Vacation Dreams (7 page)

A shaft of sunlight caught the gate and threw a large dark rabbit-shaped shadow onto the pavement right in front of Arrow.

The magic bunny’s eyes rolled in fright. “My enemies have found me!” Leaping out of the bag, he landed on the pavement and shot down the street like a rocket.

“Oh no!” Becky gasped.

Without a second thought, she hurtled down the street after her tiny friend, who was already far ahead of her. Becky just glimpsed his bobtail flashing as he disappeared around a corner.

“Hey! Where are you going? Wait for me!” Leon cried behind her.

Becky didn’t look around. Her heart was in her mouth. She felt frantic at the thought of the dangers of traffic and people who might accidentally trip over her invisible friend.

Rounding the corner, she got a glimpse of the village green ahead. There was an ancient-looking tree in the center. A wooden bench stood beneath it. Becky spotted a familiar little figure cowering underneath it.

“Arrow!” she gasped, weak with relief.

She ran over to him, threw herself onto the grass and reached under the bench. “You’re safe now,” she crooned. Holding his trembling little body, she explained about how the shadow rabbit had appeared.

She could feel Arrow’s tiny heart beating fast as she sank onto the bench with him and gently stroked his fluffy pale coffee-colored fur.

“I am sorry, I panicked. Thank you for coming to find me.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Becky said fondly. She didn’t know what she’d do if anything happened to her magical friend.

Leon ran across the green toward Becky and Arrow. “There you are!” he puffed. “Why did you run off like that?”

Becky thought fast. “It was a game of tag. First one to the tree. And I won!” she improvised quickly.

He looked puzzled. “So how come you didn’t tell me it was a race?”

Becky shrugged. “It was more fun this way.”

“You’re weird!” Leon shook his head slowly.

“That makes two of us!” she replied spiritedly.

Leon pretended to look offended. Then he grinned and plonked himself onto the bench beside her. “Fair enough. Maybe that’s why we get along.”

They both started laughing. Becky was delighted to hear her cousin thought they were getting along, too.

Becky relaxed, enjoying the shade under the old tree. She wondered what Leon would say if he knew that there was an invisible magic bunny so close to him.

She glanced idly toward some shops opposite the green and saw her uncle coming out of one of them. “Look, there’s Uncle Den…” she began, and then her heart sank as she noticed the sign above the door that read A & R. W
ILSON
. P
EST
C
ONTROL
S
PECIALISTS
.

“Oh no!” she groaned. Her uncle had decided to take drastic action to protect his crops.

That evening, Becky was going downstairs with Arrow when she heard raised voices coming from inside the kitchen.

“So what’s wrong with rabbit-proof fences?” Leon demanded.

“I’ve already told you. They’re just not practical on a farm this size,” his dad replied patiently. “We use a lot of big
machinery and need easy access to the fields. Not to mention the huge cost of new fencing. It’s the same with trapping and moving the rabbits. It would just take too long and in the meantime more crops would be lost.”

“But what you’re planning to do…it’s horrible!” Leon sounded close to tears.

“I don’t like this situation, either. But I have to do what’s best for the farm. You’re a farmer’s son, Leon, and you must learn to be realistic.” Becky thought Uncle Den sounded weary, as if he was tired of arguing. “The pest control people will be here tomorrow. They’ll do a good job. No rabbits will suffer.”

“I won’t let you do this!” Leon
yelled. “There’s got to be some other way—”

“That’s enough!” his dad replied. “I don’t want to hear another word.”

Leon stormed out of the kitchen and ran upstairs past Becky. She heard the kitchen door slam behind her uncle.

Becky sighed and her shoulders drooped. “Did you hear that? We’ve only got until tomorrow to think of a way to make Uncle Den change his mind.”

Arrow nodded sadly. His dewy brown eyes, with their rainbow twinkles, looked troubled.

They went into the garden so Arrow could eat some grass. As Becky sat watching him, she found herself looking toward the hills beyond the woods. Something about those steep green slopes got her thinking.

“There must be tons of grass on those hills and they’re miles away from anywhere,” she said. “Why can’t the rabbits go and live there, where no one would bother them?”

Arrow pricked up his ears. “It is a good idea, Becky. But it could take a long time to persuade Smudge and the others to leave their home. They would want to explore the new place first
by sending out scouts and then move gradually if all was well.”

Becky bit her lip as she thought of the difficulty of persuading hundreds of rabbits to move in just a few short hours. It seemed almost impossible, but she wasn’t prepared to give up yet.

The germ of an idea started to form.

“I know magic bunnies can’t talk to wild rabbits,” she said to Arrow. “But you said you could sense Smudge’s thoughts in pictures, didn’t you?

Arrow nodded. “That is right.”

“So—if you needed to tell her something really important, you could imagine it in pictures and she’d be able to understand you?” Becky asked.

“I do not know. But I could try.”

“Okay. This is what I think we
should do.” Becky warmed to her idea. “We wait until everyone’s asleep tonight, then we go to the warren and…”

As she finished explaining, Arrow’s whiskers twitched excitedly. “It is a good plan!”

Later that evening, Arrow was curled up on Becky’s bed. Outside the window, a glorious sunset had spread flame colors across the darkening sky.

“I’m just going to run downstairs to tell Uncle Den and Leon that I’m having an early night,” Becky said. “I don’t want anyone coming in later and seeing that I’m not there.”

She found Uncle Den and Leon in the sitting room. Leon was sitting
hunched in a chair with his arms folded. He looked miserable as he thought about what was to happen the following morning. Becky wished she could tell him what she and Arrow planned to do, but it had to remain a secret.

“Good night, honey. Sleep tight,” her uncle said.

Back upstairs, Becky got into bed
with her clothes on and lay there cuddling Arrow. She was sure that she was far too excited to sleep.

But she must have dozed off because it seemed like only moments later when she felt Arrow nudging her cheek urgently with his damp nose.

“Wake up. We must go!”

Bright moonlight flooded the garden. Becky peered out of the kitchen door with Arrow by her feet as she got ready to run toward the gap in the hedge. But then suddenly she felt a familiar warm tingle down her spine as Arrow’s key flashed and a big whoosh of crystal dust swirled around her like a small tornado and instantly transported them both to the top of the hill.

“Whoa!” Becky steadied herself after the amazing journey. She loved magic! She checked to see that Arrow was okay, too, and noticed that the little bunny’s key was still flashing. Before she could wonder why, Becky felt a light and fizzy whoosh run through her—just like bubbling soda—and she looked down to see her own feet had turned into grayish-brown paws!

Paws?
Next to her, Arrow seemed to have grown in size. Oh, wow! She was a wild rabbit!

“Cool!” Becky blinked in amazement. Everything looked extra bright and clear through her large rabbit eyes.

“This way,” Arrow told her, hopping toward the warren. “We must find Smudge.”

As Becky moved forward, she immediately tripped over in a messy tangle of legs and paws. It wasn’t very easy with four feet! Taking a deep breath, she tried again. This time she managed a rather wobbly hop, but the
next one was better and she soon got the hang of it.