Carnival at Candlelight Page 5
The gondolier silently helped Jack and Annie into the boat. Then he untied the gondola and pushed off from the landing.
As the boat glided through the shallow waters, Jack looked back at Venice. Bathed in early sunlight, the Grand Lady of the Lagoon did seem timeless.
The gondola moved around the bend and up the narrow canal near the walled garden. The gondolier tied the boat to a striped pole. He then offered his gloved hand to Annie to help her out of the boat. Annie climbed out and the gondolier offered his hand to Jack.
As the gondolier helped Jack onto the landing, the boat rocked in the water. Jack tripped, pulling the glove off the gondolier’s hand.
“Oh, sorry,” said Jack. As he handed the glove back, he gasped. On the gondolier’s finger was a pale blue glass ring.
Before Jack could say anything, the gondolier pulled his glove back on and pushed the boat away from the landing.
“Hey—hey!” Jack sputtered. “Teddy? Kathleen? Wait! Come back!”
Neither of the masked people looked back at Jack and Annie.
“Teddy and Kathleen? Where?” said Annie.
“His glove—it came off! There was a blue glass ring on his finger!” said Jack.
Jack and Annie watched the gondola disappear into a blaze of sunlight shining on the water. Had it just glided around the bend? Or had it vanished altogether?
“Are you sure it was them?” said Annie.
“Well, I guess anybody could wear a glass ring,” said Jack. “But still…”
“Maybe Morgan and Merlin told them to watch over us,” said Annie.
“Yeah, to make sure we’d be safe,” said Jack.
“And be patient and follow instructions,” said Annie.
“Right,” said Jack. “Well, Venice wasn’t destroyed by a flood. So I guess we passed our first test.”
“I think we did,” said Annie.
With Lorenzo’s canvas tucked under his arm, Jack led the way into the walled garden. Annie followed him to the rope ladder.
When they climbed into the tree house, Jack pulled Merlin’s letter from his backpack. He unfolded it and pointed to the words Frog Creek.
“I wish we could go there!” he said.
“Good-bye, Grand Lady of the Lagoon!” said Annie.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
A nippy wind rustled the Frog Creek trees. Jack and Annie were wearing their jeans and jackets again. It was dawn.
Annie sighed. “I wish we’d had a little more time to visit Venice,” she said.
“I’m glad Lorenzo gave us his painting to finish,” said Jack. “That’ll be like living our trip all over again.”
“Cool,” said Annie.
“We’d better leave Morgan’s research book here,” said Jack. He pulled the book out of his backpack and put it on the floor. “And this.” He took out Teddy and Kathleen’s book of magic rhymes.
“Wait,” said Annie. “Don’t you think we should take the book of rhymes with us? For safekeeping?”
Jack nodded. “We can’t use them in Frog Creek,” he said. “We’ll just keep it safe till we go on our next mission.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” said Annie. “Come on. Hurry, before Mom and Dad wake up.”
Jack put the book of rhymes back into his pack. Carrying Lorenzo’s canvas, Annie climbed down the ladder. Jack followed.
As they walked through the chilly dawn woods, Annie held up Lorenzo’s canvas. The shimmering light and waters of Venice looked just like they had in real life. “So what should we put in our painting?” she asked.
“Gondolas, of course,” said Jack, “with people in costumes.”
“Wearing black capes and bird masks,” said Annie, “and fancy dresses and wigs.”
“And we could paint the clock tower in the background,” said Jack, “with the two men striking the bell.”
“And the watchtower, too,” said Annie, “with the gold angel on top.”
“And the ruler’s palace,” said Jack.
“And the old man and Rosa walking along the canal,” said Annie, “and, of course, Lorenzo.”
“And the lion flying across the sky,” said Jack, “and Neptune’s spear rising out of the water.”
“With Neptune himself peeking out!” said Annie. “We’ll show just the top of his head and his mysterious eyes.”
“That’s a lot of stuff for one painting,” said Jack.
“We didn’t even put ourselves in yet,” said Annie.
“We’ll paint ourselves on the back of the lion,” said Jack, “wearing our clown suits and red slippers.”
“Yeah, with huge smiles on our faces,” said Annie, “like we’re thinking, Wow! Wow! Wow!”
Jack laughed.
A chilly dawn breeze swept through the bare trees. The bells of a Frog Creek church began to chime. Jack and Annie took off running for home.
More Facts About Venice
Venice has been called a “timeless city,” as well as a city “frozen in time.” This is because so much of the city and its traditions has been preserved through time.
The festival of Carnival goes back over a thousand years in Venice, but it was most popular during the 1700s.
Gondolas have glided along the waterways of Venice for over a thousand years. In the 1700s, there were about 14,000 on the canals. Today there are around 400.
Saint Mark the Apostle is the patron saint of Venice. According to legend, the saint’s corpse was stolen from its grave and brought to Venice in the ninth century. Since the traditional symbol of Saint Mark is a winged lion, that image is depicted all over the city in paintings and sculptures. In Saint Mark’s Square alone, there are no fewer than fourteen!
In Venice, there are approximately 3,000 alleys and 200 canals. Over 400 bridges connect 118 lagoon islands.
Many world-famous painters are from Venice. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo is considered the most important of the 1700s. His two sons, Giandomenico and Lorenzo, were also painters.
Neptune is the Roman counterpart of the sea god Poseidon from Greek mythology. Neptune’s three-pronged fish spear is called a trident. When astronomers named the planet Neptune, they chose the trident to be its symbol.
Author’s Research Note
Whenever I start work on a new Magic Tree House book, I begin the great adventure of research. I visit libraries, the Internet, bookstores, and museums. I talk to people who are knowledgeable about my subject, and if I’m able, I visit the place where the story occurs.
I chose to write a Magic Tree House story about Venice because I was eager to visit that wonderful city again. I had been to Venice a few years earlier, and when I returned home, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I especially remembered the warm summer night when I’d first stepped into Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark’s Square. I remembered the beauty and magic of the square’s architecture, the candlelit outdoor-café tables, and the sweet violin music played by musicians in tuxedos. I was dying to go back to Venice. What better excuse than to write a Magic Tree House book about the city and have a good reason to return?
On my second trip to Venice, I brought my guide book, camera, and notebook. I visited museums and bought books filled with paintings of Carnival costumes from the 1700s. I took photographs of the watchtower and the clock tower. I visited the Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s Palace, on the Piazza San Marco and took notes on the statues of Neptune and Mars, the paintings of the winged lions on the wall of the Map Room, and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s painting Neptune Offering Venice the Gifts of the Sea, which now hangs in a palace chamber.
My most unforgettable experience in the Doge’s Palace was a visit to the historic palace jail on the ground floor. I walked down a series of narrow, damp passageways and stone stairways and over the Bridge of Sighs until I came to the empty cells. In my notebook, I sketched
diagrams of barred windows and heavy wooden doors.
As I tried to leave, I became confused about how to get out of the prison. Breathless, my heart pounding, I rushed through the musty-smelling passageways and up and down the steep stairways.
Finally I found my way back out onto the beautiful, sunny square. Once I had escaped from the palace, I happily thought, “Now, when I write about Jack and Annie’s experience in the doge’s jail, I’ll really know how they would feel!”
On the morning I left Venice, I rode in a gondola and took notes on how the gondolier pushed his oar. I took notes on the pink early-morning light shimmering on the canal waters. I photographed the ancient city from offshore, trying to record its beauty and sense of timelessness. But no photographs can truly do Venice justice. No notes or diagrams can truly capture her. Venice lives best in memory, stirring the deep waters of the imagination.
Here’s a special preview of
Magic Tree House #34
(A Merlin Mission)
Season of the Sandstorms
Available now!
Excerpt copyright © 2005 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Jack put his math homework aside. He opened the drawer beside his bed and pulled out a small, handmade book. For the hundredth time, he stared at the title on the cover:
10 MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACK
FROM TEDDY AND KATHLEEN
For weeks, Jack had kept the book hidden in his drawer, wondering when he and Annie would be able to use its magic again. The bookߣs ten rhymes were to be used on four missions, and each rhyme could be used only once. Jack and Annie had already used two rhymes on a mission in Venice, Italy.
“Jack!” Annie rushed into Jackߣs room. Her eyes were shining. “Bring the book! Letߣs go!”
“Where?” said Jack.
“You know where! Come on!” Annie called as she ran back downstairs.
Jack quickly put Teddy and Kathleenߣs book into his backpack. He pulled on his jacket and took off down the stairs.
Annie was waiting on the front porch. “Hurry!” she cried.
“Wait! How do you know itߣs there?” Jack said.
“Because I just saw it!” Annie shouted. She hurried down the porch steps and crossed the yard.
“You saw it? Actually saw it?” yelled Jack as he followed Annie through the chilly afternoon air.
“Yes! Yes!” Annie yelled.
“When?” shouted Jack.
“Just now!” said Annie. “I was walking home from the library and I had this feeling—so I went and looked! Itߣs waiting for us!”
Jack and Annie raced into the Frog Creek woods. They ran between the budding trees, over the fresh green moss of early spring, until they came to the tallest oak.
“See?” said Annie.
“Yes,” breathed Jack. He stared up at the magic tree house. Its rope ladder dangled above the mossy ground. Annie started climbing up. Jack followed. When they got inside, Jack pulled off his backpack.
“Look, a book and a letter!” Annie said. She picked up a folded letter from the floor, and Jack picked up a book with a gold cover.
“Baghdad,” Jack said. He showed the book to Annie. Its title was:
THE GOLDEN AGE OF BAGHDAD
“A golden age?” said Annie. “That sounds cool. Letߣs go!”
“Wait, we should read our letter first,” said Jack.
“Right,” said Annie. She unfolded the paper. “Merlinߣs handwriting,” she said. She read aloud:
Dear Jack and Annie of Frog Creek,
Your mission is to journey to Baghdad of long
ago and help the caliph spread wisdom to
the world. To succeed, you must be humble
and use your magic wisely. Follow these—
“Wait, whatߣs a caliph?” said Jack. “And whatߣs Merlin mean—‘spread wisdom to the world’? Thatߣs a big responsibility.”
“I donߣt know,” said Annie. “Let me finish.” She kept reading:
Follow these instructions:
Ride a ship of the desert
on a cold starry night.
Ride through the dust
and hot morning light.
Find a horse on a dome,
the one who sees all,
in the heart of the city
behind the third wall.
Beneath birds who sing
in the Room of the Tree,
greet a friend you once knew
and a new friend to be.
Remember that life
is full of surprises.
Return to the tree house
before the moon rises.
—M.
“This sounds pretty easy,” said Annie.
“No, it doesnߣt,” said Jack. “All these instructions are so mysterious. We donߣt know what any of them mean.”
“Weߣll find out when we get there,” said Annie. “But first we have to get there. Make the wish.”
“Okay,” said Jack. He pointed to the cover of the book. “I wish we could go to the golden age of Baghdad,” he said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
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Discover the facts
behind the fiction with the
Magic Tree House® Books
#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
Merlin Missions
#29: CHRISTMAS IN CAMELOT
#30: HAUNTED CASTLE ON HALLOWS EVE
#31: SUMMER OF THE SEA SERPENT
#32: WINTER OF THE ICE WIZARD
#33: CARNIVAL AT CANDLELIGHT
#34: SEASON OF THE SANDSTORMS
#35: NIGHT OF THE NEW MAGICIANS
#36: BLIZZARD OF THE BLUE MOON
#37: DRAGON OF THE RED DAWN
#38: MONDAY WITH A MAD GENIUS
#39: DARK DAY IN THE DEEP SEA
#40: EVE OF THE EMPEROR PENGUIN
#41: MOONLIGHT ON THE MAGIC FLUTE
#42: A GOOD NIGHT FOR GHOSTS
#43: LEPRECHAUN IN LATE WINTER
#44: A GHOST TALE FOR CHRISTMAS TIME
Magic Tr
ee House® Research Guides
DINOSAURS
KNIGHTS AND CASTLES
MUMMIES AND PYRAMIDS
PIRATES
RAIN FORESTS
SPACE
TITANIC
TWISTERS AND OTHER TERRIBLE STORMS
DOLPHINS AND SHARKS
ANCIENT GREECE AND THE OLYMPICS
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
SABERTOOTHS AND THE ICE AGE
PILGRIMS
ANCIENT ROME AND POMPEII
TSUNAMIS AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS
POLAR BEARS AND THE ARCTIC
SEA MONSTERS
PENGUINS AND ANTARCTICA
LEONARDO DA VINCI
GHOSTS
LEPRECHAUNS AND IRISH FOLKLORE
RAGS AND RICHES: KIDS IN THE TIME OF CHARLES DICKENS
More Magic Tree House®
GAMES AND PUZZLES FROM THE TREE HOUSE