Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne Read Free Book Online

whispered to him. “And thanks for everything.”
    â€œYeah, thanks,” said Jack. “Good-bye.”
    The white stag stared at them with his mysterious amber eyes. He nodded once. Then he turned and headed into the darkness.
    Jack picked up the cup. “Come on!” he said. He started walking quickly through the outer courtyard.
    â€œCareful, careful!” said Annie.
    â€œI got it, I got it,” said Jack.
    They crossed the drawbridge to the inner courtyard of the castle. Then they pushed open the giant arched doors.
    The great hall was just as they had left it—dimly lit and freezing cold. King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, the Knights of the Round Table, and Morgan le Fay were all still frozen and silent.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” said Jack.
    â€œLet’s try putting a drop of water on each of them! Morgan first!” said Annie.
    â€œOkay,” said Jack. “Come on.”

    Holding his breath and keeping his eyes on the cup, Jack walked carefully toward theRound Table. Suddenly, his left foot stepped on the shoelace of his right sneaker—and he stumbled.
    â€œJack!” yelled Annie.
    Jack tried to regain his balance, but it was too late! As he fell to the floor, the silver cup slipped from his hands.

J ack and Annie watched in horror as the water from the cup splashed over the stone floor. It trickled into the cracks between the stones and disappeared.
    Jack scrambled to the cup. He picked it up. It was completely empty.
    â€œOh, no,” Jack moaned. He sat back and put his head in his hands.
Camelot will never wake up now,
he thought.
The legend will end forever.
    â€œJack!” said Annie. “Look!”
    Jack raised his head. He pushed his glassesinto place. A golden cloud was rising from the cracks between all the stones of the floor.
    The cloud spread quickly throughout the great hall, filling the room with wonderful smells—the scent of cedar smoke and evergreen, of roses and almonds.
    The cloud rose up and up, then wafted out through the upper windows of the hall. Suddenly, a white dove flew through one of the windows. It soared across the dark room like a bright light, then swooped back out into the night.
    Soft, gentle laughter came from the end of the hall. The laughter grew louder. Jack saw King Arthur and Queen Guinevere looking at one another—they were laughing! The Knights of the Round Table were laughing, too!
    Best of all, Jack saw Morgan le Fay smiling at him and Annie!
    â€œJack! Annie! Come here!” she called. She held out her arms.
    â€œMorgan!” cried Annie. She ran to Morgan and threw her arms around the enchantress. Jack stood up. Still holding the empty cup, he ran to Morgan and hugged her, too.
    â€œWe did what the Christmas Knight told us to do!” said Annie. “We brought back the Water of Memory and Imagination!”
    â€œBut I dropped the cup,” said Jack, “and spilled all the water!”
    â€œBut the water made a gold cloud,” said Annie. “And everyone came back to life!”
    Morgan laughed with amazement.
    â€œYou have just returned from the Otherworld?” she asked.
    â€œYes!” said Annie.
    â€œA white stag brought us back!” said Jack. He turned to King Arthur.
    â€œYour Majesty,” he said, “we have good news. Your knights are safe. Sir Lancelot said to tell you they’ll be home before the first night of the New Year.”
    The king looked bewildered. “You found them—?”
    â€œYes, and they’re all fine,” said Annie.
    â€œHere—” said Jack. He handed the silver cup to the king. “Please give this back to Sir Galahad.”
    â€œAnd this to Sir Lancelot,” said Annie. She took the glass key from around her neck and gave it to King Arthur.
    â€œOh, and this to Sir Percival,” said Jack. He pulled the wooden compass box from his pack and gave it to the king.
    At first, King Arthur was too