The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet
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The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet is the first book of the children's book series, The Secrets of Droon, written by Tony Abbott.
[edit] Summary
Eric Hinkel and his friends Neal Kroger and Julie Rubin are cleaning up Eric’s messy basement. Neal is playing with a soccer ball but he drops it and it bounces in the basement. It bounces until it settles in a small closet under the basement stairs. Julie goes into the closet to retrieve the ball, and Neal accidentally closes the door. They hear Julie scream and when they open the door she is there but the ball is not. She says that after the door was closed a rainbow staircase appeared and the soccer ball bounced down it. They all go into the closet and the rainbow stairs appear, they go down them.
They find they are in the sky over a different world.
As they descend they see trees but then they see flying lizards with big red guys riding them. The red guys start shooting flaming arrows at them and the staircase starts to disappear. They do not reach the bottom of the stairs before they disappear and Eric and his friends fall through the trees and sprains his ankle. Eric hides in a bush alone but soon realizes that there is a girl named Keeah who says the red guys are named Ninns and that the flying lizards are called Groggles and they are working for the Evil Lord Sparr. She sprinkles some sparkly dust on his ankle and it is healed. She tells him that she is a princess and that her father is King Zello, King of Droon, the world they are in. She tells him to give the Wizard Galen, in his tower, a piece of paper. Keeah tells Eric to tell Galen to give the paper to King Zello. A she is talking a group of Groggles land and attempt to capture Keeah and Eric. Keeah tells Eric that Lord Sparr is pure evil and will stop at nothing to take over Droon. Eric is reluctant to help Keeah but she says that he is from the Upper World and that if she helps her she will help him get back.
Keeah runs away from the Ninns and Eric notices a white bird that follows her in the sky. The Ninns chase after Keeah but she just runs faster. He was running to a bridge behind her when somebody grabbed and pulled him under it. He sees that it is Julie and Neal; Eric tells them what Keeah told him. A long yellow car drives onto the bridge where there are a dozen Ninns.
From out of the car steps a human but he has small finns behind his ears. The kids realize that this is Lord Sparr. Lord Sparr asks the Ninns if they captured the princess but the Ninns reply that they have not. As Sparr gets angrier the fins turn darker. The kids, still in hiding, open the note Keeah gave Eric. The note reads “Thginot Dekcatta Eb Lliw Frodnefroz” Neal, Eric and Julie run from under the bridge but Neal bumbps into something, something he cannot see. The kids fell around the area where Neal hit his head and the relize that there is an invisible object. As they inspect it become visible. The kids see that it is a petrified tree. As they observe the tree a very large spider but with a round face, big eyes and a pug nose. The spider asks why the have come and the kids reply that they have a note for Galen Longbeard. The spider ushers them inside the tower and introduces himself as Max the spider troll. They climb up the inside of the tower to the top where they find a room. The room is cluttered, with jars of twigs and old books and other things scattered around. They also notice a large mirror leaning against the wall. In the center of the room was an old man. He was very tall and thin and he wore a blue robe and a blue cone hat.Max introduces the man as Galen Longbeard first wizard of Droon. Max tells them that he is over five hundred years old.
Galen welcomes hem then asks them if they have seen Leep his lost pet pilka. Eric relates his stories to Galen and then Gives Galen the note from Keeah.Galen also cannot understand what Keeah wrote but he suggests that it might be in code. Neal says that it might be written backwards. Neal reverses the letters and realizes that it says, “Zorfendorf will be attacked tonight”. Galen says that he must tell King Zello to defend Zorfendorf Castle. Galen mumbles strange words and disappears; Galen reappears in an instant. He tells the children that he has just been to Jaffa city and that King Zello is sending his army to defend the castle. Galen asks the Kids how they got to Droon from the Upper World. Eric tells him about the magic staircase. Galen says that when Sparr made his Three Powers, objects of great power, Galen sealed the staircase to stop Sparr from taking over the Upper World. Galen explains that now that he is getting old his spell has worn off. The mirror in Galens tower starts to buzz and Galen explains that he uses it to keep watch over all of Droon.MORE SUMMARY TO COME.
