Eve of the Emperor Penguin is the fortieth installment to the Magic Tree House series and the twelfth of the Merlin Missions.
Synopsis[]
The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to Antarctica to search for the fourth secret of happiness for Merlin.
Chapters[]
- Smile
- Lots of Ice
- Short Grown-ups
- Happy Campers
- Lava Bombs
- All Fall Down
- The Emperor
- A Good Story
- Penny and Merlin
- The Secret
Plot[]
On a chilly afternoon in November, Jack was raking leaves, and Annie was taking pictures for their friendly project at school. And he wants to go back in the woods to find the magic treehouse, but Jack said he needs to finish raking. However, upon seeing a stream of light he decided to go. Indeed, Teddy and Kathleen were there, Morgan sent them to send Jack and Annie to find one last secret of happiness for Merlin. This time they were going to Antarctica, Annie wasn’t sure what they’d find there, but Morgan sent them a rhyme.
For the final secret, you must go
To a burning mountain of ice and snow
On wheels, by air, then all fall down,
Till you come to the Cave of the Ancient Crown.
Then speed to Camelot by close of day,
Lest grief take Merlin forever away.
They left for Antarctica, once they returned with the secret, they must immediately make haste to Camelot.
Jack and Annie were bundled up in many snow gear. Jack read that there Antarctic used to named Gondwana with filled nature and dinosaurs. Annie literally drifting away from the research and found a large group of penguins. Jack read that their closest ancestors lived 40 million years ago making him wonder what year they went to. Suddenly, a petrel arrived to eat a small penguin, but dropped it! As they all went back into the water, Jack and Annie saw a scientific research station named McMurdo. A woman named Nancy Tyler offered them a tour to a volcano named Mount Erebus, they agreed thinking it’s the one from Morgan’s rhyme. However, she wanted them announce themselves, they were researchers and scientists. Jack and Annie said they were journalist and everyone bought it. Nancy told everyone to go slow, stay with others due to dangerous ice cracks, and never touch wildlife (which they already broke).
Jack and Annie had most of the rhyme figured out, they then saw a helicopter, the next part of the tour. Everyone put on headphones for noise protection, and radio communication. However, Jack got nervous by the lines “all fall down.” They were nearing a lake of lava and the helicopter landed on a slope. Next, they were going to ride snowmobiles it was there that Jack read about altitude sickness and how people train for this. Nancy gave everyone water from melted glacier ice and instructions on how to use the snowmobiles, but Jack got nervous about riding sideways and lava bombs. Due to the sick, they decided to take their masks off just a little, but Nancy caught them! She called Pete, the helicopter pilot, to come back. Deeply upset, Nancy left Jack and Annie there while leading the others. Annie decided to take a few pictures while waiting for Pete, but she went off alone which was against safety rules. Suddenly, the ice below them gave way, they weren’t hurt, but they were stuck in a ledge. Annie convinced Jack to use the wand since this was helping them in our mission to help Merlin for all of Camelot. However, when they tried, the ledge gave way too, causing them to plummet into darkness!
They landed on an ice raft on a river and floated into a cavern. Inside, they saw two penguins near a cave opening, one of them was wearing a crown. Inside the cave was a sort of ballroom with pillars, music and ice skating. They heard about they saved that penguin from that petrel, so they were now honored members of their tribe. Upon hearing their mission, a baby penguin walked forward, the emperor explained that she wished to go with them. Her parents were lost in a terrible storm, Jack named her Penny. She really made him happy, especially when the emperor let him pick her up. After thanking each other, Jack and Annie left with Penny. Jack put her inside his parka to keep her warm, then they decided to use the wand go back to Mount Erebus so Pete can pick them up and Nancy wouldn’t panic again. Luckily, Pete got delayed by a snow squall, the tour was fine but Nancy was still worried about them. Once they got back, Nancy wanted to see their parents. Against Jack’s wishes, Annie told her about the magic tree house, but she naturally didn’t believe that. However, at that moment, a couple in parkas and mask appeared near the building, Annie said they were their parents. With that cleared up, they used the magic tree house to get to Camelot.
Once they arrived, they saw Teddy, Kathleen, and even some knights. However, Jack, remembering what Leonardo da Vinci told them, realized they didn't actually find their secret of happiness as not everybody could have penguins. Nonetheless, Teddy and Kathleen love Penny. Merlin was in his old childhood cottage, he won’t eat or speak, he is just full of grief. Jack and Annie entered the cottage to give Merlin, lying on a bed, the gifts they were given when they found the secrets. They also reunited with Morgan too (she also likes Penny). Although Basho’s poem, da Vinci’s drawing, and Henry’s shell don’t seem to do much for Merlin, when he picked up Penny, he burst out laughing. Merlin loved Penny, he went with her to the moon over Camelot. Morgan explained to Jack and Annie that the real fourth secret of happiness was caring. Taking care of someone can make you happy and see the better of yourself. She told them to now go home and rest so they could be ready for their next mission.
Before they go, however, Annie took a picture of all of them (and Merlin and Penny) for their school project. Yet, when they got home, Annie discovered that her photo display was empty except the one she took before they left the first time. Jack and Annie talked about the secret of caring before leave to make their mom and dad happy.
Notes on time and place settings[]
Publication Note[]
This book was originally published as #40 of the Magic Tree House Series. In 2017 the books where Merlin sets the mission were separated from the main series and given their own numbering system.
Trivia[]
- At the beginning of the book, a quote by Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole (in 1911), is shown. “Glittering white, shining blue, raven black; in the light of the sun the land looks like a fairy tale.”