Polar Bears Past Bedtime (2 page)

A long-legged rabbit and a gazelle had led Jack and Annie to the magic tree house for their last two adventures.

“
Whoo
.”

“Wait a second,” Jack said to the owl. “I'll get Annie.”

Jack's sister, Annie, always seemed to know what birds and animals were saying.

Jack jumped out of bed and hurried to Annie's room. She was sound asleep.

Jack shook her and she stirred.

“What?” she said.

“Come to my room,” whispered Jack. “I think Morgan's sent another sign.”

In a split second, Annie was out of bed. She hurried with Jack to his room.

Jack led her to the window. The snowy owl was still there.

“
Whoo,
” said the owl. Then he raised his white wings and took off into the night.

“He wants us to go to the woods,” said Annie.

“That's what I thought,” said Jack. “Meet you downstairs after we get dressed.”

“No, no. He says
go now
. Right now,” said Annie. “We'll have to wear our pajamas.”

“I
have
to put on my sneakers,” said Jack.

“Okay, I'll put on mine, too. Meet you downstairs,” said Annie.

Jack pulled on his sneakers. He threw his notebook into his backpack. Then he grabbed his flashlight and tiptoed downstairs.

Annie was waiting at the front door. They silently slipped outside together.

The night air was warm. Moths danced around the porch light.

“I feel weird,” said Jack. “I'm going back to put on some real clothes.”

“You can't,” said Annie. “The owl said
right now
.”

She jumped off the porch and headed across their dark yard.

Jack groaned.
How did Annie know exactly what the owl said?
he wondered.

Still, he didn't want to be left behind. So he took off after her.

The moon lit their way as they ran down their street. When they entered the Frog Creek woods, Jack turned on his flashlight.

The beam of light showed shadows and swaying branches.

Jack and Annie stepped between the trees. They stayed close together.

“
Whoo
.”

Jack jumped in fear.

“It's just the white owl,” said Annie. “He's somewhere nearby.”

“The woods are creepy,” said Jack.

“Yeah,” said Annie. “In the dark, it doesn't even feel like our woods.”

Suddenly the owl flapped near them.

“Yikes!” said Annie.

Jack shone his flashlight on the white bird as it rose into the sky. The owl landed on a tree branch—
right next to the magic tree house.

And there was Morgan le Fay, the enchantress librarian. Her long white hair gleamed in the beam of Jack's flashlight.

“Hello,” Morgan called softly in a soothing voice. “Climb up.”

Jack used his flashlight to find the rope ladder. Then he and Annie climbed up into the tree house.

Morgan was holding three scrolls. Each one held the answer to an ancient riddle that Jack and Annie had already solved.

“You have journeyed to the ocean, the Wild West, and Africa to find the answers to these three riddles,” said Morgan. “Ready for another journey?”

“Yes!” said Jack and Annie together.

Morgan pulled a fourth scroll from the folds of her robe. She handed it to Annie.

“After we solve this riddle, will we become Master Librarians?” asked Annie.

“And help you gather books through time and space?” said Jack.

“Almost … ” said Morgan.

Before Jack could ask what she meant, Morgan pulled out a book and gave it to him. “For your research,” she said.

Jack and Annie looked at the book's title:
ADVENTURE IN THE ARCTIC
.

“Oh, wow, the Arctic!” said Annie.

“The
Arctic?
” said Jack. He turned to Morgan. “Are you serious?”

“Indeed I am,” she said. “And you must hurry.”

“I wish we could go there,” said Annie, pointing at the cover.

“Wait—wait a minute—we'll freeze to death!” said Jack.

“Fear not,” said Morgan. “I am sending someone to meet you.”

The wind started to blow.

“Meet us? Who?” said Jack.

“
Whoo?
” said the snowy owl.

Before Morgan could answer, the tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

The air was crisp and cold.

Jack and Annie shivered. They looked out the window at a dark gray sky.

The tree house was on the ground. There were no trees and no houses—only an endless field of ice and snow. Morgan and the owl were gone.

“R-r-read the riddle,” said Annie, her teeth chattering.

Jack unrolled the scroll. He read:

“I'd better write it down,” said Jack, shivering.

He pulled out his notebook and copied the riddle. Then he opened the book. He found a picture of a barren white field. He read aloud:

“It must be early spring now,” said Jack. “There's snow, but the sky is a little light.”

He turned the page. There was a picture of a man wearing a hooded coat with fur trim.

“Look at this guy,” said Jack. He showed Annie the picture.

“We need his coat,” said Annie.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “Listen to this … ”

He read aloud:

Jack took out his notebook. He wrote:

He was too cold to write any more.

He clutched his pack against his chest and blew on his fingers. He wished he were back home in bed.

“Morgan said someone was coming to meet us,” said Annie.

“If they don't come soon, we'll freeze to death,” said Jack. “It's getting darker and colder.”

“Shh. Listen,” said Annie.

A howling sound came from the distance … then more howling sounds … and more.

“What's that?” said Jack.

They looked out the window. Snow was falling now. It was hard to see.

The howling grew louder. It was mixed with yipping and yelping noises. Jack and Annie saw dark shapes coming through the snow. They seemed to be running toward the tree house.

“Wolves?” said Annie.

“Great. That's all we need,” said Jack. “We're freezing, and now a pack of wolves is coming for us.”

Jack pulled Annie into the corner of the tree house. They huddled close together.

The howling got louder and louder. It sounded as if the wolves were circling the tree house. They whined and yelped.

Jack couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed the Arctic book.

“Maybe this can help us,” he said.

He searched for a picture of wolves.

“Oh—hi!” Annie said.

Jack looked up. He caught his breath.

A man was looking through the tree house window. His face was surrounded by fur.

It was the seal hunter from the Arctic book.

“Did you come with the wolves?” asked Annie.

The seal hunter looked puzzled.

“Did Morgan send you to us?” said Jack.

“I had a dream,” the man said. “You were in it. You needed help.”

Annie smiled.

“Morgan sends dreams sometimes,” she said. “We came in Morgan's tree house. It flies through time.”

Oh, brother
, thought Jack.
Who will believe that?

The seal hunter smiled as if he was not surprised at all.

“We do need help,” said Jack. “W-w-we're fr-fr-freezing.”