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

streaming through the tree house window.
    “And clean, dry clothes,” murmured Annie. She placed the Pennsylvania book back in the corner.
    Jack took the magic whistle out of his pocket and placed it next to the book. “There. Let’s go home now,” he said. “I want to look on the Internet for information about Augusta.” He started down the rope ladder.
    “Great idea,” said Annie, following Jack. “Wecan find out what happened to her.”
    Jack and Annie ran through the chilly Frog Creek woods. They crossed the street and hurried up the sparkling sidewalk to their yard. They tramped over old snow up to their porch. Annie opened the front door and led the way inside.
    “Hi!” Jack called. “We’re back!”
    “Hi!” their mom called from the kitchen. “Did you have a nice break?”
    “Yes, we did!” said Annie.
    “Good. Get back to your homework now,” said their mom. “So you can finish in time to go to the theater.”
    “Okay!” called Annie. She went to the computer desk and sat down. “What should I type?” she asked Jack.
    Jack pulled up a chair and sat beside her. “Well, we don’t know her last name,” he said. “So try
Galway … Augusta …
and
Irish stories
.”
    Annie typed these words on the keyboard, then hit
enter
. There were lots of choices for differentWeb sites. Annie clicked on the first one.
    On the screen was a black-and-white photograph of a woman. The caption under it said:
    Lady Augusta Gregory
    “Look! It’s
her
!” said Annie.
    The woman on the screen was middle-aged, but she still looked like Augusta. Her hair was parted neatly down the middle.
    Jack read aloud from the screen:
    Lady Augusta Gregory was born into a wealthy family in Galway, Ireland, in 1852. She wrote over forty plays and many poems and essays. She was a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, the national theater of Ireland. Lady Gregory also learned the old language of Ireland and became well known for collecting Irish stories and legends and sharing them with the world .
    “Wow!” said Annie. “Augusta
did
have a brave heart and a fine mind! And she must have liked our play, since she wrote forty of her own and started her own theater.”

    “Yeah,” said Jack. “She really turned out great.” This reminded him of a question he’d asked himself earlier. “I wonder what I’m good for? I didn’t know how to do anything on that Irish farm.”
    “Me neither,” said Annie. “But hardly any kids today know how to do that kind of stuff.”
    “So what would we do if all our machines and computers broke down?” said Jack.
    “We’d have to figure out how to grow potatoes and make our own clothes and milk cows,” said Annie.
    “I’d probably read some kind of instructions first, then give it a try,” said Jack.
    “I’d probably give it a try first,” said Annie, “
then
read the instructions.”
    Jack laughed.
    “I know some stuff we’re good for,” said Annie.
    “What?” said Jack.
    “First, we’re good for helping each other,” said Annie.
    “Yeah, but—” said Jack.
    “No, really. We help each other all the time,” said Annie.
    “That’s true,” said Jack.
    “
And
we’re good for helping Augusta,” saidAnnie, “and helping Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and Leonardo da Vinci. We put the smile on the Mona Lisa’s face, remember?”
    Jack nodded. “Yep,” he said.
    “And we’re good for saving an orphan penguin, a huge octopus, and the cities of Tokyo, Venice, and New York,” said Annie. “We’re good for rescuing a baby gorilla from a leopard, and schoolkids from a twister. We’re good for helping Shakespeare, Clara Barton, and George Washington. We’re good for rescuing two kids from a tsunami, a Lakota boy from a buffalo stampede, and a baby kangaroo and a koala from a forest fire. We’re good for—”
    “Wait, stop,” said Jack. “Stop.”
    “But that’s not even half of it,” said Annie.
    “I know,” said Jack. “But that’s plenty. I’m inspired.