Mary Pope Osborne - Night of the Ninjas

Back Into the Woods "Let's look again, Jack," said Annie. Jack and Annie were walking home from the library. The path went right by the Frog Creek woods. Jack sighed. "We looked this morning," he said. "We l ooked the day before.

And the d ay before that." "Then you don't have to come," said Annie. "I'll go look by myself." She took off into the woods. "Annie, wait!" Jack called. "It's almost dark! We have to get home!" But Annie had disappeared among the trees. Jack stared at the woods. He was starting to lose hope.

Maybe he would never see Morgan again. Weeks had passed. And there had not been one sign of Morgan le Fay. Nor had there been one sign of her magic tree house. "Jack!" Annie called from the woods. "It's back!" Oh, she's just pretending as usual, Jack thought.

But his heart started to race. "Hurry!" called Annie. "She better not be kidding," said Jack. He took off into the woods to find Annie. Night was falling fast. Crickets chirped loudly.

It was hard to see through the shadows. "Annie!" Jack shouted. "Here!" she called. Jack kept walking. "Here where?" he called back. "Here here!" Annie's voice came from above.

Jack looked up. "Oh man," he breathed. Annie waved from the window of a tree house. It was in the tallest oak in the woods. A long rope ladder hung down from it. "Come on up!" Annie shouted. "Come on up!" Annie shouted.

Jack ran to the rope ladder. He started climbing. He climbed and climbed and climbed. As he climbed, he looked out over the woods. High above the treetops it was still light. At last, Jack pulled himself into the tree house.

Annie sat in the shadows. Books were scattered everywhere. On the floor the letter M glowed in the dim light. The M stood for Morgan le Fay. But there was no sign of Morgan herself. "Maybe she went to the library to get some more books," said Annie. "We were just at the library. "We were just at the library.

We would have seen her," said Jack. "Besides, the library's closed now." Squeak! A little mouse ran out from behind a stack of books. It ran to the M shining in the floor. "Yikes," said Annie. The mouse sat on the middle of the M. "Oh, it's so cute," Annie said. "Oh, it's so cute," Annie said.

Jack had to admit the mouse was cute. It had brown-and-white fur and big dark eyes. Annie slowly reached out her hand. The mouse didn't move. Annie patted its tiny head. "Can I call you Peanut?" "Oh brother," said Jack. "Do you know where Morgan is?" Annie asked the mouse. Squeak. "You're nuts, Annie," said Jack. "Just because the mouse is in the tree house doesn't mean it's magic. "Just because the mouse is in the tree house doesn't mean it's magic.

It's a plain old mouse that crawled in, that's all." Jack looked around again. He saw a piece of paper on the floor. "What's that?" he said. "What's what?" asked Annie. Jack went over and picked up the paper. "Oh man," whispered Jack, after he read the words. "What is it?" said Annie. "A note," said Jack. "It must be from Morgan. "It must be from Morgan.

I think she's in big trouble!" The Open Book Jack showed Annie the piece of paper. It said: Help me! Under a spell. Find 4 thin "Oh no," said Annie. "We have to help her. But what's a thin?" "Maybe she was trying to write things," said Jack. "Right," said Jack. "I wonder if she left any other clues." He glanced around the tree house. "Look!" Annie pointed at a book in the corner. "That's the only open book," she said. "That's the only open book," she said.

Jack looked around again. Annie was right. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Jack went over to the book and picked it up. He held it near the window. Light from the setting sun was golden on the page.

Jack stared at the picture on it. In the pic ture were trees with white flowers. The trees were on the side of a mountain. Near a wide, rushing stream. Two people were also in the picture. They wore dark clothes.

They had black scarves over their faces. And long swords strapped to their backs. "Oh man," whispered Jack. "Who are they?" Annie asked. "Ninjas, I think," said Jack. "Morgan must have left the book open to this page for a reason," said Jack. "Maybe that's where she was when the spell got her," Annie said. "Or maybe that's where the four things are," said Jack. "Let's go!" said Annie. "Now?" said Jack. "Yes, Morgan's in trouble! She needs us now!" said Annie. "But we should read this book first," said Jack. "So we'll be prepared." "Forget it!" said Annie. "Every minute counts!" She grabbed the book from Jack. "Give it back," he said. "We have to find out about this place." Annie held the book out of reach. "We'll find out when we get there," she said. "We don't even know where there is!" Jack said. "We don't even know where there is!" Jack said.

But Annie pointed at the picture. "I wish we could go here," she said. The leaves of the oak tree began to shake. Squeak! "Don't be scared, Peanut," said Annie. She scooped up the mouse. Then she put it in the pouch of her sweatshirt.

The wind began to blow. It blew harder and harder. The tree house started to spin. Faster and faster! Jack squeezed his eyes shut. Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

Except for the sound of rushing water. E- hy ! Jack opened his eyes. Annie was already looking out the win dow. The mouse peeked out of her pouch. Jack looked out the window, too. The air was fresh and cool.

The tree house was in a tree with white flowers. The tree was in a grove of trees on the side of a mountain. Nearby a wild stream rushed downhill. Two ninjas were standing on rocks near the water. They were staring at the valley below. One ninja was tall.

The other was short. They wore black pants and shirts. They had black scarves around their heads. And swords strapped to their backs. It was exactly like the picture in the book. "Be careful," he whispered. "Don't let them see you." "Why not?" Annie whispered back. "They might think we're some kind of enemy," said Jack quietly. "They might think we're some kind of enemy," said Jack quietly.

Annie crouched beside him. Jack pushed his glasses into place. Now he was going to look at the ninja book. He picked up the book. He turned to the beginning. He read: Very little is known about the shadowy warriors called ninjas.

Historians believe that ninjas lived in Japan between the 14th and 17th centuries. Both men and women were ninjas. Some times they fought to protect their families. Sometimes warlords hired them to be spies. "Wow," whispered Jack. "We're in Japan, hundreds of years ago." Jack opened his backpack.

He pulled out his notebook and pencil. He liked to take notes. He wrote: ninjas w ere warriors in old Japan "Jack," whispered Annie. "They're looking up. I think they know we're here." Jack peeked over the windowsill. "E- hy !" the ninja cried. "E- hy !" the ninja cried.

He dashed toward the tree. The other ninja followed. "Oh no!" said Annie. "We've got to go!" Jack said. "Where's the Pennsylvania book?" He and Annie looked around wildly. But where was the book about Pennsylva nia? It had the picture of the Frog Creek woods in it.

Jack and Annie couldn't get home without it. "It's not anywhere!" cried Annie. "We've got to do something. Fast!" said Jack. "Pull up the ladder!" He and Annie grabbed the top of the rope ladder. They pulled the ladder into the tree house.

But the tall ninja leaped at the tree trunk. Then he started climbing up the tree! The short ninja followed. They climbed just like cats!