Stage Fright on a Summer Night by Mary Pope Osborne Page A

and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. MAGIC TREE HOUSE is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.
    v3.0

For James Simmons



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 that 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 point to a picture and wish to go there. While they are gone, no time at all passes in Frog Creek.
    Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian of Camelot, the long-ago kingdom of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.
    In Magic Tree House Books #5–8, Jack and Annie help free Morgan from a spell. In Books #9–12, they solve four ancient riddles and become Master Librarians.
    In Magic Tree House Books #13–16, Jack and Annie have to save four ancient stories from being lost forever. In Magic Tree House Books #17–20, Jack and Annie free a mysterious little dog from a magic spell. In Magic Tree House Books #21–24, Jack and Annie help save Camelot. In Magic Tree House Books #25–28, Jack and Annie search for special kinds of magic.

Jack and Annie sat on their porch. Lightning bugs blinked in the warm summer twilight.
    â€œWow, a shooting star!” said Annie, pointing at the sky.
    Jack looked up, just in time to see a streak of light flash through the sky. The light hovered above the Frog Creek woods. Then it disappeared into the treetops.
    Jack caught his breath. He turned to Annie.
    â€œThat was no shooting star,” he said.
    â€œRight,” she said.
    They jumped up. Jack grabbed his backpack from inside the front hall.
    â€œDad, Mom! Can we go out?” he called. “We’ll be back soon!”
    â€œTen minutes, no more!” their mom said.
    â€œOkay!” said Jack. He closed the door. “Let’s go! Hurry!”
    He and Annie ran across their yard. They ran down their street. They ran into the woods. They ran until they came to the tallest oak. They looked up.
    â€œYep,” said Annie.
    Jack just smiled. He was too happy for words.
    â€œThat’s our shooting star,” said Annie. “The magic tree house.”
    She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed.
    When they climbed inside the tree house, they both gasped. A beautiful woman with long white hair stood in the shadowy corner.
    â€œHello, Jack and Annie,” said Morgan le Fay.
    â€œMorgan!” Jack and Annie cried.
    They threw their arms around her.
    â€œWhy are you here?” said Annie. “What do you want us to do for you?”
    â€œYou have already done many good things for me,” said Morgan, “and for King Arthur and Camelot. Now I want you to do something good for yourselves. You are going to learn magic.”
    â€œOh, wow,” said Annie. “Are we going tobecome magicians? Will you teach us charms and spells?”
    Morgan laughed. “There is magic that does not need charms or spells,” she said. “You’ll find a special magic on each of your next four adventures.”
    â€œHow?” asked Jack.
    â€œA secret rhyme will guide you on each journey,” Morgan said. “Here this is the first.” She held up a slip of paper.
    Annie took the paper from Morgan and read the rhyme aloud:
    To find a special magic,
    You must step into the light
    And without wand, spell, or charm,
    Turn daytime into night.
    â€œTurn daytime into night?” said Jack. “How can we do that?”
    Morgan smiled.
    â€œThat’s what you have to find out,” she said.
    Jack had lots of questions. But before he could ask any of them, a flash lit up the tree