Carnival at Candlelight (5 page)

Venice has been called a “timeless city,” as well as a city “frozen in time.” This is because so much of the city and its traditions has been preserved through time.

The festival of Carnival goes back over a thousand years in Venice, but it was most popular during the 1700s.

Gondolas have glided along the waterways of Venice for over a thousand years. In the 1700s, there were about 14,000 on the canals. Today there are around 400.

Saint Mark the Apostle is the patron saint of Venice. According to legend, the saint’s corpse was stolen from its grave and brought to Venice in the ninth century. Since the traditional symbol of Saint Mark is a winged lion, that image is depicted all over the city in paintings and sculptures. In Saint Mark’s Square alone, there are no fewer than fourteen!

In Venice, there are approximately 3,000 alleys and 200 canals. Over 400 bridges connect 118 lagoon islands.

Many world-famous painters are from Venice. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo is considered the most important of the 1700s. His two sons, Giandomenico and Lorenzo, were also painters.

Neptune is the Roman counterpart of the sea god Poseidon from Greek mythology. Neptune’s three-pronged fish spear is called a trident. When astronomers named the planet Neptune, they chose the trident to be its symbol.

Whenever I start work on a new Magic Tree House book, I begin the great adventure of research. I visit libraries, the Internet, bookstores, and museums. I talk to people who are knowledgeable about my subject, and if I’m able, I visit the place where the story occurs.

I chose to write a Magic Tree House story about Venice because I was eager to visit that wonderful city again. I had been to Venice a few years earlier, and when I returned home, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I especially remembered the warm summer night when I’d first stepped into Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark’s Square. I remembered the beauty and magic of the square’s architecture, the candlelit outdoor-café tables, and the sweet violin music played by musicians in tuxedos. I was dying to go back to Venice. What better excuse than to write a Magic Tree House book about the city and have a good reason to return?

On my second trip to Venice, I brought my guide book, camera, and notebook. I visited museums and bought books filled with paintings of Carnival costumes from the 1700s. I took photographs of the watchtower and the clock tower. I visited the Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s Palace, on the Piazza San Marco and took notes on the statues of Neptune and Mars, the paintings of the winged lions on the wall of the Map Room, and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s painting
Neptune Offering Venice the Gifts of the Sea
, which now hangs in a palace chamber.

My most unforgettable experience in the Doge’s Palace was a visit to the historic palace jail on the ground floor. I walked down a series of narrow, damp passageways and 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.

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:

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 and
Annie 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:

“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:

“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:

“This sounds pretty easy,” said Annie.

“No, it doesnߣt,” said Jack. “All these instructions are so mysterious. We donߣt know what any of them mean.”

“Weߣll find out when we get there,” said Annie. “But first we have to get there. Make the wish.”

“Okay,” said Jack. He pointed to the cover of
the book. “I wish we could go to the golden age of Baghdad,” he said.

The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.

Are you a fan of the Magic Tree House
^®
series?

Visit our
 
Web site
at

MagicTreeHouse.com

Exciting sneak previews of the next book.
Games, puzzles, and other fun activities.
Contests with super prizes.
And much more!

Guess what?

Jack and Annie have a musical CD!

 For more information about
 MAGIC TREE HOUSE: THE MUSICAL
 (including how to order the CD!),
 visit
www.mthmusical.com
.