Dingoes at Dinnertime

This is the twentieth book in the Magic Tree House series, a children's fiction series following eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, who travel through time and space using a magic tree house filled with books. The tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the time of King Arthur. To travel, the children point to a picture in a book and wish to go there. In the current story arc spanning Books #17–20, Jack and Annie must collect four special gifts to free an enchanted dog named Teddy from a spell. They have already obtained three gifts on previous adventures: a pocket watch from the Titanic, an eagle's feather from the prairie skies, and a lotus flower from a forest in India. They now set out to find the fourth and final gift, which must come from a kangaroo.

One afternoon in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, Annie hears a faint bark from the woods and recognizes it as Teddy calling them. She and Jack run to the tallest oak tree, where the magic tree house waits with Teddy inside. Jack confirms the last gift must come from a kangaroo, meaning they are likely headed to Australia. Teddy scratches at a book titled Adventure in Australia, confirming the destination. Jack opens the book, points to a picture of a forest, and wishes to go there.

They land in a scrubby Australian forest filled with droopy plants and dry brown trees during a drought. Both children are now wearing sun hats. They notice a wisp of smoke in the distant sky and assume it comes from nearby campers. Thirsty and hot, they set out across the sun-baked clearing. They encounter two emus, large flightless birds that give Teddy a haughty look before walking away. Annie discovers a koala sleeping in a gum tree. Jack reads that koalas are marsupials, animals that carry their young in a stomach pouch, and that they are threatened by wildfires because they move too slowly to escape. The children decide to continue toward the smoke to find the campers and ask for water.

A loud, harsh cackle startles them. Jack identifies it as a kookaburra, a bird nicknamed the "laughing donkey" for its braying call. They then spot a large kangaroo lying in a shallow hole with a joey, or baby kangaroo, peeking out of her pouch. Annie playfully hops alongside the kangaroo, who is graceful and gentle at first. The kangaroo suddenly freezes and stamps her feet. Three sand-colored wild dogs creep out of the bushes. The mother kangaroo springs into the air and zigzags away, the dogs chasing after her.

Annie runs after them, and Jack follows. Annie stops beside the baby kangaroo, who is trembling in the grass. Jack reads that the dingo, the wild dog of Australia, is the kangaroo's biggest enemy. When chased, a mother kangaroo throws her joey from her pouch so she can leap faster and lead the dingoes away; if she escapes, she returns for the baby. Jack and Annie comfort the frightened joey, who leaps into Jack's backpack as if it were a pouch. Annie suggests Jack wear the pack on his chest, and he agrees. They wait for the mother's return, but no sign of her appears. Instead, the wisp of smoke has grown into a large black cloud, and a tree in the distance bursts into flames. Jack realizes they are witnessing a wildfire.

Jack urges Annie to flee. She worries the mother will not find her joey if they move him, but Jack insists they have no choice. Smoke fills the air as the kookaburra flies overhead and the emus race past. Jack calls for Annie to follow, but she dashes off in the opposite direction. She reappears through the haze, coughing and crying, carrying the koala she rescued from the gum tree. Together they follow Teddy's barking to a giant rock with a cave behind it and duck inside.

The air in the cave is cleaner and cooler but pitch dark. Jack and Annie hold hands and follow Teddy deeper inside. The little dog howls, and a glowing white line appears on the cave wall, growing into the shape of a giant snake with glowing handprints below it. Annie places her hand inside one of the handprints, and Jack does the same. The rock feels smooth and cool, almost as if it breathes. A ghostly whistling fills the darkness, followed by a boom of thunder. Teddy leads them back to the entrance, where they emerge into pouring rain.

The heavy rain extinguishes the wildfire. Annie places the koala in an unburned gum tree, and the animal falls back asleep. Annie tells Jack the rainstorm was not luck but magic, caused by their touching the cave painting of the Rainbow Serpent, an Aboriginal mythic snake believed to send life-giving rain. Jack is skeptical. He remembers they need to return the joey to the spot where his mother left him. Teddy leads them through the wet forest to the exact place. They wait as the rain fades to a drizzle. Jack worries the mother may have been caught by the dingoes or killed by the fire.

At last, the sound of big feet slapping through mud announces the mother kangaroo's arrival. Joey leaps from Jack's backpack into his mother's pouch. The mother gazes at her baby, pats his head, then looks at Jack and Annie with grateful eyes. She picks up a small piece of bark from the grass and holds it out to Jack. On it is a tiny painting of the Rainbow Serpent. Jack realizes this is their gift from a kangaroo. He reads in the Australia book about the Aboriginal Australians, the first people of Australia, who have lived there for 40,000 years. Their myths take place in a time called Dreamtime. Aboriginal artists paint the Rainbow Serpent on cave walls and bark, honoring it by placing their handprints on the image in special ceremonies. Annie argues this confirms their touching the painting summoned the rain. Jack doubts it, but when Annie points at a rainbow curving across the sky, Jack shivers, unable to dismiss the connection. Annie credits Teddy for leading them to the painting, noting the little dog has some magic of his own.

With all four gifts collected, they return to the tree house and wish themselves home. Morgan le Fay is waiting for them. She explains the lesson each gift teaches a certain boy: The pocket watch teaches that time is precious, the eagle's feather teaches that a small creature can be among the bravest, the lotus flower teaches that nature holds many wonders, and the bark painting teaches that there is mystery, magic, and wisdom in the traditions of ancient peoples. Jack and Annie ask what boy she means. Teddy barks, and in a magical whirlwind, the dog transforms into a boy about 10 years old with a friendly, freckled face and twinkly dark eyes. Morgan introduces him as her young helper from Camelot, the legendary court of King Arthur. He explains that he accidentally turned himself into a dog while experimenting with Morgan's spells. He tells Jack and Annie to keep calling him Teddy, or Ted, and reveals that the adventures gave him new stories to write down for Morgan's library. Morgan and Ted depart, with Ted promising they will meet again and barking one final "Arf!" before the tree house vanishes. Walking home through the Frog Creek woods at sunset, Annie says their adventures with Teddy were like living in Dreamtime, and Jack agrees, feeling that the word captures their experience exactly.