Dingoes at Dinnertime - Mary Pope Osborne [1]
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Osborne, Mary Pope.
Dingoes at dinnertime / by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.
p. cm. — (Magic tree house; #20) “A Stepping Stone book.”
SUMMARY: The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie away to Australia, where they must save some animals from a wildfire.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89477-0
[1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Space and time—Fiction. 3. Zoology—Australia—Fiction. 4. Animals—Fiction. 5. Australia—Fiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series; #20. PZ7.O81167Dg 2000 [Fic]—dc21 99-40598
Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
v3.0
Cover
Dear Readers
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
1. The Last Gift
2. Sleepyhead
3. Big Foot
4. Joey
5. Wildfire!
6. Hand to Hand
7. Rain, Rain, Rain
8. The Rainbow Serpent
9. What Boy?
10. Dreamtime
More Facts
Special Preview of Magic Tree House #21: Civil War on Sunday
For Ellen Mager, a great champion of children’s literature
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.
Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian from the time of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.
In Magic Tree House Books #5–8, Jack and Annie helped free Morgan from a spell. In Books #9–12, they solved four ancient riddles and became Master Librarians.
In Magic Tree House Books #13–16, Jack and Annie had to save four ancient stories from being lost forever.
In Magic Tree House Books #17–20, Jack and Annie must be given four special gifts to help free an enchanted dog from a spell. They have already received a gift on a trip to the Titanic, a gift from the Lakota Indians, and a gift from a forest in India. Now they are about to set out in search of their last gift …
Annie sat on the porch steps. She stared down the street at the Frog Creek woods.
“Hey, Jack,” she said. “Do you hear it?”
Jack sat next to her. He was reading a book.
“Hear what?” he said.
“Teddy’s calling us,” said Annie.
“You’re kidding,” said Jack. But he looked down the street and listened, too.
A faint bark came from the distance.
Arf! Arf!
A big smile crossed Jack’s face.
“You hear it!” Annie said.
“Yep,” said Jack. “You’re right. Time to go.”
He stood up and grabbed his backpack.
“Be back soon!” Annie shouted through the screen door.
“Don’t be late for dinner!” their dad called.
“We won’t!” said Jack.
He and Annie ran down the street and into the Frog Creek woods.
Soon they came to the tallest oak.
There was the magic tree house. A little black nose stuck out the window.
“Hi, silly!” Annie called. “We’re coming!”
Arf! came a happy bark.
Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started climbing.
Jack followed her up into the tree house.
A small dog sat in a circle of afternoon sunshine. His tail wagged.
“Hey, Teddy!” said Jack.
Jack and Annie hugged Teddy. And the dog licked both of them.
“Morgan’s note is still here,” said Annie.
“Yep,” said Jack. He knew the note by heart now.
This little dog is under a spell and needs your help. To free him, you must be given four special things:
A gift from a ship lost at sea,
A gift from the prairie blue,
A gift from a forest far away,
A gift from a kangaroo.
Be wise. Be brave. Be careful.
Morgan
Beside the note were the gifts from their first three trips:
1. a pocket watch