Jack and Annie looked around the big room. The scholars and scientists were all deep into their reading.
“I can’t believe Mamoon is the caliph,” whispered Jack.
“Remember that life is full of surprises,” Annie repeated from Merlin’s letter.
“Yeah, and Return to the tree house before the moon rises,” Jack finished.
“I almost forgot that part,” said Annie.
“Me too,” said Jack.
“Shh!” said one of the scholars and scientists.
Jack and Annie looked up at the open window. The sky was pink. The sun would be setting soon. “We have to get back to the tree house,” Annie whispered, “before the moon rises.”
“I know,” said Jack, “but how?” He felt a moment of panic. The tree house is really far away, he thought. If we traveled on Beauty and Cutie, it would take a whole day and night to get there. And what about sandstorms? And bandits? Jack looked at Annie.
She was smiling. Magic, she mouthed.
Jack caught his breath and nodded. They both looked around to see if any of the scholars or scientists were watching. They weren’t.
Jack quietly slipped Teddy and Kathleen’s book out of his bag. He and Annie turned their backs to the others and opened the book to the table of contents.
Annie pointed to Turn into Ducks.
Jack gave her a look.
Annie pointed to Fly Through the Air.
“Shh!” said a scholar.
Jack turned to the right page. He held up the book so they both could see.
Jack said the first line of the rhyme:
Sail through the sky where you wish to go!
Annie said the second:
Sawn-ee-fore, sawn-ee-row!
“You must be quiet, or you will have to leave the library!” one of the scholars said grouchily.
“Don’t worry, we’re going,” said Annie.
A wind blew through the tall open window, fluttering the pages of the Arabian Nights book. The scholars and scientists grabbed their papers before they blew away.
The wind picked up a corner of the small carpet Jack and Annie were standing on. The carpet rippled. Jack and Annie fell forward. As they tried to stand, the carpet lifted off the floor.
“Oh!” cried all the scholars and scientists.
The carpet began floating up. It rose above the long tables. It rose above the shelves of books. Everyone jumped out of their chairs and scrambled out of the way, shouting, “Help!”— “Move!”—“Watch out!”—“Impossible!”—“What is happening?”
“Bye!” called Annie.
The carpet floated to the tall open window and glided out of the House of Wisdom.
Chilly air blew against Jack and Annie. Their head cloths flapped wildly as they clung to the end of the carpet and sailed through the sky.
“This is great!” cried Jack.
“Really great!” shouted Annie.
The carpet soared over the House of Wisdom, over the caliph riding back to his palace in his carriage, and over the camel stable.
The carpet zipped over the green dome with the horse on top. It flew over the courtyard, where the boys were still playing ball, over the third wall, and past the green field and the grand avenue.
The carpet flew over the second wall, the houses, the hospitals, and the hundred lions in the zoo. It flew over the first wall, the arched bridge, and the moat.
The carpet zoomed over the bazaar with the maze of stalls, the shoemakers, potters, and weavers. It sailed high over the road to Baghdad. Below, Jack and Annie saw the men driving donkey carts, the boys leading sheep, and the women carrying pots.
The carpet flew faster and faster and faster—
over the river, the grazing fields,
and the dunes with the whistling sands,
over the red glowing desert
toward the setting sun
and the small oasis
in the middle of nowhere.
The magic carpet slid smoothly onto the scrubby grass, near the small spring and the thorny shrubs, near the date palms and the rope ladder.
The desert looked as if it were on fire with golden red light. Jack felt giddy. “That—that was so fast!” he said. “I can’t believe we made it all the way here.”
“No kidding,” said Annie. “The magic must have helped us stay on.”
She and Jack tried to stand. They teetered and fell against each other.
“Steady,” said Annie, giggling. “You okay?”
“Perfect,” said Jack. He put his bag over his shoulder and staggered off the carpet. Then he and Annie headed over to the tallest date palm. Jack pulled the rope ladder from behind the trunk, and they climbed up.
When they got inside the tree house, Jack took out Merlin’s letter. He glanced out the window one last time.
The sun was gone. The carpet looked small and ordinary in the shadows beneath the palm tree. The desert looked vast and silent and lonely. A thin crescent moon had appeared in the sky.
“Return to the tree house before the moon rises,” said Jack.
“That was our last instruction from Merlin,” said Annie. “We’re all done.”
Jack looked down at Merlin’s letter. He pointed at the words Jack and Annie of Frog Creek. “I wish we could go home!” he said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
The Frog Creek woods were chilly in the afternoon air. Jack and Annie were dressed in their jeans and jackets again. Jack’s shoulder bag was a backpack.
“Good trip,” Jack said simply.
Annie nodded. “Really cool,” she said.
“I guess we should get home,” said Jack. “I have lots of homework to finish.”
“Leave the research book. But don’t forget to take Teddy and Kathleen’s rhyme book for safekeeping,” said Annie.
Jack reached into his backpack. He pulled out the book on the golden age of Baghdad and placed it on the tree house floor. Then he threw his pack over his shoulder and climbed down the ladder. Annie followed. Together they walked through the early-spring woods.
“We passed Merlin’s second test,” said Annie. “We helped spread wisdom to the world…. That’s a pretty big deal.”
“Be humble,” Jack reminded her.
“Well, I guess Teddy and Kathleen’s book did the hard stuff for us,” Annie said humbly.
“I miss them,” said Jack.
“Me too,” said Annie. “But I think they might have been with us in Baghdad.”
“What do you mean?” said Jack.
“Remember that servant girl and boy who took us to the caliph?” said Annie. “They sort of came out of nowhere. And we never actually saw their faces, did we?”
“No … ”, said Jack. “You think?”
Annie shrugged. “Maybe.”
Jack smiled and took a deep breath. “Maybe,” he said softly.
“Two missions and five rhymes left,” said Annie. “I hope Merlin sends for us again soon.”
“But not too soon,” said Jack. “I need to do my homework first.”
Annie laughed. “Math with Arabic numerals?” she said.
“Right,” said Jack. “And maybe tomorrow we’ll go to the library and see if they have any books of Aristotle’s wisdom.”
“Good idea,” said Annie.
A cool spring breeze rustled the trees, and Jack and Annie hurried toward home.