Dragon of the Red Dawn is the thirty-seventh installment to the Magic Tree House series and the ninth of the Merlin Missions.
Synopsis[]
When Merlin is weighed down by sorrows, Jack and Annie travel back to feudal Japan to learn one of the four secrets of happiness.
Chapters[]
- For Merlin's Sake
- Imperial Garden
- Basho
- Sushi and Sumo
- Excellent Student?
- Banana Tree
- Clang, Clang, Clang!
- In the Red Dawn
- Flowers of Edo
- Journey of a Thousand Miles
Plot[]
In early March, Jack and Annie woke up hearing Teddy and Kathleen throwing pebbles at the window. They decided to quickly get dressed and meet them at the magic tree house with the Wand of Dianthus they recently received before their parents woke up. Although they were glad to see each other, Teddy was afraid that Merlin doesn’t know they were there. He has not been feeling well, he’s depressed about being old and sorrows and won’t do anything. People across the ages sought the secret of happiness, so Morgan decided to have Jack and Annie find four of them to share with Merlin. Their first trip will be to Japan, Morgan already told Teddy and Kathleen about their adventure with ninjas in the countryside, but this time they’ll be going to the capital city. They couldn’t come with Jack and Annie this time, but they still have the wand, it can only be used for the good of others, it only works after they tried their hardest without help, and it needs five words on command. As the two use their magic rings to go home, Jack and Annie head for Japan.
The two wore kimonos and looked out to see the Imperial Garden surrounding the palace in the city of Edo (what Tokyo was known as in the mid-1800s). Suddenly, they heard a bell and saw the shogun and his samurai returning home. Jack and Annie managed to sneak out into the city, but the samurai spotted them. They were saved by a man named Basho, who called the kids Baku and Koto and said they were his students who couldn’t find the bridge. The samurai left them alone, Basho said they all seek a secret of happiness, but the shogun didn’t allow foreigners. He decided to let them pretend to be Baku and Koto, he explained that he taught the samurai about what Jack assumed was battle tactics.
He had some fishermen take them to the city, they said there hasn’t been any rain for a while and everyone is worried. Basho explained that twenty-five years prior, half of Edo was destroyed by a fire, killing thousands of people. Luckily, everything was rebuilt even better, with many castles containing many mats. The kids tried to help some men with baskets of fish but didn’t quite succeed. Basho led them to the Great Bridge; they saw Mount Fuji and Jack found that it and all the other scenery was so beautiful.
Soon they arrived at some stages, some actors told of the Cloud Dragon, a guardian animal of the four directions. They stopped at a teahouse where Jack and Annie struggled to eat tasty sushi, though some samurai appeared to be watching them. After their meal, they went outside to watch a sumo wrestling match. Unfortunately, a samurai caught them and demanded they prove that they’re students of Basho. Annie recited “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” but Jack just talked about loving Japan, Basho said he needed work. They decided to leave when the samurai got distracted by the sumo match.
They made it to Basho’s castle, which was actually a small hut near a mossy pond. He named the banana tree after himself. While Basho went to get tea, Jack admitted that he was not impressed, he then looked up Basho and found that he was a great poet. When Annie asked him when he came back, he confessed that he preferred poetry over his samurai training, the environment was more fitting. His poems are about small nature things, the samurai honor poetry. He just wrote one the previous day.
An old pond:
a frog jumps in—
the sound of water.
Although it was short, it made Annie and Jack feel good. Basho decided to give it to them, then the temple bells rang meaning it was time to go to bed. It felt extremely nice and comfortable there, as they went to sleep, Jack and Annie felt like crickets holding moonlight.
However, the next morning, there seemed to be a fire! Bells were ringing and the sky was red and filled with smoke. The kids insisted on helping, Basho allowed it but told them they must return to the river if the fire spreads. They grabbed buckets and headed for the lumberyard to join the other firefighters. The buckets of water were heavy and all of Edo looked like it was going to be destroyed. As everyone started to cry, Annie decided it was time to use the wand. When they got back to the hut, Annie came up with five words that transported them onto Mount Fuji. Next, the real Cloud Dragon appeared in front of them, Annie realizes that she can make rain! While they were riding her, the dragon blew clouds from her mouth and rain poured all over the burning city, putting out the fire. The dragon then literally dropped them in the river near Basho’s castle, which unfortunately burned down. Basho was fine, nonetheless, he still had nature to admire, and he was glad the kids were safe. He said the something new and good would come in the place of something destroyed, like spring from winter. He took them back to the ferry so they could get back to the magic tree house. After taking one last beautiful lookback, Basho said they reminded him of what the samurai Musashi said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Unfortunately, after Basho left, Jack and Annie encountered some samurai again demanding passports. Luckily, the two came up with more impressive poems of nature to convince them that Basho taught them well. As Jack confidently said wished they go to Frog Creek, Annie realized they forgot their mission!
The two were upset about being so worried about other stuff to find a secret of happiness. However, Jack realizes they may have found one without them knowing. They concluded that it was when they listened to nature before going to sleep at Basho’s house, as in paying attention to it. They still had Basho’s poem, so they could use it to help Merlin. With that, they went home, listening to the nature of Frog Creek.
Artwork[]
Publication Note[]
This book was originally published as book #37 of the Magic Tree House Series. In 2017 the books where Merlin sets the mission were seperated from the main series and given their own numbering system.
Trivia[]
- At the beginning of the book, a poem from old Japan, translated by Lafcadio Hearn, is shown. Now I shall dream, Lulled by the patter of rain And the song of the frogs. This foreshadows Basho's love of nature and him writing haikus.