Wushu Were Here (6 page)
Authors: Jon Scieszka
“T
hat was a close one,” I said.
We were back in my room in Brooklyn. Anna, Fred, and Sam were sitting in front of the TV, waiting for the movie to come back on. I was putting
The Book
back in the safe, and this time I was using my padlock.
“One second sooner,” Fred said, “and we'd be living in a cave for the rest of our lives. No video games. No TV. I owe you one, Sam.”
Sam smiled. “Hey, guys, did you hear that? Fred owes me.”
I walked over and joined Anna, Sam, and Fred on the floor. “Who knew Mom and Uncle Joe had a brother named Jack?” I said.
“I can see why he's not invited to family reunions,” Anna said.
“He must be the one Hui-k'o was trying to warn you about,” Sam added.
“I always knew old Hui-k'o knew more than he was telling us,” I said.
“What do you think ever happened to Li Shimin?” Anna asked.
“Well,” Sam said, “according to what I learned in
The Book
, he went on to become the second emperor of the Tang dynasty. His father was the first. Under Li Shimin, China flourished. The Tang dynasty became a golden age. Culture, education, art, governmentâ”
“Shhhh!” Fred said. “The movie's back on.”
This was one kung fu fight scene Fred wasn't going to miss.
TIME WARP TRIO
®
: WUSHU WERE HERE.
Copyright © 2007 WGBH Educational Foundation and Chucklebait, Inc. Artwork, Designs and Animation © 2006 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress catalog card number: 2006929491
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-111645-2 â ISBN-10: 0-06-111645-9
EPub Edition © January 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-200574-8
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