Jeremy and the Golden Fleece Read online

  Jeremy and the Golden Fleece

  Becky Citra

  illustrated by Jessica Milne

  Text copyright © 2007 Becky Citra

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 Jessica Milne

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Citra, Becky

  Jeremy and the Golden Fleece / written by Becky Citra; illustrated by Jessica Milne.

  (Orca echoes)

  Electronic Monograph

  Issued also in print format.

  ISBN 9781551436593(pdf) -- ISBN 9781554696482 (epub)

  I. Milne, Jessica, 1974- II. Title. III. Series.

  PS8555.I87J473 2007 jC813’.54 C2006-907060-1

  First published in the United States, 2007

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2006939248

  Summary: In this third book of the Jeremy and the Enchanted Theater series, Jeremy and the cat, Aristotle, must travel into the Greek myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece, face grave dangers and solve a riddle.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

  Typesetting by Christine Toller

  Cover artwork and interior illustrations by Jessica Milne

  In Canada:

  Orca Book Publishers

  PO Box 5626, Station B

  Victoria, BC Canada

  V8R 6S4

  In the United States:

  Orca Book Publishers

  PO Box 468

  Custer, WA USA

  98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  10 09 08 07 • 4 3 2 1

  To my father

  B.C.

  To my loving mum

  J.M.

  How the Adventure Began…

  Long ago, the Enchanted Theater was a wonderful place. People came from everywhere to see the ancient Greek plays.

  Then Mr. Magnus bought the theater. That’s when the trouble started. Mr. Magnus made up new endings for the plays. He mixed up all the characters.

  Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, was furious. He hurled lightning bolts at the theater. The power went out. People stopped coming to see the plays. The actors quit.

  Jeremy and Aristotle the cat traveled back in time to meet Zeus. They traveled all the way to Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods.

  Zeus told them that Mr. Magnus was ruining the Greek plays. He gave Jeremy three scrolls. Each scroll had a riddle. If Mr. Magnus solved all three riddles, Zeus promised that he would stop punishing the Enchanted Theater.

  Mr. Magnus needed help from his friends. Jeremy and Aristotle traveled back in time to the ancient Greek underworld. They solved the first riddle.

  Now they are ready for the second riddle!

  Chapter One

  The Enchanted Theater

  Jeremy raced all the way to the Enchanted Theater.

  Mr. Magnus and Aristotle the cat were waiting for him. They were in the little room at the end of the long dark hallway.

  The room was filled with racks of bright costumes. Shields and swords gleamed in the corners.

  Aristotle sat on top of a blue and gold trunk. Mr. Magnus perched on his stool by the window. Wobbly piles of books surrounded him. He was holding an ancient parchment scroll.

  “The second riddle!” said Jeremy.

  Jeremy was good at riddles. But Mr. Magnus looked worried.

  “This is a tough one,” he moaned. He opened the scroll and read out loud: “I have twenty legs but just one wing. The sea is my kingdom and Jason my king. Who am I?”

  Jeremy frowned. “Twenty legs…one wing…,” he mumbled. He screwed up his face. He thought as hard as he could.

  “It’s no use,” sighed Mr. Magnus.

  “We can’t give up!” said Jeremy. “We have to save the Enchanted Theater!”

  He looked over Mr. Magnus’s shoulder. He studied the second riddle. “Jason my king,” he said. “Who’s Jason?”

  “A Greek sailor,” said Mr. Magnus.

  Mr. Magnus picked up a book from the top of a pile. He opened it to a page in the middle. There was a picture of a large ship with a billowing sail.

  The word Argo was painted boldly on the side of the ship.

  A man stood at the bow. He gazed over the blue waves. His face was strong and proud.

  “That’s Jason,” said Mr. Magnus.

  “He’s not just a sailor,” said Jeremy. “He looks like the captain.”

  “It would help if you had seen the play,” said Mr. Magnus. “It was a great success…until Zeus put out the lights. It’s called Jason and the Golden Fleece.”

  “What’s a fleece?” said Jeremy.

  “It’s the wooly hide from a sheep,” said Mr. Magnus.

  Jeremy shivered. A golden sheep sounded magical.

  He made up his mind quickly. “We’ll travel back in time again!” he said. “We’ll find Jason. We’ll ask him to help us solve the riddle.”

  Aristotle leaped off the blue and gold trunk. “Meow,” he said.

  “I need the backpack,” said Jeremy.

  Mr. Magnus picked up a bulging backpack. He handed it to Jeremy. Jeremy slid it over his shoulders.

  “I hope you remember the rules,” said Mr. Magnus. Jeremy said the rules quickly in his head.

  1. Time travel only happens at sunset.

  2. You have to hold onto an actor’s prop.

  3. You have to do five brave things to return.

  He looked at the pink sky that glowed through the one small window.

  “We’d better hurry!” he said.

  “But I haven’t told you about the clashing rocks or the fire breathing bull or the serpent who never closes his eyes!” cried Mr. Magnus.

  “Where’s the prop!” said Jeremy.

  Mr. Magnus hopped about nervously. He picked up a gleaming shield. “Jason’s actor used this in a battle,” he said.

  Aristotle jumped onto Jeremy’s shoulder.

  Jeremy took a big breath. “We’re ready!” he cried. He reached out and touched the shield.

  Everything swirled around him.

  From far away, he heard Mr. Magnus cry, “I’ve given you a map. You can use it to find Jason. And watch out for—”

  Aristotle nudged Jeremy’s cheek. And then everything went black.

  Chapter Two

  The Argo!

  Jeremy opened his eyes.

  He was standing on a dock in a busy harbor. Aristotle sat beside him, licking his ruffled orange fur.

  The blue ocean sparkled in the sun. Ships with flapping sails bobbed up and down at the side of the dock.

  Jeremy hunched his shoulders. “It sure is windy!” he said.

  “A perfect day for sailing,” said Aristotle.

  “Look out, boy!” A sailor rolled a wooden barrel past him.

  Jeremy leaped out of the way.

  Men carried bundles and boxes to the ships. Loud voices bellowed orders. Everyone was getting ready to leave. Jeremy’s heart thumped. If he didn’t find the Argo soon, it would be too late!

  “Come on!” he said. “We have to find the Argo and talk to Jason!”

  Jeremy pushed his way through the crowd. Aristotle darted at his side. Jeremy read
the names painted on the sides of the ships.

  Dragon, Wind Rider, Athena’s Pride…

  His heart beat faster. What if the Argo had already left?

  Then he spotted it.

  The Argo was at the end of the row of ships. It was the biggest and most graceful ship of them all.

  Jeremy watched sailors roll barrels of supplies up the wooden plank onto the ship.

  “Those sailors are called Argonauts,” said Aristotle. “Jason picked them specially to be his crew. It was in the play at the Enchanted Theater.”

  “Argonauts sounds like astronauts,” said Jeremy. It would be so cool to be an Argonaut.

  Well, why not?

  He remembered the backpack. It had helped him before. He slid it off his shoulders and unzipped it. He dug inside.

  Jeremy pulled out a strange assortment of objects. He found a roll of paper, a long skinny stick that looked like a firecracker, a slingshot and a small round mirror. From the very bottom of the pack he dug out a folded piece of cloth.

  Jeremy put everything back except the cloth. He unfolded it. It was a tunic, just like the one Jason was wearing in Mr. Magnus’s book. Wrapped inside was a pair of leather sandals.

  Jeremy pulled the tunic over his T-shirt and shorts. He took off his runners and put on the sandals.

  Now he looked just like an Argonaut.

  “It’s now or never!” cried Jeremy.

  Aristotle flicked his tail. He jumped on Jeremy’s shoulder.

  Jeremy took in a deep breath. He stepped behind one of the Argonauts and stared straight ahead. He followed the Argonaut up the wooden plank.

  Jeremy let the breath out.

  He was on board the Argo!

  Chapter Three

  Cast Off!

  The Argonauts worked hard. They stowed away the barrels of supplies. They coiled up long ropes. They checked the sail. Nobody looked at Jeremy.

  Aristotle had disappeared.

  “Um…excuse me,” said Jeremy. “Does anyone know where Jason is?”

  Whoosh!

  A fierce gust of wind tore at the sail. The ropes tied to the dock creaked and groaned.

  The Argonauts sat down on the benches beside the long wooden oars.

  Jeremy’s heart thudded. The Argo was ready to leave. He had to find Jason.

  Jeremy hurried to the bow of the ship. He gazed out at the blue waves.

  Just for a second, he felt like Jason in the picture in Magnus’s book. He felt strong and brave. He felt like a captain.

  “ALL HANDS ON DECK!” yelled Jeremy. “HEAVE TO!”

  The Argo strained at its ropes. Waves splashed the bow. Jeremy shivered. If the Argo were his, he would sail around the world!

  “CAST OFF!” he hollered.

  Ropes sang. The sail filled. Oars splashed. The Argo bounded over the blue water.

  Jeremy spun around. “Wait!” he cried. “I was just kidding!”

  The Argonauts stopped rowing. Their mouths dropped open.

  “Hey, you’re not Jason!” cried a big burly Argonaut.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” cried another.

  “Yeah,” demanded a third. “Where’s Jason?”

  “Er…over there,” hissed a voice beside Jeremy.

  Aristotle squeezed out from behind a coil of rope. He twitched his tail and stared at the shore.

  Jeremy stared too.

  A young man raced down the dock. He wore a tunic just like Jeremy’s. His face was purple.

  The man waved his fist.

  Jeremy gulped.

  He had seen that man before in Mr. Magnus’s book.

  It was Jason!

  Chapter Four

  Aristotle’s Plan

  “GO BACK!” shouted Jeremy. “TURN THE SHIP AROUND!”

  “We can’t,” said an Argonaut.

  “The wind is blowing the wrong way,” grunted another.

  “We’re going to get in big trouble now,” groaned a third.

  Jeremy stared at the shore. Jason stood at the end of the dock. He cupped his hands to his mouth. He hollered something.

  “I think he said, ‘Bring my ship back!’” said Aristotle.

  “Great, just great,” said Jeremy. “He’ll never help us solve the riddle now.”

  The Argo sped across the water. Jeremy watched Jason until he was just a tiny speck. And then he was gone.

  “Now what do we do?” said Jeremy.

  “Easy,” said Aristotle. “We keep going and get the Golden Fleece.”

  The Argonauts stopped grumbling among themselves and listened. Jeremy listened too.

  “I saw the play at the Enchanted Theater,” said Aristotle. “The King of Colchis stole the Golden Fleece from Jason’s uncle, King Pelias. If Jason gets the fleece back, his uncle said that he can be king. That’s why Jason built the Argo!”

  Jeremy said slowly, “If we sail to Colchis and get the Golden Fleece…”

  “And give it to Jason…,” said the big burly Argonaut.

  “And Jason gets to be king…,” added Aristotle.

  “He won’t be mad at us anymore!” finished Jeremy. “And he’ll help us solve the riddle!”

  Jeremy remembered something. He reached into the backpack and took out the rolled-up piece of paper. He spread it out on the deck. The paper was covered with pictures and words in Mr. Magnus’s spidery printing.

  The Argonauts peered over his shoulder.

  “A map!” they cried. “A map to Colchis and the Golden Fleece!”

  They stared at Jeremy.

  The big burly Argonaut stepped forward. “I’m Marco,” he said, “your first mate.”

  Jeremy shook his hand. “I’m Jeremy.” He stood up tall. “Your new captain.”

  Screech!

  Everyone gazed up at the sky.

  Three huge black vultures streaked toward the ship.

  “The Harpies!” yelled Aristotle. “They were in the play.”

  “Duck!” shouted Jeremy.

  But Aristotle had already disappeared inside an empty barrel.

  Chapter Five

  The Harpies

  The black birds swooped toward the Argo. Their screams made Jeremy’s back prickle.

  Their enormous wings blocked the sun.

  “Yikes!” cried the Argonauts. They pushed and shoved each other. They squeezed under the benches.

  Jeremy crawled under a bench too.

  He held his breath.

  Claws scrabbled on the wooden deck. Wings flapped. A bird screeched. The ship rocked back and forth.

  What was happening?

  Then everything was still.

  Jeremy crawled back out. After all, he was the captain of the Argo!

  He looked up. The Harpies had left. But they were circling above the ship. They were coming back!

  This time Jeremy didn’t hide. He grabbed his backpack. He pulled out the skinny stick. A piece of cord hung out of one end. Tiny writing on the side said Ship’s Flare.

  Jeremy wasn’t sure what a flare was. But the stick looked like the biggest firecracker he had ever seen!

  He held the stick high in the air.

  “One!” he shouted.

  The Harpies streaked toward the ship.

  “Two!” cried Jeremy.

  The Harpies were so close he could feel the wind from their wings. He gasped. They had faces like old hags with stringy gray hair and wrinkled cheeks.

  “Three!” he shouted.

  He pulled the cord.

  A blinding red light shot out the end like a rocket. It was brighter than a thousand firecrackers. It lit up the sky with a fiery glow.

  “Wow!” said Jeremy. He hunched his shoulders. He closed his eyes.

  The Harpies screamed. Their huge wings beat the air.

  Jeremy shuddered. He waited a minute. Then he opened his eyes. A black feather drifted down from the blue sky. The Harpies were small dots in the distance.

  “It’s safe to come out!” shouted Jeremy.

&nbsp
; The Argonauts crawled out from under the benches. Aristotle scrambled out of the barrel. He leaped onto the ship railing. The Argonauts laughed and cheered. “Hooray for Jeremy!”

  Jeremy strode to the bow of the ship. His heart jumped. The Argo was skimming toward a rocky beach.

  Faster and faster the wind blew the ship.

  “We’re going to crash!” shouted Jeremy.

  Rocks smashed against the ship’s hull. The Argonauts toppled like bowling pins. Jeremy slid across the deck.

  “Aristotle!” he yelled. With a desperate yowl, Aristotle tumbled over the side of the ship.

  Chapter Six

  The Shipbuilder

  Jeremy ran to the railing. He peered over the side. The Argo was sitting in shallow water. The bow rested on a rocky beach.

  Aristotle was gone.

  “Put down the gangplank!” said Jeremy.

  Marco and two other Argonauts lowered the gangplank. Jeremy sped onto the beach.

  A thin wet orange rat crawled out of the water. Jeremy blinked. The rat mewed crossly. It was Aristotle!

  “I want to go home,” he hissed.

  “But we haven’t solved the riddle,” said Jeremy.

  “Ahoy there! Ahoy there!” someone shouted.

  At the end of the beach, a man waved a stick.

  “Ahoy!” shouted Jeremy.

  The man hobbled across the rocks to the Argo. He had a long gray beard. He was the oldest man Jeremy had ever seen.

  “I saw the whole thing!” the man panted. He held out his hand. “I’m Phineus. Best shipbuilder on the island.”

  “Wow,” said Jeremy.

  Phineus slapped his leg. “That’s because my wife Hester and I are the only ones who live here!”

  Jeremy laughed. “I’m Jeremy,” he said, “captain of the Argo.”

  He looked at the ship. It was leaning to one side. “And we sure need a shipbuilder.”

  Phineus’s eyes sparkled. “I haven’t had a ship to work on for thirty years!”

  Jeremy thought Phineus looked too old to fix anything. “I can’t pay you,” he said.

  “You got rid of the Harpies!” said Phineus. “They’ve been after us as long as we’ve lived here. Stealing our food! Screeching night and day! Giving us no peace!”