Leprechaun in Late Winter by Mary Pope Osborne Read Free Book Online Page A

question!”
    Everyone laughed. “Good point,” said Annie.
    “Well, we’d better be getting home,” said Jack. He wanted to leave before Willy asked Annie for his whistle lesson.
    Jack took Annie’s hand and started backing toward the door. “Thanks for helping us, Willy,” he said.
    “Yeah, and thanks, Mary, for everything!” said Annie, waving. “Good-bye, Augusta! Good-bye, everyone!”
    “Wait just a minute, my friends,” said Willy.
    Uh-oh
, thought Jack.
    “Have you forgotten our deal?” said Willy. “My fingers are itching to make beautiful music for Mary.”
    “Well, you see … there’s a problem with that,” said Jack, squirming.
    A frown crossed Willy’s face. “A problem?” he said. “How could there be a problem? Find your friend, teach Willy to play the whistle. Doesn’t get any simpler than that.”
    “Right,” said Jack.
    “So what’s the problem?” asked Willy.
    “Well, the whistle …” Jack didn’t know how to finish.
    “I’ll answer that question,” said Annie. “Willy, I’m going to be simple and direct and honest with you.”
    “Yes …?” said the leprechaun.
    “Merlin the magician gave us the whistle to help us on our missions,” said Annie. “The whistle is magic, and the magic only works once. Without the magic, I don’t really know how to play. So I can’t teach you. There you have it.”
    “Ah,” said Willy. He looked at the floor and shook his head. “Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn you both into chipmunks.”
    “What?”
said Jack.
    Willy burst out laughing. “Joking! Only joking!” he said. “Merlin! You should have told me you were friends with Merlin in the first place!”
    “Do you know Merlin?” asked Jack.
    “Oh, yes, we spent a great deal of time together. Must be about eight hundred years ago now,” said Willy. “How is he?”
    “He’s happy,” said Annie.
    “Good!” Willy turned back to Mary and Augusta. “I first met the master magician on the Isle of Merlin in the Irish Sea. He—”
    “Wait, wait, please, Willy,” said Augusta. “Mary, do you have pen and paper?”
    “No, my dear, I’m afraid I don’t,” said Mary.
    “I can help,” said Jack. He took his pencil and small notebook out of his pocket. He tore some clean pages out of the notebook. Then he gave the pencil and pages to Augusta. “There,” he said.
    “Oh, thank you, Jack!” said Augusta. She turned back to Willy. “Continue, please.”
    “Well,” said Willy, “Merlin was only a fewcenturies old then, and I was a mere lad.…”
    As Willy told his story, Augusta began to write. Jack put his notebook back into his pocket and nodded to Annie. She nodded back, and the two of them started toward the door.
    Just as they were about to leave, Annie called out to the others, “Bye!”
    “We have to go home now,” said Jack.
    “Trip lightly!” said Willy.
    “Thank you for everything!” said Augusta.
    “One and twenty fare-thee-wells!” said Mary.
    “Same to you guys,” said Jack. Then he and Annie slipped out of the cottage.
    The rain was pouring again, and the wind was blowing hard.
    “I think we inspired Augusta,” said Annie.
    “Yep, we accomplished our mission,” said Jack. “Now let’s get out of here.” He couldn’t wait to go home and get warm and dry.
    Jack and Annie ran against the wind. They climbed over the stone wall, then hurried down thelane, slipping and sliding in the muck. They ran across the soaked field. By the time they arrived at the rope ladder, their clothes were caked with mud.
    Jack and Annie climbed into the tree house. Annie found the Pennsylvania book in the corner. As rain blew through the window, she pointed to a picture of the Frog Creek woods. “I wish we could go there!” she said.
    The wind blew harder.
    The tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.

“A hh, sunshine,” said Jack. He closed his eyes and felt the sunshine