Vacation Dreams (3 page)

“Yes. All of my warren can talk. I am Arrow, guardian of Moonglow Meadow,” the cute bunny told her, his long floppy ears lifting proudly. “What is your name?”

“Um…Rebecca. Rebecca Hodge. But everyone calls me Becky. This is my uncle’s farm. I’m staying here while my mom and aunt are away on business.” She noticed that Arrow’s deep-brown eyes seemed to be glimmering with tiny rainbows.

The bunny bowed his head. “I am honored to meet you, Becky.”

“Me too.” Becky moved onto her knees, wondering if she should curtsy or something, but she finally settled for just dipping her chin. “Is Moonglow Meadow another one of Uncle Den’s fields?”

“No. It is far from here. In another world,” Arrow explained. As he lifted his chin, something around his neck twinkled. Becky saw that he wore a fine gold chain with a key hanging from it.

“What’s that?” she asked him.

“The magic key, which I must keep safe from the fierce dark rabbits. Their land is dry and stony and they are hungry, but they refuse to share our land with us. They want to steal the key and use it to make only their land lush and green. But if they do
this, Moonglow Meadow will become a desert.”

“Oh no! That would be terrible!” Becky exclaimed.

“Yes. I will not let it happen!” A determined look crossed Arrow’s fluffy face. “That is why I agreed to come here all by myself.”

Becky was still having trouble taking all this in, but fascination was starting to take over from shock. Arrow’s world sounded so strange and magical.

She smiled warmly at him. “You’re very brave for such a tiny bunny.”

Arrow raised himself onto his back legs and flicked his tail mischievously.

“I am not so small. Please stay back!” he ordered.

Becky felt a weird warm tingling
sensation down her spine as the key around Arrow’s neck began flashing and a cloud of twinkling crystal dust swirled around him. When it cleared Becky saw that the little bunny had disappeared and in his place was the most stunning rabbit she had ever seen. It was as big as a large cat and had silky white fur, flecked with silver. The tips of its ears twinkled with what looked like molten silver, and big jewel-bright rainbows flashed from its eyes.

Becky gasped in amazement. She’d never seen anything so majestic or so beautiful.

“Arrow?” she gulped.

“Yes, Becky. It is still me,” Arrow said in a smooth voice.

Before she had gotten used to seeing him in his true form, there was a final flash of light from his key and Arrow reappeared as a pale coffee-colored bunny.

“Wow! That’s a cool disguise!” Becky exclaimed.

Arrow twitched his nose nervously. “I am afraid the dark rabbits will see through it if they catch up with me. I must find a place to hide, and quickly.”

Becky’s heart went out to the brave little bunny. She wanted to do all she could to help him. “You can live in my bedroom. Wait until I tell my cousin Leon about you. He might even talk to me then and—”

“No, I am sorry, Becky, my mission is secret. You can tell no one. Please promise me,” the magic bunny asked anxiously.

Becky felt a little bit disappointed. She had been hoping that Leon would want to spend more time with her if he saw that she had a magical new friend. But she also felt proud that Arrow was prepared to trust her with such an important secret.

“Okay, then, I promise,” she agreed. “I’ll smuggle you into the farmhouse.
No one’s going to notice. Mrs. Kelly will be too busy doing housework and Leon’s on his computer. He doesn’t even seem that interested in me being here.”

Arrow dipped his head gratefully. “I would like to stay with you very much. Thank you, Becky.”

“You’re welcome!” Becky scooted toward him on her knees and reached
out her cupped hands. Arrow jumped straight into them.

She felt him snuggle up against her as she stood up. A happy feeling glowed inside Becky as she thought about having a secret friend all to herself for this week—especially such an amazing one as Arrow!

Becky cradled Arrow close as she walked back across the field. At the gate that opened onto the farmyard, she paused.

“We’ll sneak in through the back door. I don’t really want to bump into Mrs. Kelly,” she said to Arrow. “Uh-oh!” she whispered, quickly ducking behind the gate as the
farmhouse door opened and the housekeeper appeared.

Becky didn’t want to have to answer awkward questions if she was caught with Arrow, so she crouched out of sight until Mrs. Kelly went off toward the henhouse.

“Phew! That was close!” Becky slipped through the gate and, cuddling Arrow close, sprinted across the yard and slipped around to the back of the farmhouse.

She looked down at her new friend as she walked across the lawn. Arrow was so cute. He had stretched up to lie full-length against her chest, and his eyes were closed contentedly as she stroked his pale fur. It was the softest thing she had ever touched.

“Oh!” Becky felt something very big and wet flap against her face.

A bed sheet! She hadn’t been looking where she was going and had stumbled into a line of clean laundry. A gust of wind made a corner of the sheet flick over Becky’s shoulder with a cracking sound.

Arrow gave a squeal of terror and tried to leap out of her arms.

“It’s okay, Arrow, it’s only a sheet!”

But the terrified magic bunny didn’t seem to be listening. He kicked out with his back legs, accidentally scratching Becky’s chest through her T-shirt.

Becky winced at the stinging soreness, but she made herself ignore it as she struggled to keep hold of her tiny friend without squeezing him too hard. She was worried that he’d hurt himself if he jumped to the ground from such a height. But her sneakers slipped on the damp grass and Becky felt herself tumbling forward. Stretching out one hand, she grabbed at the nearest sheet to save herself.

Snap! Snap! Snap!
Clothes pegs pinged off the line as Becky collapsed into a heap of wet washing.

“Ooof!” She managed to twist
around and land on her back, keeping Arrow safe in her cupped hands. Becky lay there for a moment, too stunned to move. She could feel Arrow’s rapid heartbeat against her palm.

“Are you okay?” Becky asked him worriedly.

“I am fine. You saved me. Thank you!” Arrow moved up to nudge her chin gently with his little wet nose.

Relief washed through Becky. She’d only had Arrow for a short time, but she already loved her magical friend to pieces and couldn’t bear to think of him being hurt.

She struggled to get free of the clinging damp material.

“Oh!” As Becky finally managed to stand up, the stinging came back. Now
that the excitement was over, the claw marks Arrow had made in his panic were starting to hurt horribly.

Arrow laid his ears flat with concern. “You are hurt, Becky. Let me help you!”

Becky saw Arrow’s key start to pulse with light and felt a warm tingling sensation down her spine. He twitched his little pink nose and a fountain of crystal dust appeared, shimmering with a thousand tiny rainbows.

To Becky’s amazement, the magical dust spread all over the front of her T-shirt, before seeming to sink into it and disappear. The scratch marks turned cold and then stopped hurting completely as if they’d never been there at all.

When Becky peered down inside her T-shirt to check, there wasn’t a single mark to be seen.

“Cool! Thanks, Arrow. I’m fine now. Come on. Let’s get you inside before—”

“My laundry!” boomed a furious voice. “What have you done, you silly girl?”

Becky froze in terror. She slowly turned to see Mrs. Kelly standing in the
kitchen doorway. She was staring at Becky’s feet.

Becky looked down, too, horrified to see that she was standing on a heap of trampled muddy sheets. She had been so worried about Arrow that she hadn’t given a thought to the laundry.

“I am in so much trouble!” Becky groaned, expecting a double scolding. She was still holding the fluffy bunny, who was now tucked safely under one arm. Mrs. Kelly seemed the sort who wouldn’t allow animals into the house.

“Just look at those sheets!” The housekeeper marched into the garden with a face like thunder. Becky leaped backward in alarm, leaving another perfect muddy footprint on a clean bit of sheet.

“It was an…um…accident,” she burbled lamely. “Sorry.”

“A likely story!” Mrs. Kelly looked as if steam might come out of her ears at any moment. “Help me pick up these sheets and bring them into the house. It will all have to be done again. I have to go down the lane to Buttercup Farm, so since you’re the one who made them all muddy,
you’re
going to be the one to wash them!”

For some reason, Mrs. Kelly hadn’t mentioned Arrow. It was almost as if she couldn’t see him.

“Me! Do laundry? But I’ve never—” Becky began and then stopped as Mrs. Kelly gave her a stern look. “Fine. Will you show me how the washing machine works?”