Carnival at Candlelight

stone stairways and over the Bridge of Sighs until I came to the empty cells. In my notebook, I sketched diagrams of barred windows and heavy wooden doors.
    As I tried to leave, I became confused about how to get out of the prison. Breathless, my heart pounding, I rushed through the musty-smelling passageways and up and down the steep stairways.
    Finally I found my way back out onto the beautiful, sunny square. Once I had escaped from the palace, I happily thought, “Now, when I write about Jack and Annie’s experience in the doge’s jail, I’ll
really
know how they would feel!”
    On the morning I left Venice, I rode in a gondola and took notes on how the gondolier pushed his oar. I took notes on the pink early-morning light shimmering on the canal waters. I photographed the ancient city from offshore, trying to record its beauty and sense of timelessness. But no photographs can truly do Venice justice. No notes or diagrams can truly capture her. Venice lives best in memory, stirring the deep waters of the imagination.

Here’s a special preview of
Magic Tree House #34
(A Merlin Mission)

Season of the Sandstorms

    Available now!
    Excerpt copyright © 2005 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

J ack put his math homework aside. He opened the drawer beside his bed and pulled out a small, handmade book. For the hundredth time, he stared at the title on the cover:
10 MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACK
FROM TEDDY AND KATHLEEN
    For weeks, Jack had kept the book hidden in his drawer, wondering when he and Annie would be able to use its magic again. The bookߣs ten rhymes were to be used on four missions, and each rhyme could be used only once. Jack andAnnie had already used two rhymes on a mission in Venice, Italy.
    “Jack!” Annie rushed into Jackߣs room. Her eyes were shining. “Bring the book! Letߣs go!”
    “Where?” said Jack.
    “You know where! Come on!” Annie called as she ran back downstairs.
    Jack quickly put Teddy and Kathleenߣs book into his backpack. He pulled on his jacket and took off down the stairs.
    Annie was waiting on the front porch. “Hurry!” she cried.
    “Wait! How do you know itߣs there?” Jack said.
    “Because I just saw it!” Annie shouted. She hurried down the porch steps and crossed the yard.
    “You saw it? Actually saw it?” yelled Jack as he followed Annie through the chilly afternoon air.
    “Yes! Yes!” Annie yelled.
    “When?” shouted Jack.
    “Just now!” said Annie. “I was walking home from the library and I had this
feeling
—so I went and looked! Itߣs waiting for us!”
    Jack and Annie raced into the Frog Creek woods. They ran between the budding trees, over the fresh green moss of early spring, until they came to the tallest oak.
    “See?” said Annie.
    “Yes,” breathed Jack. He stared up at the magic tree house. Its rope ladder dangled above the mossy ground. Annie started climbing up. Jack followed. When they got inside, Jack pulled off his backpack.
    “Look, a book and a letter!” Annie said. She picked up a folded letter from the floor, and Jack picked up a book with a gold cover.
    “Baghdad,” Jack said. He showed the book to Annie. Its title was:
THE GOLDEN AGE OF BAGHDAD
    “A golden age?” said Annie. “That sounds cool. Letߣs go!”

    “Wait, we should read our letter first,” said Jack.
    “Right,” said Annie. She unfolded the paper. “Merlinߣs handwriting,” she said. She read aloud:
    Dear Jack and Annie of Frog Creek,
Your mission is to journey to Baghdad of long
ago and help the caliph spread wisdom to
the world. To succeed, you must be humble
and use your magic wisely. Follow these—
    “Wait, whatߣs a
caliph
?
”
said Jack. “And whatߣs Merlin mean—‘spread wisdom to the world’? Thatߣs a big responsibility.”
    “I donߣt know,” said Annie. “Let me finish.” She kept reading:
    Follow these instructions:
   Ride a ship of the desert
   on a cold starry night.
   Ride through the dust
   and hot morning light.
       
Find a horse on a dome,
   the one who sees all,
   in the heart of the city
   behind the third wall.
       
Beneath birds who sing
   in the Room of the Tree,
   greet a friend you once knew
   and a new friend to be.
       
Remember that life
   is full of surprises.
   Return to the tree house
   before the moon rises.
    —M.
    “This sounds pretty easy,” said