Moonlight on the Magic Flute Read online

  Jack heard branches breaking. He heard grunting and snorting. The giant bear lumbered out from behind some trees. But Jack kept playing, and Annie kept singing:

  Bear, hey, bear,

  No need to frown.

  Follow me, follow me,

  Follow me and the clown.

  The bear followed Jack, Annie, the leopard, and Wolfie down the path. The moonlight grew brighter and brighter. The magic music was making the night as bright as day!

  Next the hyena’s laugh rippled through the air. WHOOP-WHOOP! The hyena slunk out from behind a tree trunk.

  Jack kept playing, and Annie kept singing:

  Hyena, hey, hyena,

  We’re glad you’ve been found.

  Follow me, follow me,

  Follow me and the clown.

  The hyena joined the parade.

  More creatures appeared: the gazelle and the ostrich and the peacock. Annie sang to them as Jack played the magic flute:

  Hey, gazelle! Hey, ostrich!

  Hey, bird with a crown!

  Follow me, follow me,

  Follow me and the clown.

  The animals all joined the parade. Jack heard Wolfie laughing with joy. He looked back and saw the little boy waving his arms as if he were conducting the magic music, a big grin on his face.

  Jack kept playing, and Annie kept singing:

  All creatures who fly,

  Fly after this tune.All creatures who walk,

  Walk under the moon.

  All creatures who crawl,

  Crawl over the ground.

  Follow me, follow me,

  Follow me and the clown.

  Baboons and bunnies, snakes and squirrels, lizards and foxes—all the ordinary and extraordinary creatures in the woods followed Jack and Annie. On the other side of the wide square, candles twinkled in the rear windows of the palace. Jack wondered where he should lead all the wild creatures. Where was the zoo? How could he and Annie get the animals back into their cages?

  But Annie had another idea, as she sang:

  To your forests and plains,

  Where you’re all free to roam,

  To your lands near and far,

  Go home now, go home …

  Go home now, go home …

  Go home now, go home …

  As Annie sang the last words over and over, the creatures began to vanish into thin air. The leopard, bear, hyena, ostrich, gazelle, peacock, baboon, and crane all disappeared. Soon, the only animals left in the woods were the ones that belonged there.

  Annie stopped singing, Jack stopped playing, and Wolfie stopped waving his hands. The bright light faded to silver moonlight, and the cats, squirrels, and bunnies scampered off into the dark. The garden became quiet and peaceful again, except for the chirping of crickets.

  “Where did the wild animals go?” asked Wolfie.

  “Home,” Annie said simply.

  Jack put the flute back in his pocket and heaved a sigh. “Good work,” he said to Annie. “But did you have to keep calling me a clown?”

  Annie giggled. “Sorry, but ‘clown’ sounds good with so many other words.”

  “I’m glad they went home,” said Wolfie. “I wanted them to be free.”

  “Listen, Wolfie,” said Jack. “Don’t ever, ever again try to free animals from a zoo. Someone could have gotten hurt!”

  “I’m sorry,” said Wolfie. “I promise I’ll never do it again. But how did you make them follow you?”

  “It wasn’t us,” said Annie. “It was our music.”

  “Was it magic?” asked Wolfie.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact it was,” said Annie.

  “Music is magic,” said Wolfie thoughtfully. “I love music.”

  “Cool,” said Jack.

  “I really love it!” said Wolfie.

  “Uh … good,” said Jack.

  “I love it more than anything!” said Wolfie. He whirled around, clapping his hands and dancing for joy.

  What a weird kid, thought Jack.

  As Wolfie twirled, the palace clock sounded: bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong.

  “Seven,” said Annie. “Seven o’clock.”

  Wolfie stopped twirling and stumbled dizzily. “Oh, no! I must go!” he cried. “I will be late!” Wolfie grabbed Jack and Annie. “Come with me! You have to come with me!”

  “Uh, okay,” said Jack. Why is Wolfie so frantic? he wondered.

  Wolfie pulled Jack and Annie toward the palace. “Hurry! I cannot be late!” he cried.

  “Late for what?” said Jack.

  Before Wolfie could answer, someone called his name. “Wolfie! Where are you?” It was Nan. She was standing on the back terrace of the palace. “Wolfie!” she called again.

  “Coming!” shouted Wolfie. “Poor Nan! She is waiting for me! Papa is waiting for me! The whole world is waiting for me!”

  Wolfie took off running toward the palace.

  “The whole world?” Jack said to Annie. “I don’t think so.”

  Annie smiled. “Come on, let’s go back inside,” she said.

  Jack and Annie hurried through the moonlit garden back to the summer palace. They followed Wolfie up the stairway that led to the terrace.

  “I’m here, Nan!” Wolfie called.

  Nan ran across the terrace and grabbed him. “Oh, Wolfie! Where were you?” she asked.

  “I was in the garden! Oh, Nan, the most amazing thing—” said Wolfie.

  “Not now, Wolfie, we don’t have time,” Nan said. She brushed off his jacket and straightened his wig.

  “I love music, Nan! Jack and Annie made me love music again!” Wolfie said, pointing at Jack and Annie.

  “I’m glad, good, come now,” said Nan. “ We have to hurry to the Hall of Mirrors! Papa’s there waiting for us!” Nan pulled Wolfie toward the door.

  “Jack, Annie, come with us!” Wolfie yelled over his shoulder.

  “In a minute! We’ll be right there!” said Annie.

  As Wolfie and Nan went inside, Annie tried to smooth her clothes. The lace on her petticoat was ripped. The bottom of her dress was dirty. Her bows had come untied. The hoop of her skirt was bent. “I’m a mess,” she said to Jack.

  “Me too,” he said. His jacket was dirty and his pants were torn. He found his wig and hat where he’d left them and scrunched them back onto his head. “But we have to look for the artists now,” he said.

  “What about Wolfie?” said Annie.

  “Forget it. We don’t have time to hang out with Wolfie,” said Jack.

  “But we told him we’d come,” said Annie.

  “ We can’t spend our whole lives chasing after Wolfie!” said Jack. “Because of him, we’ve already used up our only chance to make magic. And we haven’t even started our mission yet!”

  “Okay, okay,” said Annie. “But we should at least say good-bye to him and Nan.”

  Jack sighed. “Okay. A quick good-bye,” he said.

  Jack and Annie walked across the terrace and stepped into the palace.

  “Excuse me,” Annie said to a servant, “where is the Hall of Mirrors?”

  The servant frowned at their appearance. But he pointed to a door on the right. “Pass through the next three rooms, then through the Great Rosa Room, into the Hall of Mirrors.”

  “Thanks!” Jack and Annie hurried through the four rooms until they came to a large door. They opened it and peeked into the Hall of Mirrors.

  Mirrors hung on the walls. The room was filled with party guests sitting in rows of chairs. Her Imperial Majesty and the imperial children sat in the front row. Wolfie was standing near the front of the room with Nan and their father.

  Jack wanted to leave as quickly as possible. But Wolfie saw them and called out, “Jack! Annie! Come in!”

  Jack started to slip away. But Annie pushed the door open and stepped inside. Oh, brother, thought Jack, following her.

  “Watch me!” cried Wolfie. Then Wolfie shot away from his family and hopped in front of the crowd.
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br />   Oh, no! thought Jack. What’s he doing? Why doesn’t someone grab him?

  Wolfie faced the audience. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed. Then he swept back his coattails and climbed up on a bench in front of an odd-looking piano. His short legs didn’t even reach the floor.

  Wolfie closed his eyes and bowed his head close to the keyboard. With just one finger he began tapping out some musical notes.

  Why’s everyone watching this little kid pretend to play the piano? Jack wondered. Then he realized something amazing: the simple tune Wolfie was picking out on the keyboard was the same tune the magic flute had played in the garden.

  Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath as Wolfie played. He went from tapping with one finger to tapping with two fingers and then three. As Wolfie kept tapping out notes, he didn’t look like a silly six-year-old anymore. The expression on his face was thoughtful and dreamy.

  Suddenly Wolfie was playing with all his fingers. His small hands flew over the black and white keys as he added to the tune of the magic flute.

  Jack was stunned. He couldn’t believe a little kid could make such beautiful music. The sounds from the piano were sometimes light and playful,and at other times heavy and forceful. The slow parts of Wolfie’s music made Jack want to close his eyes. The lively parts made him want to bounce up and down.

  Wolfie ended his concert with a great flourish. Then he stood up and bowed.

  The guests jumped to their feet, smiling and laughing, clapping and yelling, “Bravo! Bravo!”

  Wolfie kept bowing. The clapping and cheering would die down, but then it would start up again. As long as people clapped, Wolfie bowed.

  Finally Wolfie’s father stepped up to the piano. Then Wolfie seemed to turn into a little kid again. “Papa!” he said. He grabbed his father and buried his face in his father’s coat. Wolfie’s dad had tears on his cheeks as he hugged his son.

  All the guests talked excitedly about the performance they’d just seen:

  “I couldn’t believe my ears!”

  “I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

  “How did he do it? He is so young and small!”

  As the party guests kept praising Wolfie, Nan walked over to Jack and Annie. “Thank you for bringing Wolfie back for his concert,” she said.

  “Has he been playing a long time?” Annie asked.

  “Papa has been teaching him since he was three,” said Nan. “And now Wolfie is even starting to write his own music. He tells Papa he hears tunes in his head—like the tune he played tonight. I have never heard that one before.”

  Annie smiled at Jack, and he smiled back at her. “Cool,” Annie said.

  A hush fell over the crowd. Her Imperial Majesty had stepped forward. She took Wolfie’s hands in hers. “Thank you for your brilliant performance, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,” she said.

  As the crowd clapped wildly again, Annie looked at Jack. “Mozart!” she said.

  Jack was confused. Mozart? He knew the name Mozart. Their piano teacher loved the music of Mozart. Their parents loved it, too. In fact, they’d once taken Annie and Jack to hear a concert of Mozart’s music. Jack couldn’t believe that this strange little kid was the world-famous Mozart.

  The applause stopped as Her Imperial Majesty spoke to the crowd. “ We have witnessed a great event here tonight. I know we will all remember it in the years to come, when our young Wolfgang Mozart brings joy to all the world with his music.”

  “Oh, man,” Jack whispered. He looked at Annie. “Did you hear that?”

  Annie smiled at him and nodded.

  “Thank you again for your help,” Nan said to them. She started to leave, then turned back. “Oh, I asked Papa your question about the artists living here. He said he was talking about another palace in Vienna. I am sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” said Annie. “No problem.”

  As Nan headed for Wolfie and her father, Annie looked at Jack. “ We found our great artist,” she said. “He was with us all along.”

  “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” Jack sighed. “And right now he’s just a little kid.”

  “So I guess we did our mission,” said Annie. “Remember what Wolfie said to Nan? He said we made him love music again. So I guess we put him back on the path to giving his gifts to the world.”

  “Yep, and now we can leave,” said Jack. “Whew.” He was ready to get out of his fancy clothes and wig and go home and have a good dinner.

  “Let’s go say good-bye to Wolfie,” said Annie.

  As Jack and Annie started toward Wolfie, Her Imperial Majesty was laughing at something he had said. “You are truly a young magician, my little Wolfgang Mozart!” she said.

  “No, not me,” said Wolfie. “Jack and Annie are the true magicians!”

  “Who?” said Her Imperial Majesty.

  “Over there,” said Wolfie, pointing across the room. “Jack! Annie!” he called.

  All eyes turned to Jack and Annie.

  “Look! It’s Jack of Frog Creek!” said one of the imperial children.

  Jack froze, horrified.

  “Jack is a clown,” said Wolfie. “And he plays magic music on his flute. And Annie sings beautiful magic songs. I just heard them.”

  “Really?” said Her Imperial Majesty. She raised her eyebrows. “Well, Jack and Annie. Perhaps you will perform for all of us here as well?”

  Everyone was silent, waiting for an answer from Jack and Annie.

  “Um, well, you see …,” Jack began.

  “Sure,” said Annie with a big smile. “We’d love to perform for you.”

  Oh, no! thought Jack.

  “Yes! Sing for us! Play for us!” said Wolfie, clapping his hands. He ran to Jack and Annie and pulled them toward the front of the room.

  Annie leaned close to Jack. “You play; I’ll sing,” she whispered.

  “But the flute won’t make magic anymore,” Jack said out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Do the best you can,” whispered Annie. She smiled at the crowd.

  Jack could hardly breathe. This is worse than facing the leopard and bear! he thought.

  “Me, then you,” Annie said to him.

  Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver flute. Annie started singing:

  We came in a coach,

  In a wig and a gown.We came to Vienna,

  Me and the clown.

  Annie turned to Jack. As everyone watched him, he held the instrument in a playing position. He desperately hoped a little magic still lingered in the flute. He blew air over the mouthpiece.

  No sound came out. All anyone could hear was Jack’s huffing and puffing.

  Wolfie giggled. “See! Jack’s a clown!” he said.

  Everyone laughed.

  Okay, thought Jack, if they want a clown, I’ll be a clown. Jack put on a goofy face. He looked into the end of the flute, as if searching for its missing sound. He jerked back his head, as if something had shot out of the flute and hit him in the eye.

  Everyone laughed harder.

  Jack liked hearing their laughter this time. He made a big show of wiping his eye. Then he gave Annie a silly grin.

  Annie shook her head and sang:

  My brother’s a fool,

  He’s always around.

  Why is it always

  Me and the clown?

  Jack pretended to bonk her on the head with his flute. He tried playing again, but again no sound came out. He turned the flute upside down and shook it, as if he were trying to shake out some music.

  Annie rolled her eyes, to show she thought Jack was hopeless. Then she nodded at him, motioning for him to walk with her. As they moved away from the front of the room, Annie sang the last verse of her song:

  It’s time to go,

  It’s time to leave town.

  Good-bye from me, and

  Good-bye from the clown.

  Crossing the room, Jack put the flute to his lips again. As he followed Annie
to the door, he looked at the crowd and winked. Then he started to make up his own flute sounds. “Tweetle-tweetletweetle!” he sang. “Toot-toot-ah-roo!”

  The audience laughed. When Jack saw Nan laughing hard, it spurred him on, and he did a little dance step. “Peep-peep-peep-ah-lee!” he sang, pretending to play the flute. “Peek-peek-a-boo!”

  At the door, Jack and Annie stopped. Jack held the flute to his side and bowed. Annie curtsied at the same time. The audience laughed and clapped. Together Jack and Annie waved to the crowd.

  “Bye, Wolfie!” shouted Annie. She blew kisses to him. “Keep making music!”

  “Have a great life, Wolfie!” shouted Jack.

  “Bye, Jack! Bye, Annie!” yelled Wolfie. “I promise I will never forget you!”

  Jack bowed very low, and Annie curtsied again.

  “Rise,” said Her Imperial Majesty, laughing.

  Jack and Annie straightened up, waved one last time, and slipped out the door.

  “Go, go!” said Jack.

  Jack and Annie ran through the Great Rosa Room, through the next three rooms, and into the room off the back terrace. Then they turned and hurried to the huge party room, where the thousand candles had nearly burned out. They ran to the door that led out to the front entrance.

  “ We have to leave. Good night!” Annie said to the guard. “Thanks for everything!”

  The guard opened the door, and they ran outside.

  “Keep going!” said Jack.

  They hurried down the sweeping, curved stairway that led to the giant square.

  A line of coaches was parked below, waiting to pick up guests. Jack and Annie saw Josef standing by his coach. The moonlight shone on his two milk white horses.

  “Josef!” shouted Annie.

  Jack and Annie ran over to the coachman.

  “Ah, my young friends!” he said. “How was your evening?”

  “Great,” said Annie. “But we have to go home now. Do you have time to take us back to the gate?”

  “Indeed, it is early,” said Josef. “I can take you now and then return for my employer and his family.”