Viking Ships at Sunrise - Mary Pope Osborne [8]
Jack closed his eyes. He felt the ship jerk, then move forward.
He looked up. They were gliding over the giant waves.
Jack turned. The great serpent was pressing its long neck against the back of the ship, pushing it toward the shore.
As the serpent pushed them, the wind grew calmer. The clouds lifted and the water glittered with sunlight.
The rocky shore grew closer. Jack could see the tree house on the ledge above it.
“Hurry!” Annie called to the serpent monster.
The great serpent gave the ship one last push. The ship swooshed onto a sand bar near the shore.
Jack put the jeweled book carefully back into his bag. Then he and Annie climbed out of the ship onto the wet sand. They looked back at the sea.
The great serpent was rearing its long neck into the air. Its scales glittered pink and green in the sunlight.
“Bye!” shouted Annie. “Thanks a lot!”
The monster seemed to nod at her. Then he dove into the sea and was gone.
Jack and Annie headed toward the rocks. All of a sudden, Annie gasped.
“Uh-oh,” she said, pointing to the top of the cliff.
Two Vikings were staring down at them!
“To the tree house!” cried Jack.
The Vikings shouted and started down the steep stairs.
Jack and Annie began scrambling up the rocks.
They reached the tree house and climbed inside.
Jack grabbed the Pennsylvania book.
Annie stuck her head out the window.
“Go home! Stop causing trouble!” she yelled to the Vikings, who were almost to the ledge.
Jack pointed at the picture of the Frog Creek woods.
“IWISHWECOULDGOTHERE!” Jack shouted.
Just as the Vikings reached the ledge, the wind began to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
“Boy, I’m glad to be back in my jeans,” said Annie.
Jack opened his eyes. He still felt damp. But he was glad to be wearing his jeans again, too.
“Welcome home,” said Morgan. She was standing in the shadows. “Are you all right?”
“Of course!” piped Annie.
“And we brought back the lost book,” said Jack.
He reached in his backpack and took out the jeweled book of Brother Michael. He handed it to Morgan.
The enchantress sighed. She ran her hand over the sparkling cover.
“A great work of art,” she said.
Morgan then put the book next to the scroll from Roman times and the bamboo book from ancient China.
“I’m afraid the story you wanted is not all there,” said Jack. “Brother Michael didn’t get the chance to finish it.”
Morgan nodded.
“I know,” she said. “Sadly, we have only bits and pieces of many wonderful old stories.”
“What’s the story about?” asked Annie.
“It’s an ancient Irish tale about a great serpent named Sarph,” said Morgan.
“He saved us by pushing our ship over the stormy waves!” Annie said.
“Sarph was a huge, ugly monster,” said Jack.
Morgan smiled.
“Sometimes monsters can be heroes,” she said.
“What about Vikings?” asked Jack.
“Oh, most definitely, Vikings could be heroes, too,” she said. “In fact, once the Vikings settled down, they became more than just a warrior people. They actually added a lot to civilization.”
“We found civilization on our trip,” said Annie.
“Yeah,” said Jack, “in the library of the monastery.”
Morgan smiled again.
“Their library was a light in the Dark Ages, wasn’t it?” she said.
Jack nodded. He thought of Brother Michael and the other monks making their beautiful books by candlelight.
“Thank you also for your great courage,” Morgan said. “You are both heroes, too.”
Jack smiled shyly.
“Go home now and rest,” said Morgan.
“Bye,” Jack and Annie said together.
They started down the tree house ladder. The sky was turning pink and gold.
When they reached the ground, Morgan called out to them, “Come back in two weeks. I need you to find one more lost book.”
“Where is it?” said Jack.
“Ancient Greece,” said Morgan. “A place with the highest civilization—and the first Olympic games.”
“Oh, wow!” said Annie.
Jack was thrilled. He had always wanted to go to ancient Greece.
Jack and Annie took off through the woods.