Moonlight on the Magic Flute is the forty-first installment to the Magic Tree House series and the thirteenth of the Merlin Missions.
Summary[]
Jack and Annie travel to Vienna, Austria, in 1762, where they meet the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister and help save the young budding genius's life through music.
Chapters[]
- To The Summer Palace
- Put On Your Wig!
- Her Imperial Majesty
- Jack of Frog Creek!
- Bad Manners
- Under the Moon
- Follow Me
- The Hall of Mirrors
- Me and the Clown
- Joy
Plot[]
As Jack sat at his computer doing research, Annie suddenly burst into the room and revealed that Teddy and Kathleen had arrived. After they headed outside, Annie explained that she had seen Teddy and Kathleen at the edge of the woods while riding her bike home from her piano lesson. The two ran to the Frog Creek woods, where they climbed the rope ladder to the tree house and reunited with the young enchanters. After exchanging hugs, Jack learned that Penny had become good friends with Merlin.
Teddy and Kathleen shared their next mission: helping a brilliant artist bring happiness to millions of people instead of just Merlin this time. They gave Jack and Annie a royal invitation to a party at a summer palace in Vienna, Austria, in 1762. They warned the children to be careful and mentioned unexpected dangers. Kathleen then transformed the Wand of Dianthus into a magic flute that would protect them if needed. Jack and Annie were told to rely on their wits and talents rather than a research book.
Jack and Annie were kind of uncomfortable in their new clothes. They looked out the window and saw horse-drawn coaches parked by tall iron gates. Jack wondered if the palace was beyond the gates, and they realized they were running late for the party. They ran toward the coaches and showed one driver their invitation. He recognized them as guests of the imperial family and offered them a ride to the palace, explaining that young nobles should always arrive by coach. The driver, Josef, took them to the summer palace, describing the beautiful gardens and zoo behind it. When the coach arrived at the palace, Josef explained they needed to show their invitation to a guard before being introduced to Empress Maria Theresa in the receiving line. Jack and Annie thanked Josef for his help before heading into the palace. Jack felt nervous, especially when he noticed a young boy with a sword laughing at him, so he decided to just copied others while meeting the Empress. However, as Jack bowed, his silver flute fell out of his pocket and he slipped on the floor while trying to catch it. His hat and wig also fell off, and he sneezed from the powder. The imperial children laughed, and Jack, embarrassed, continued backing up as he hadn’t yet been told to rise. He bumped into a wall and was finally pulled out of the room by Annie, who was giggling.
Jack was very frustrated; he looked for a way to escape the palace. Eventually, he stepped out onto a terrace, where Annie caught up with him and apologized. Inside, the grand room was filled with elegant guests, and Jack was still feeling out of place. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, the little boy with the sword, Wolfie, appeared again and greeted them enthusiastically. Jack and Annie were introduced to Wolfie’s sister, Nan, who had helped them earlier.
Wolfie and Nan explained that they were the children of a nobleman. Jack was embarrassed again but kept asking about the artist they were supposed to find. Nan told them that Her Imperial Majesty often invited artists to live and work in the palace. Wolfie claimed to be brilliant, but Nan clarified that their father had taught them many subjects, including drawing and music. Jack and Annie then asked if any artists were at the party, and Nan promised to ask her father at dinner. After Nan and Wolfie left to find their seats for dinner, Jack and Annie decided to start searching for the artists without waiting for Nan after an awkward encounter with an elderly couple. However, as they tried to leave the room, they were once again interrupted by Wolfie, who had been looking for them. Jack tried to explain that they had something important to do, but Wolfie wanted to play with them. Nan appeared and tried to calm her brother, she explained that Wolfie had a "big responsibility," and when their father arrived looking for him, he became frantic.
The situation grew even more chaotic, with Nan’s father rushing off to find Wolfie, still upset. Jack and Annie were left in a tense moment, unsure what to do next, as they could hear Nan chasing after her father, worried about the impact of Wolfie’s tantrum. After reluctantly agreeing to help Nan find her younger brother, Wolfie, they ventured outside to search the moonlit garden.
The garden quickly became an eerie place filled with strange sounds and bizarre animal noises. When Annie heard Wolfie’s voice, they rushed into the woods, but the strange sounds grew even louder and more intense, with animals like baboons, cranes, peacocks, and even a huge bear crashing through the woods! Jack was terrified as he fled from a bear that seemed to be chasing him. At the same time, Annie was hiding behind a tree. Remembering the zoo they saw, they quickly realized that Wolfie had probably let the animals out of their cages. Then, they heard Wolfie’s desperate cries again. Following the cries, they found Wolfie perched in a tree, but below him, a leopard was crouched, ready to pounce.

Jack and Annie taming the animals with a flute and Wolfgang.
The kids remembered the magic flute, Jack played it while Annie sang, and they just managed to guide the wild animals back to their homes. Soon, they were left standing with Wolfie, who was still ecstatic about the whole experience. However, Wolfie suddenly grabbed Jack and Annie and began pulling them toward the palace. His urgency was palpable as he cried out that he couldn’t be late. Despite their confusion, Jack and Annie followed, trying to understand why Wolfie was acting so frantically. As they hurried along, Nan’s voice called out from the terrace, and Wolfie immediately responded, saying that he had to go because Nan and his father were waiting for him. He was clearly overwhelmed by his responsibilities, even though he had just been enjoying himself with the wild animals. It was a reminder of how much pressure he was under, despite his playful nature. Jack and Annie were still puzzled, but they decided to go with Wolfie, knowing they had to stay with him to make sure he was safe and to help him fulfill whatever important role he had to play in the palace. They followed Wolfie back toward the palace, still unsure of what exactly awaited them but feeling that the evening was far from over.
They followed him into the Hall of Mirrors, where he performed a stunning piano piece that left the audience in awe. Jack and Annie quickly realized that Wolfie wasn't just a child with a passion for music—he was the world-famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! As Wolfie played, he transformed before their eyes from a playful, energetic child to a gifted musician whose talent left everyone in the room astounded. His performance, based on the tune they had created together, was nothing short of remarkable. When the performance ended, the applause was deafening, and the royal audience praised him for his brilliance. Jack and Annie were in awe as the Empress herself thanked Wolfie and acknowledged his talent. Then, the crowd’s admiration only grew as they realized they had just witnessed the beginning of what would be Mozart’s legendary career. Nan, Wolfie’s sister, thanked Jack and Annie for their help and shared that their question about the artists living at the palace had been answered. Wolfie’s father, who had been teaching him music from a young age, confirmed that the family had been talking about another palace in Vienna, not the one in Salzburg where they currently were. Despite the mix-up, Jack and Annie were satisfied with the magical night they had experienced.
They had headed over to say goodbye to Wolfie, just as Her Imperial Majesty laughed at something he had said. She had called him a "young magician," to which Wolfie had replied that Jack and Annie were the true magicians. When Her Imperial Majesty had asked who they were, Wolfie had pointed out Jack and Annie, causing all eyes to turn toward them. One of the imperial children had called out, Jack froze horrified, but Wolfie had called him a clown who played magic music on his flute, while Annie sang beautiful magic songs. Her Imperial Majesty had raised her eyebrows and asked if Jack and Annie would perform for everyone. Jack had hesitated, but Annie had smiled and agreed. Wolfie had clapped his hands excitedly and pulled them toward the front of the room. Annie whispered to Jack to play while she sang, but Jack had been worried since the flute no longer made magic music. Still, he had done his best, though no sound came from the flute when he blew into it, causing the audience to laugh. Jack had decided to embrace the clown role, pulling funny faces and pretending the flute had hit him in the eye, which made everyone laugh harder. Annie had continued singing her song, and as Jack tried to make the flute play again, he had shaken it upside down, pretending to search for the missing sound. As they moved away from the front, Annie had finished her song and they had walked toward the door. Jack had winked at the crowd and started making up silly flute sounds, which caused even more laughter. Jack and Annie had both bowed and curtsied once more before leaving the room.
Jack and Annie had quickly run through several rooms, hurrying to the party room where the candles were nearly burned out. They had gone to the door leading to the front entrance, where Annie had thanked the guard before they ran outside. They hurried down the stairs to the giant square and saw Josef standing by his coach with his white horses glowing in the moonlight. Annie had called out to him, and he had greeted them warmly, agreeing to take them back to the gate. Inside the coach, Josef had asked about their evening, and Annie had told him about meeting Her Imperial Majesty, seeing a room full of candles, making new friends, hearing a concert, and seeing a silly clown. Jack had added that the clown had been the best part, using his wits and talents. Josef had dropped them off at the perfect spot on the cobblestone street, where Annie had thanked him for the ride. Josef had smiled and remarked on their mysteriousness, tipping his hat before heading back to the palace. Jack and Annie had run to the trees lining the street, where Annie had climbed up the rope ladder to the tree house. Jack had followed, and once inside, they had looked out at the moonlit view of Vienna. They had bid Wolfie goodbye, and Jack had wished they could go back to Frog Creek. The tree house had spun them back home, and they had found themselves back in the Frog Creek woods, wearing their own clothes again.
After carefully placing the flute in the tree house, they had run home, feeling cheerful. They had arrived just in time for dinner, and Jack had quickly typed "Mozart" into the computer. They had discovered that Mozart was the most famous child musician in history and had composed over six hundred pieces of music. When Jack had read that Mozart's last great opera was called “The Magic Flute”, Annie had smiled, realizing that Wolfie had kept his promise and never forgotten them.
Trivia[]
- At the beginning of the book, there is a quote by Sara Teasdale's poem, A Minuet of Mozart. “I watched the music turn to light.” The poem was about someone listening to Mozart playing his beautiful music.