<2-3>
Across the Bridge
Annie was under tree, looking across the foggy ground.
"The knight's riding toward that bridge, I think," said Annie. "The bridge goes to the castle."
"Wait. I'll look it up," said Jack. "Give me the flashlight!"
He took the flashlight from her and pulled the castle book out of his pack. He opened it to the page with the leather bookmark.
He read the words under the picture of the knight:
This is a knight arriving for a castle feast. Knights wore armor when they traveled long and dangerous distances. The armor was very heavy. A helmet alone could weigh up to forty pounds.
Wow. Jack had weighed forty pounds when he was five years old. So it'd be like riding a horse with a five-year-old on your head.
Jack pulled out his notebook. He wanted to take notes, as he'd done on their dinosaur trip.
He wrote :
heavy head
What else?
He turned the pages of the castle book. He found a picture that showed the whole castle and the buildings around it.
"The knight's crossing the bridge," said Annie. "He's going through the gate.... He's gone."
Jack studied the bridge in the picture.
He read:
A drawbridge crossed the moat. The moat was filled with water, to help protect the castle from enemies. Some people believe crocodiles were kept in the moat.
Jack wrote in his notebook :
crocodiles in moat?
"Look!" said Annie, peering through the mist. "A windmill! Right over there!"
"Yeak, there's a windmill in here, too," said Jack, pointing at the picture.
"Look at the real one, Jack," said Annie. "Not the one in the book."
A piercing shriek split the air.
"Yikes," said Annie. "It sounded like it came from that little house over there!" She pointed through the fog.
"There's a little house here," said Jack, studying the picture. He turned the page and read :
The hawk house was in the inner ward of the castle. Hawks were trained to hunt other birds and small animals.
Jack wrote in his notebook:
hawks in hawk house
"We must be in the inner ward," said Jack.
"Listen!" whispered Annie. "You hear that? Drums! Horns! They're coming from the castle. Let's go see."
"Wait," said Jack. He turned more pages of the book.
"I want to see what's really going on, Jack. Not what's in the book," said Annie.
"But look at this!" said Jack.
He pointed to a picture of a big party. Men were standing by the door, playing drums and horns.
He read :
Fanfares were played to announce different dishes in a feast. Feasts were held in the Great Hall.
"You can look at the book. I'm going to the real feast," said Annie.
"Wait," said Jack, studying the picture. It showed boys his age carrying trays of food. Whole pigs. Pies. Peacocks with all their feathers. Peacocks?
Jack wrote :
they eat peacocks?
He held up the book to show Annie. "Look, I think they eat -"
Where was she? Gone. Again.
Jack looked through the fog.
He heard the real drums and the real horns. He saw the real hawk house, the real windmill, the real moat.
He saw Annie dashing across the real drawbridge. Then she vanished through the gate leading to the castle.
<2-4>
Into the Castle
"I'm going to kill her," muttered Jack.
He threw his stuff into his pack and moved toward the drawbridge. He hoped no one would see him.
It was getting darker. It must be night.
When he got to the bridge, he started across. The wooden planks creaked under his feet.
He peered over the edge of the bridge. Were there any crocodiles in the moat? He couldn't tell.
"Halt!" someone shouted. A guard on top of the castle wall was looking down.
Jack dashed across the bridge. He ran through the castle gate and into the courtyard.
From insied the castle came the sounds of music, shouting, and laughter.
Jack hurried to a dark corner and crouched down. He shivered as he looked around for Annie.
Torches lit the high wall around the courtyard. The courtyard was nearly empty.
Two boys led horses that clopped over the gray cobblestones.
"Neee-hhh!"
Jack turned. It was the knight's back horse!
"Psssst!"
He peered into the darkness.
There was Annie.
She was hiding behind a well in the center of the courtyard. She waved at him.
Jack waved back. He waited till the boys and horses disappeared inside the stable. Then he dashed to the well.
"I'm going to find the music!" whispered Annie. "Are you coming?"
"Okay," Jack said with a sigh.
They tiptoed together across the cobblestones. Then they slipped into the entrance of the castle.
Noise and music came from a bright room in front of them. They stood on one side of the doorway and peeked in.
"The feast in the Great Hall!" whispered Jack. He held his breath as he stared in awe.
A giant fireplace blazed at one end of the noisy room. Antlers and rugs hung on the stome walls. Flowers covered the floor. Boys in short dresses carried huge trays of food.
Dogs were fighting over bones under the tables.
People in bright clothes and funny hats strolled among the crowd. Some played funny-shaped guitars. Some tossed balls in the air. Some balanced swords on their hands.
Men and women dressed in capes and furs sat at long, crowded wooden tables.
"I wonder which one is the knight," said Jack.
"I don't know," whispered Annie. "But they're eating with their fingers."
Suddenly, someone shouted behind them. Jack whirled around.
A man carrying a tray of pies was standing a few feet away.
"Who art thou?" he asked angrily.
"Jack," squeaked Jack.
"Annie," squeaked Annie.
Then they ran as fast as they could down a dimly lit hallway.
