #25: STAGE FRIGHT ON A SUMMER NIGHT

  #26: GOOD MORNING, GORILLAS

  #27: THANKSGIVING ON THURSDAY

  #28: HIGH TIDE IN HAWAII

  #29: A BIG DAY FOR BASEBALL

  #30: HURRICANE HEROES IN TEXAS

  #31: WARRIORS IN WINTER

  For a list of Magic Tree House® Merlin Missions and other Magic Tree House® titles, visit MagicTreeHouse.com.

  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 © 2019 by Mary Pope Osborne

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2019 by AG Ford

  Excerpt from Benjamin Franklin copyright © 2019 by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce

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

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Magic Tree House is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.

  Visit us on the Web!

  rhcbooks.com

  MagicTreeHouse.com

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

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  Trade Paperback ISBN 9780525648321

  Ebook ISBN 9780525648345

  This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.

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

  v5.4

  a

  For the Harne Family

  George

  Debbie

  Sophia

  Elliot

  Beatrice

  Abigail

  Lillian

  Cover

  Magic Tree House® Levels

  Other Titles

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. No Joke

  2. Old Philadelphia

  3. An Important Paper

  4. “How Strange…”

  5. Lightning Rod Ben

  6. Under the Mulberry Tree

  7. Now’s the Time

  8. Run for Your Lives!

  9. A Good Idea

  10. We the People

  More Facts for You and Jack

  Excerpt from Benjamin Franklin

  About the Author

  One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. It was filled with books. A boy named Jack and his sister, Annie, found the tree house and soon discovered that it was magic. They could go to any time and place in history just by pointing to a picture in one of the books. While they were gone, no time at all passed back in Frog Creek.

  Jack and Annie eventually found out that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot. Since then, they have traveled on many adventures in the magic tree house and completed many missions for Morgan.

  On their journeys to New York, Texas, and the Roman Empire, Jack and Annie learned great wisdom from three heroes of the past. Now they’re about to journey back in time to learn from a fourth hero!

  It was a hot summer afternoon.

  Jack and Annie sat in their living room. Jack was reading a book about weather. Annie was looking out the window.

  “Let’s go do something,” she said.

  “Too hot,” said Jack.

  “We could ride our bikes to the lake,” Annie said. “And go swimming.”

  “No way,” said Jack.

  “We could—”

  “Shh, please,” said Jack. “I’m trying to read.”

  Annie was quiet for a moment. Then she gasped.

  “Oh, wow, lightning! I just saw a flash of lightning out there,” she said.

  “You’re joking,” said Jack. “Nice try.”

  “No joke! I saw it!” said Annie.

  “There’s not a single cloud,” said Jack. “You need clouds to have lightning.”

  “Then it must have been…magic!” said Annie. “Come on, let’s go!”

  “No, thanks. Have fun,” said Jack.

  “You’ll be sorry,” said Annie as she rushed outside.

  Jack waited for Annie to come back in from the heat. He waited and waited. But she didn’t return.

  Jack put down his book. “I’d better check,” he said to himself. He picked up his backpack and headed outside.

  Oh, man, Jack thought as he headed up the sidewalk. It must be a hundred degrees in the sun.

  By the time Jack reached the Frog Creek woods, he was sweaty and out of breath. He crossed the street and walked between the trees. Even in the shade, the air was muggy.

  Jack tramped through the woods until he came to the tallest oak.

  “Hey t
here,” said Annie. She was leaning against the trunk of the tree. Next to a dangling rope ladder.

  “I told you it was no joke,” said Annie.

  “Right. No joke,” Jack said with a grin.

  Annie grabbed the ladder and started up.

  Jack followed. As they climbed into the magic tree house, golden sunlight slanted across the floor. The warm wood had a deep, rich smell of summer. In a shadowy corner was a piece of parchment.

  “A note from Morgan,” said Jack. He picked up the note and read aloud:

  In Old Philadelphia,

  A paper must be signed.

  Help Doctor Ben

  Make up his mind.

  “Doctor Ben?” said Jack. “Is Ben his last name or first name?”

  Annie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Keep reading.”

  Jack kept reading:

  To get his attention,

  Say “We’re from the press.”

  Then do what you can

  To ease his distress.

  Listen to his thoughts.

  If his fears start to grow

  And he loses all hope,

  There’s a place he must go.

  ’Tis a land filled with things

  You see every day.

  But these everyday wonders

  Will show him the way.

  “Hmm,” said Annie. “So Morgan wants us to go to Old Philadelphia. We have to find someone named Doctor Ben. Then we need to help him make up his mind to sign some kind of paper. That sounds easy.”

  “Yeah, definitely easier than going to a Roman army camp or an island about to have one of the worst hurricanes in American history,” said Jack.

  “Philadelphia’s not that far from Frog Creek,” said Annie. “They’re both in Pennsylvania.”

  “Yep, my class took a field trip there,” said Jack. “It’s not that far in miles. But ‘old’ could mean we’re going far back in time.”

  “That’s okay. ‘Old Philadelphia’ sounds charming,” said Annie.

  “Charming?” said Jack.

  “Yeah, like lovely and pleasant,” said Annie.

  “Okay!” said Jack. “So, where’s our research book?”

  They looked around. The only book in the tree house was their Pennsylvania book—the book that always brought them back home.

  “Hold on,” said Jack. “I have an idea.” He picked up the Pennsylvania book and checked the table of contents. “Yes! There’s a chapter called ‘Old Philadelphia, 1787.’ ”

  “Cool, let’s go to 1787!” said Annie. “This book can take us there and bring us back home.”

  “Exactly,” said Jack. He turned to a page that showed a drawing of a cobblestone street with women in long dresses, and carts pulled by horses.

  “See, it does look charming!” said Annie. “Let’s go!”

  “Right,” said Jack. He pointed to the drawing. “I wish we could go there!”

  The wind started to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  The sun was high in the hazy sky. The air was still and muggy.

  “Ugh,” said Jack. “It’s just as hot here as it was at home.”

  “Yeah, and our clothes are going to make us even hotter,” said Annie. She was wearing a long dress with long sleeves, an apron, buckle shoes, and stockings.

  Jack was wearing knee-high wool pants, a white shirt with a vest, buckle shoes, and stockings. His backpack was now a leather bag.

  “Louis!” a woman called nearby. “Louis!”

  Jack and Annie peeked out the window. The tree house had landed in a wide, shady tree in a walled courtyard.

  “Louis!” the person called again.

  Annie pushed back a branch to see better. Near the tree was a two-story brick house. The woman calling to Louis stood in the doorway. She wore a long dark dress and a white bonnet.

  A man digging in the garden looked up.

  “He’s gone swimming, Miss Sarah,” the man said.

  “Oh, dear. I’ve prepared a midday meal for my father,” said Miss Sarah. “Louis was supposed to take it to him.”

  “I could take it, ma’am,” said the gardener.

  “Oh, thank you, John!” the woman said. “It’s on the kitchen table. Please carry it to the old state house and deliver it to Doctor Ben. I have to go out shopping for a while.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said the gardener. He put down his shovel and headed into the house.

  “Doctor Ben!” Annie whispered to Jack. “That’s who we’re supposed to find! I told you it would be easy.”

  “Right,” said Jack. “But who is he? What does he do?”

  “I don’t know,” said Annie. “But we’ll find out if we take his lunch to him! Come on, Jack! We have to act fast!” She started down the rope ladder.

  Jack quickly put their Pennsylvania book in his bag. He climbed down the ladder and joined Annie in the courtyard.

  “We should hide the ladder and pretend we walked here,” said Jack. He lifted the bottom of the rope ladder and tucked it behind a low branch of the tree.

  John, the gardener, came out of the house. He was carrying a small covered basket.

  “Excuse me!” Annie called to him. “Is Louis here?”

  “Everybody’s looking for Louis today,” the man said. “I’m afraid he’s gone swimming.”

  “Oh, no!” said Annie. “We’re friends of his. We’re supposed to go with him to the old state house—”

  “To take the midday meal to his grandfather,” said Jack.

  “Louis must have forgotten,” said the gardener.

  “Well, I guess we could take it without him,” said Annie, “if you’d like us to.”

  “Why, yes,” the gardener said. “I still have a lot of work to do.” He handed Annie the basket and wiped his brow. “This is the hottest summer in forty years.”

  “No problem! We can handle it,” said Annie. “Come on, Jack!” She started out of the courtyard.

  “Hold on!” said Jack. He turned back to the gardener. “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me something about Doctor Ben? Who is he? What does he do?”

  “What does he do?” the gardener said. “It would take me all day to answer that question!”

  “Oh. Sorry, we—” said Jack.

  But the gardener kept talking. “He’s one of the smartest human beings of all time. He once stole thunderbolts right out of the clouds.”

  “Oh. Okay,” said Jack. Is this guy trying to be funny? he wondered.

  “He’s an inventor and a scientist!” John the gardener went on. “A diplomat and a writer! A scholar and a businessman!”

  “Excuse me, I have to go now,” said Jack.

  He looked around for Annie. She had already left the courtyard. He headed down the path to the gate.

  “There’s no one in the universe like him!” the gardener called after Jack. “I’m telling you the truth. He pulled lightning right out of the clouds!”

  Poor guy’s been in the heat too long, Jack thought. He waved goodbye and hurried out of the courtyard. He didn’t see Annie anywhere!

  Jack ran down a short alley to a dirty, noisy cobblestone street. The street was full of wagons and buggies. There were shops and houses on either side.

  Jack looked around for Annie.

  “Jack!” Annie ran to him, carrying the food basket. “Where were you?”

  “I tried to ask the gardener about Doctor Ben,” said Jack. “But the guy didn’t make sense.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find out soon,” said Annie. “I got directions. We go down Market Street, turn left onto Fifth, then right onto Chestnut.”


  “Let’s go,” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie squeezed past shoppers. They wove around carts loaded with fish and fruit. They stepped over garbage littering the cobblestones. They passed by crowded, smelly horse stables.

  “Phew!” said Annie.

  “Yeah, bad!” said Jack, holding his nose. With his other hand, he waved at the blue flies buzzing around his head.

  No wonder the gardener didn’t want to deliver Doctor Ben’s food basket! thought Jack. Charming Old Philadelphia didn’t seem charming at all!

  “Stop,” said Annie. “We turn here, onto Fifth Street, then onto Chestnut Street.”

  Jack and Annie trudged through the heat until they came to Chestnut Street. It was much quieter and calmer than Market.

  “Look, that’s it,” said Jack. He pointed to a brick building with paned windows and a tall bell tower. A sign in front said PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE.

  “Great,” said Annie. “So this is the plan. We say we’re delivering Doctor Ben’s midday meal. Then, to get his attention, we say we’re from the press. That’s what the rhyme tells us to do.”

  “Got it,” said Jack. “Let’s go.”

  Jack and Annie walked up a pebbled path to the state house. When they reached the brick building, they knocked on the front door. No one came to let them in. Annie tried to turn the door’s handle, but it was locked. Looking around, Jack noticed that all the windows were closed. Most of the blinds were drawn.

  “No one’s here,” he said. He felt sweaty and tired from the humid heat. “We came here for nothing.”

  “Darn,” said Annie. “Maybe we should go back to Doctor Ben’s house and wait for him there.”

  Suddenly the door swung open. A guard in a blue jacket and white pants stood before them.

  He looks like a soldier from the American Revolution, Jack thought.

  “No guests are allowed to enter,” the guard said.