Moonlight on the Magic Flute: A Merlin Mission (7 page)

Suddenly Wolfie was playing with all his fingers. His small hands flew over the black and white keys as he added to the tune of the magic flute.

Jack was stunned. He couldn’t believe a little kid could make such beautiful music. The sounds from the piano were sometimes light and playful,
and at other times heavy and forceful. The slow parts of Wolfie’s music made Jack want to close his eyes. The lively parts made him want to bounce up and down.

Wolfie ended his concert with a great flourish. Then he stood up and bowed.

The guests jumped to their feet, smiling and laughing, clapping and yelling, “Bravo! Bravo!”

Wolfie kept bowing. The clapping and cheering would die down, but then it would start up again. As long as people clapped, Wolfie bowed.

Finally Wolfie’s father stepped up to the piano. Then Wolfie seemed to turn into a little kid again. “Papa!” he said. He grabbed his father and buried his face in his father’s coat. Wolfie’s dad had tears on his cheeks as he hugged his son.

All the guests talked excitedly about the performance they’d just seen:

“I couldn’t believe my ears!”

“I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

“How did he do it? He is so young and small!”

As the party guests kept praising Wolfie, Nan walked over to Jack and Annie. “Thank you for bringing Wolfie back for his concert,” she said.

“Has he been playing a long time?” Annie asked.

“Papa has been teaching him since he was three,” said Nan. “And now Wolfie is even starting to write his own music. He tells Papa he hears tunes in his head—like the tune he played tonight. I have never heard that one before.”

Annie smiled at Jack, and he smiled back at her. “Cool,” Annie said.

A hush fell over the crowd. Her Imperial Majesty had stepped forward. She took Wolfie’s hands in hers. “Thank you for your brilliant performance, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,” she said.

As the crowd clapped wildly again, Annie looked at Jack. “Mozart!” she said.

Jack was confused.
Mozart?
He knew the name Mozart. Their piano teacher loved the music of Mozart. Their parents loved it, too. In fact, they’d once taken Annie and Jack to hear a concert of Mozart’s music. Jack couldn’t believe that this strange little kid was the world-famous Mozart.

The applause stopped as Her Imperial Majesty spoke to the crowd. “ We have witnessed a great event here tonight. I know we will all remember it
in the years to come, when our young Wolfgang Mozart brings joy to all the world with his music.”

“Oh, man,” Jack whispered. He looked at Annie. “Did you hear that?”

Annie smiled at him and nodded.

“Thank you again for your help,” Nan said to them. She started to leave, then turned back. “Oh, I asked Papa your question about the artists living here. He said he was talking about another palace in Vienna. I am sorry.”

“That’s okay,” said Annie. “No problem.”

As Nan headed for Wolfie and her father, Annie looked at Jack. “ We found our great artist,” she said. “He was with us all along.”

“W
olfgang Amadeus Mozart,” said Annie.

“Yeah,” Jack sighed. “And right now he’s just a little kid.”

“So I guess we did our mission,” said Annie. “Remember what Wolfie said to Nan? He said we made him love music again. So I guess we put him back on the path to giving his gifts to the world.”

“Yep, and now we can leave,” said Jack. “Whew.” He was ready to get out of his fancy clothes and wig and go home and have a good dinner.

“Let’s go say good-bye to Wolfie,” said Annie.

As Jack and Annie started toward Wolfie, Her Imperial Majesty was laughing at something he had said. “You are truly a young magician, my little Wolfgang Mozart!” she said.

“No, not me,” said Wolfie. “Jack and Annie are the true magicians!”

“Who?” said Her Imperial Majesty.

“Over there,” said Wolfie, pointing across the room. “Jack! Annie!” he called.

All eyes turned to Jack and Annie.

“Look! It’s Jack of Frog Creek!” said one of the imperial children.

Jack froze, horrified.

“Jack is a clown,” said Wolfie. “And he plays magic music on his flute. And Annie sings beautiful magic songs. I just heard them.”

“Really?” said Her Imperial Majesty. She raised her eyebrows. “Well, Jack and Annie. Perhaps you will perform for all of us here as well?”

Everyone was silent, waiting for an answer from Jack and Annie.

“Um, well, you see …,” Jack began.

“Sure,” said Annie with a big smile. “We’d love to perform for you.”

Oh, no!
thought Jack.

“Yes! Sing for us! Play for us!” said Wolfie, clapping his hands. He ran to Jack and Annie and pulled them toward the front of the room.

Annie leaned close to Jack. “You play; I’ll sing,” she whispered.

“But the flute won’t make magic anymore,” Jack said out of the corner of his mouth.

“Do the best you can,” whispered Annie. She smiled at the crowd.

Jack could hardly breathe.
This is worse than facing the leopard and bear!
he thought.

“Me, then you,” Annie said to him.

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver flute. Annie started singing:

Annie turned to Jack. As everyone watched him, he held the instrument in a playing position. He desperately hoped a little magic still lingered in the flute. He blew air over the mouthpiece.

No sound came out. All anyone could hear was Jack’s huffing and puffing.

Wolfie giggled. “See! Jack’s a clown!” he said.

Everyone laughed.

Okay,
thought Jack,
if they want a clown, I’ll be a clown.
Jack put on a goofy face. He looked into the end of the flute, as if searching for its missing sound. He jerked back his head, as if something had shot out of the flute and hit him in the eye.

Everyone laughed harder.

Jack liked hearing their laughter this time. He made a big show of wiping his eye. Then he gave Annie a silly grin.

Annie shook her head and sang:

Jack pretended to bonk her on the head with his flute. He tried playing again, but again no sound came out. He turned the flute upside down and shook it, as if he were trying to shake out some music.

Annie rolled her eyes, to show she thought Jack was hopeless. Then she nodded at him, motioning for him to walk with her. As they moved away from the front of the room, Annie sang the last verse of her song:

Crossing the room, Jack put the flute to his lips
again. As he followed Annie to the door, he looked at the crowd and winked. Then he started to make up his own flute sounds. “Tweetle-tweetletweetle!” he sang. “Toot-toot-ah-roo!”

The audience laughed. When Jack saw Nan laughing hard, it spurred him on, and he did a little dance step. “Peep-peep-peep-ah-lee!” he sang, pretending to play the flute. “Peek-peek-a-boo!”

At the door, Jack and Annie stopped. Jack held the flute to his side and bowed. Annie curtsied at the same time. The audience laughed and clapped. Together Jack and Annie waved to the crowd.

“Bye, Wolfie!” shouted Annie. She blew kisses to him. “Keep making music!”

“Have a great life, Wolfie!” shouted Jack.

“Bye, Jack! Bye, Annie!” yelled Wolfie. “I promise I will never forget you!”

Jack bowed very low, and Annie curtsied again.

“Rise,” said Her Imperial Majesty, laughing.

Jack and Annie straightened up, waved one last time, and slipped out the door.

“G
o, go!” said Jack.

Jack and Annie ran through the Great Rosa Room, through the next three rooms, and into the room off the back terrace. Then they turned and hurried to the huge party room, where the thousand candles had nearly burned out. They ran to the door that led out to the front entrance.

“ We have to leave. Good night!” Annie said to the guard. “Thanks for everything!”

The guard opened the door, and they ran outside.

“Keep going!” said Jack.

They hurried down the sweeping, curved stairway that led to the giant square.

A line of coaches was parked below, waiting to pick up guests. Jack and Annie saw Josef standing by his coach. The moonlight shone on his two milk white horses.

“Josef!” shouted Annie.

Jack and Annie ran over to the coachman.

“Ah, my young friends!” he said. “How was your evening?”

“Great,” said Annie. “But we have to go home now. Do you have time to take us back to the gate?”

“Indeed, it is early,” said Josef. “I can take you now and then return for my employer and his family.”

Josef gave Annie his hand and helped her into the coach. Then he helped Jack. Josef climbed up onto his bench and snapped the reins, and the two horses clomped over the cobblestones.

“So tell me now, young lady,” said Josef, “did you have a good time at the party? What did you see and what did you do?”

“I had a great time!” said Annie. “I was received by Her Imperial Majesty. I saw a room lit with a thousand candles. I made good friends, met some zoo animals, heard a great concert, and saw a silly clown.”

“Excellent,” said Josef. “And you, young man?”

“I did all those things, too,” said Jack. “But the clown was the best part. He knew how to make great use of his wits and his talents.”

Annie laughed. Josef drove the coach through the palace gate and stopped on the cobblestone street. “Where do you need to go?” he asked.

“Oh, this is perfect,” said Annie. “ We can get out right here. Thank you.”

Jack and Annie climbed out of the coach and looked up at Josef.

“Thank you, Josef!” said Annie.

“Yeah, thanks a lot for the ride,” said Jack.

“You two are very mysterious,” said Josef. “You appeared out of the twilight and now you disappear into the moonlight.”