Jack opened his eyes. Warm sunshine streamed intothe tree house.
"We sure don't need the flashlight here," he said.
"Look, Morgan gave us clothes like the ones wewore in Pompeii," said Annie.
Jack looked down.
His clothes were similar to the ones he'd worn inthe Roman town of Pompeii: a tunic and sandals. Healso had a leather bag in place of his backpack again.
Annie looked out the window.
"And we landed in an olive tree-just like Pompeii!"said Annie.
Jack looked out the window. He caught his breath.
"Are we in the wrong place?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Annie. "Look past the trees.
Doesn't it look like a big fair?"Jack looked. Annie was right. Past the olive grovewas a field filled with white tents. Beyond the fieldwere red-brick 'buildings with columns and hugecrowds of people.
"What's going on?" Jack asked.
He pulled the research book out of his leather bag.
He found a picture of the scene outside. Below thepicture were these words:
The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece over2,500 years ago. Every four years, more than 40,000people traveled to Olympia, the town where thefestival of athletic games took place.
"Oh, man," Jack whispered. "We're at the ancientOlympics!""Cool," said Annie.
Jack wrote in his notebook:
Olympia- first Olympics take place"Come on, let's go watch!" Annie said. She starteddown the rope ladder.
Jack threw his notebook and the research book intohis leather bag.
"Don't forget we have to get Morgan's story, too,"he said as he followed Annie.
Annie waited as Jack stepped to ground. Then theywalked through the grove to where the tents were.
Jack heard pipe music and smelled food roastingover fires. Groups of men talked excitedly to oneanother.
"That's funny," said Annie. "I don't see girls here.""Oh, sure, there're girls," said Jack.
"Where?" said Annie. "Show me."Jack looked around. But he only saw men and boys.--no women or girls at all.
Then he saw an outdoor theater. A woman wasstanding on the stage. She had yellow hair and apurple tunic.
"There," said Jack, pointing.
"What's she doing?" asked Annie.
A soldier was on the stage with her. He wore a longcape. A helmet with a red crest hid his face.
The woman and the soldier were waving their armsand talking loudly to each other.
"I think they're doing a play," said Jack. "I'll look."He pulled out the Greek book and found a pictureof the theater.
"Listen," he said. He read aloud:
The Greeks were the first to write plays. ManyEnglish words for the theater come from Greekwords, such as drama, scenery, and chorus. ManyGreek plays are still performed today.
"Hey, Jack," said Annie. "You're wrong."When Jack looked up, he saw the woman hadpulled off her wig. It was a boy dressed up as awoman!
"See, even she's a boy," said Annie. "That's weird.""Hmm," said Jack. He went on reading:
A few actors would play many differ-ent parts inthe same play. Women were not allowed to act, somen played the female roles, too.
woman wanted to be in a play?""That's not fair," said Annie. "What if a womanwanted to be in a play?""Don't worry about it," said Jack. He put the bookaway. "Let's just take a peek at the Olympics, thenfind our story."He nudged Annie to move along.
Just then he heard a voice.
"Wait!"They turned around. A man with a short whitebeard was walking toward them.
"Hello," said the man. He was looking right atAnnie. "Who are you?""Who are you?" Annie asked boldly. |