Earthquake in the Early Morning

colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. MAGIC TREE HOUSE is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.
    v3.0

For Chi Hyon,
Andrew and Peter’s mother

 

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 Camelot, the long-ago kingdom 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 freed a mysterious little dog from a magic spell.
    In Magic Tree House Books #21–24, Jack and Annie have a new challenge. They must find four special kinds of writing for Morgan’s library to help save Camelot. They are about to set off to find the third of these … .

Jack sat up in bed. He stared out his window.
    The sky was dark gray. The sun would be rising soon.
    â€œIt’s almost time,” he whispered to himself.
    The day before, in the magic tree house, Morgan’s note had said, “Come back tomorrow, in the early morning.”
    Jack jumped out of bed. He put on his jeans and T-shirt. Then he grabbed his backpack and crept out into the hall.
    Jack peeked into Annie’s room. She wasn’t there. He slipped downstairs and out the front door.
    Annie was sitting on the porch steps. Jack sat down beside her.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” he asked.
    â€œI was waiting for the birds to start singing,” said Annie. “Then I was going to wake you up.”
    Jack and Annie watched the sky go from dark gray to light gray. Then the birds began their song.
    â€œTweet-tweet,” said Annie.
    Without another word, Jack and Annie left their porch. They headed up their street to the Frog Creek woods.
    It was cool beneath the trees. Jack and Annie hurried through the woods to the ropeladder. It hung from the tallest oak. At the top of the oak was the magic tree house.
    They climbed up into the tree house. It was barely light inside.
    Annie picked up the note lying on the floor. She held it up to the window and read aloud:
    Dear Jack and Annie,
    Camelot is in trouble. To save the kingdom, please find these four special kinds of writing for my library:
    Something to follow
    Something to send
    Something to learn
    Something to lend
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 
Thank you,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 
Morgan
    Jack took a deep breath.
    â€œOkay,” he said. “We have our first special writing: a list from the Civil War.”
    â€œWe have the second,” said Annie, “a letter from the Revolutionary War.”
    â€œWe have the third,” said Jack, “a poem from a pioneer schoolhouse.”
    â€œNow we just need one more,” said Annie.
    â€œI wonder
why
we have to find these special writings for Morgan’s library,” said Jack. “How are they going to save Camelot?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Annie. “But let’s get going so we can solve the mystery. Where’s our research book?”
    They looked around the tree house.
    Their Pennsylvania book, the book that always brought them home, was lying in the corner. Beside it was another book. Annie picked it up.
    â€œThis is it,” she said softly. She showed the book’s cover to Jack. It said:
    SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 1906
    â€œCalifornia?”
said Jack. “I’ve always wanted to go to California.”

    â€œMe too,” said Annie. She laughed. “I guess I told Miss Neely the truth after all.”
    â€œYeah,” said Jack, smiling.
    The magic tree house had taken them to a pioneer school in their last adventure. There, Annie had told the teacher, Miss Neely, that they were on their way to California.
    Annie pointed at