Vacation Under the Volcano (6 page)

Authors: Mary Pope Osborne

Tags: #Ages 5 and up

They left the woods and started up their street.

“I know it's a myth,” said Annie. “But I have a simple explanation.”

“What?” said Jack.

“Hercules is a myth to people in
this
time,” said Annie. “But in Roman times, lots of people believed he was real. So, since we were in Roman times, he was real to us.”

“I don't knowÂ â¦Â ” said Jack.

“Did you ever hear the saying?” said Annie. “
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah.” He looked up at the sky. “Thanks, Hercules,” he said softly, “whatever you are.”

“Jack! Annie!” their dad called from their front porch. “Time to go!”

“Oh, brother, I forgot,” said Jack.

“Yeah, I hope nothing exciting happens on
our
vacation,” said Annie.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “I hope it's really,
really
boring.”

“Hurry!” their dad said.

“Coming!” they called.

Then they took off running for homeâand a restful vacation.

More Facts for You and Jack

1) Pompeii was forgotten after it was buried in ash and pumice. In 1594, the ruined city was discovered by workmen who were digging a tunnel. Later, a nearby town called Herculaneum was also discovered. It had been buried by boiling mud after the volcano erupted. Many things from everyday life have been uncovered in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Recently, a library of scrolls was found.

2) The language of the ancient Romans was called Latin. Many words in the English, French, and Spanish languages come from Latin. For example,
liber
means “book” and
libri
means “books” in Latin. The word “book” in Spanish is
libro
and in French is
livre
. In English we have the word “library.”

3) Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year
A.D.
79. The letters “
A.D.
” stand for the words
anno
Domini
.
Anno Domini
means “in the year of the Lord” in Latin, which refers to the year Jesus Christ was bornâabout 2,000 years ago.

4) The Romans took their name from the city of Rome, which was the capital of their empire. Rome is now the capital of the country of Italy.

5) In
A.D.
79, the Romans had a powerful army. They ruled all of Western Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

6) Hercules is the Roman name for the hero from the Greek myths known as Heracles. After the Romans conquered ancient Greece, they adopted many of Greece's heroes and gods and goddesses. Heraclesâwho became Herculesâwas one of them.

Here's a special preview of
Magic Tree House #14
Day of the Dragon King

Available now!

Excerpt copyright Â©
1998
by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children's Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Annie peeked into Jack's room.

“Ready to go to China?” she asked.

Jack took a deep breath.

“Sure,” he answered.

“Bring your secret library card,” Annie said. “I have mine in my pocket.”

“Yep,” said Jack.

He opened his top dresser drawer and took out a thin wooden card. The letters
M L
on it shimmered in the light. Jack dropped the card into his backpack. Then he threw in his notebook and a pencil.

“Let's go,” said Annie.

Jack pulled on his pack and followed her.

What are we in for today?
he wondered.

“Bye, Mom!” said Annie as they passed their mom in the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“China!” said Annie.

“Great,” said their mom. She winked at them. “Have fun.”

Fun?
thought Jack. He was afraid that
fun
wasn't quite the right word.

“Just wish us luck,” he said as he and Annie headed out the front door.

“Good luck!” their mother called.

“If only she knew we aren't pretending,” Jack whispered to Annie.

“Yeah,” said Annie, grinning.

Outside, the sun shone brightly. Birds sang. Crickets chirped. Jack and Annie walked up their street toward the Frog Creek woods.

“I wonder if the weather will be this nice in China,” Annie said.

“I don't know. Remember, Morgan said this would be a very scary adventure,” said Jack.

“They're always scary,” said Annie. “But we always meet animals who help us, or people.”

“True,” said Jack.

“I bet we meet someone
great
today,” said Annie.

Jack smiled. He was starting to feel excited now instead of scared.

“Let's hurry!” he said.

They ran into the Frog Creek woods. They slipped between the tall trees until they came to a huge oak.

“Hello!” came a soft voice they knew well.

They looked up. Morgan was peering down from the magic tree house.

“Ready for your next mission as Master Librarians?” she asked.

“Yes!” said Jack and Annie.

They grabbed the rope ladder and started up.

“Are we still going to China?” asked Annie when they had climbed into the tree house.

“Indeed,” said Morgan. “You're going to
ancient
China. Here is the title of the story you must find.”

She held up a long, thin strip of wood. It looked like a ruler, except it had strange writing on it instead of numbers.

“Long ago, the Chinese discovered how to make paper. It was one of the world's most important discoveries,” said Morgan. “But you are going to a time earlier than that, to a time when books were written on bamboo strips like this one.”

“Wow,” said Annie, pointing at the figures on the bamboo. “So
this
is Chinese writing?”

“Yes,” said Morgan. “Just as we have letters, Chinese writing is made up of many characters. Each one stands for a different thing or idea. These characters are the title of an ancient Chinese legend. You must find the first writing of the legend before the Imperial Library is destroyed.”

“Hurry, let's go,” said Annie.

“Wait, we need our research book,” said Jack.

“Yes, you do,” said Morgan.

From the folds of her robe, she pulled out a book. On the cover was the title:
The Time of the First Emperor
.

Morgan handed the book to Jack.

“This research book will
guide
you,” she said. “But remember, in your darkest hour, only the old legend can
save
you.”

“But we have to find it first,” said Annie.

“Exactly,” said Morgan.

She handed Jack the bamboo strip, and he slipped it into his pack.

Jack pushed his glasses into place, then pointed at the cover of their research book.

“I wish we could go there!” he said.

The wind started to blow.