Bailey the Bunny--Fairy Animals of Misty Wood

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  With special thanks to Susannah Leigh

  CHAPTER ONE

  A Breakfast Surprise

  Spring had come to Misty Wood. The icy frosts of winter had melted away and the earth was warm and bouncy again. On the hillsides, the sweet scent of lavender drifted gently on the breeze. Soft clover carpeted the valleys, and in the meadows, hundreds of new flowers were just ready to bloom.

  Below a cluster of mulberry bushes, in a cozy burrow deep inside the Misty Wood Rabbit Warren, somebody was bursting with happiness.

  “… and then I’ll twitch my nose and the beautiful buds will unfurl and springtime will have arrived in Misty Wood at last!”

  Bailey the Bud Bunny sat at the old log that was her family’s breakfast table, chattering away. She was so excited that her pretty pink wings kept fluttering and she had to hold on to the table to stop herself from flying off. Bailey’s mom was bustling about the warm burrow. Her dad was busy tweaking his whiskers and arranging his long floppy ears. And her baby brother, Bobby, was sitting on his toadstool high chair, playing with his mashed carrots. Bailey leaned across the log table and put her little pink nose close to Bobby’s face.

  “I’ll twitch my nose like this, Bobby,” she said, wiggling her nose slowly. “I have to be careful because the petals are very delicate. If I do it too quickly, the flower might break. Ouch!” she yelped as Bobby whacked the tip of her nose with his little white paw.

  “Bweak! Bweak!” the baby bunny cried.

  Bailey laughed. “When you’re a bigger Bud Bunny, you’ll understand.” She fluttered her tiny pink wings proudly. Like all the fairy animals living in Misty Wood, she had a very special job to do to make sure it stayed such a magical place.

  A Bud Bunny’s special job was to unfurl the flowers and reveal their beautiful blooms. Bailey was a very young Bud Bunny and this was only her second springtime. Her white cotton tail fluffed up with happiness as she thought back to last year. All the other Bud Bunnies had said she’d done really well. This year she was determined to do even better.

  And maybe if I’m really good, Bailey thought, I might even see the Easter Bunny at the Misty Wood Easter Egg Hunt. Her mom always said that no one got to meet the Easter Bunny, because he was so busy and important. But Bailey still hoped that, one day, she’d be really lucky.

  “I’m sure I’ll see all sorts of lovely flowers today,” Bailey said dreamily. “Big ones and small ones. Pink ones and blue ones. Short ones and tall ones and some in-between ones and…”

  “Bailey, if you don’t stop chattering and finish up your food, it will be time for bed before you’ve even started,” her mom said, stirring a wooden pot of fresh elderflower juice.

  “Sorry,” Bailey said with a grin. “I’m just so happy. I’ve been waiting for today forever!”

  Her mom set the pot down on the log table. “Well, you can wait just a little bit longer and have a nice big drink first. It’s a lovely sunny day outside and I don’t want you getting thirsty.” She poured some of the sweet juice into Bailey’s acorn cup and the little bunny gulped it eagerly.

  “Yum, that was delicious,” she said, licking her lips. “Now, I can’t hang around. I’ve got to hurry, hurry, hurry—hic!” Bailey stopped, openmouthed.

  Bobby giggled.

  Bailey’s mom gasped.

  Bailey’s dad raised an eyebrow.

  Bailey tried again.

  “Good-bye, everyone,” she said. “I’m off to—hic!” She stopped and looked around the burrow in dismay. “What’s—hic—happening?” she wailed.

  “Oh, Bailey,” her mom said, shaking her head. “You drank your juice so quickly, it’s given you the hiccups.”

  “Hiccups?” Bailey cried. “But how am I—hic—going to do my—hic—job now? I’ll never be able to keep still enough to unfurl the flower petals if I’ve got the—hic—hiccups!”

  And, with that, a fat tear trickled down her snowy-white face and landed—splat!—into her empty acorn cup.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Cheeky Pollen Puppy

  “Cheer up,” Bailey’s dad said. He hopped over and patted her on the head with one of his big, furry paws. “Hiccups don’t last forever. Once you’re flying around outside, they’ll soon disappear.”

  “Really—hic—truly?” Bailey said hopefully.

  “Really truly,” her dad replied.

  “Dad’s right,” Bailey’s mom said. “The fresh air is sure to get rid of your hiccups.”

  Bailey glanced at the dandelion clock on the wall.

  “Ooh,” she squeaked when she saw the time blowing away. “I’d better go. I’ve got buds to—hic—unfurl.”

  She said a hasty and hiccupy good-bye to her family and set off through the Misty Wood Rabbit Warren. As she scampered along the tunnels, she passed the homes of the other Bud Bunnies. Many of them were getting ready to go out and unfurl the flowers, too, so there was lots of hustle and bustle.

  “Isn’t it exciting, Bailey? Springtime at last!” a little gray bunny called out, twitching his floppy ears. It was Ben, one of Bailey’s best friends.

  “Hello, Ben!” Bailey said with a smile. “Yes, it’s really exciting—hic. Oh no, not again!” Bailey covered her mouth with her paw.

  “Oh, Bailey,” Ben said, looking worried. “Was that a hiccup?”

  “Yes.” Bailey sighed. “Of all the mornings to get them, why did it have to be this one?”

  “That is bad luck.” Ben tipped his head to one side thoughtfully. “But I’m sure they’ll disappear when you get outside. Mom says fresh air and sunshine cure everything.”

  “I hope she’s right,” Bailey said. “See you up there, then, Ben—hic!”

  Ben grinned at her and waved good-bye.

  Bailey turned the corner and saw a bright yellow glow at the end of the tunnel ahead of her. She scampered toward it and emerged, blinking, into the golden spring sunshine of Misty Wood. As her eyes grew used to the light, she gasped in delight. Spread out before her was Honeydew Meadow. Its bright green grass was carpeted with new flowers, all tightly closed and waiting for the Bud Bunnies to open them.

  Bailey could see the other Bud Bunnies already setting to work. As they twitched their noses and each bud unfurled, beautiful splashes of color burst out. Bailey couldn’t wait to join in. She flew over to the nearest stem and placed her nose against its delicate bud. Slowly, carefully, she got ready to twitch her nose and …

  “Hic!”

  Bailey jumped backward in surprise, knocking the bud away.

  “Oh no!” she sighed. Perhaps I need some more fresh air, she thought. She took a deep breath. Then she carefully put her nose back to the flower.

  “Hic—no!” she cried as her nose jerked and bumped the bud away again. “What am I going to—hic—do?”

  The sound of laughter rang out across
the meadow. Bailey turned to see where it was coming from. There, on a grassy bank behind her, was a little Pollen Puppy. He was chuckling so hard his golden wings were jiggling up and down.

  “You looked so funny,” he cried merrily. “Do it again, do it again! Please!”

  Bailey folded her paws and glared at him. Like all the fairy animals in Misty Wood, Pollen Puppies had an important job to do—spreading the golden pollen in the meadows and fields so the flowers could grow. But they were also very cheeky and loved to joke around.

  “I’m not doing it on purpose, you know,” Bailey said. She felt quite annoyed. “I’ve got the—hic—hiccups.”

  “The hic-hiccups?” the puppy repeated, and burst out laughing again. “Those are just the funniest hiccups I’ve ever seen.”

  “Well, I don’t think they’re funny,” Bailey said. “And neither will the rest of Misty Wood if I can’t get these buds open and looking pretty.” She slumped down in the long grass and began to cry.

  The Pollen Puppy stopped laughing immediately. “I’m very sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  He scampered over to Bailey and patted her on the back. Although Pollen Puppies were mischievous, they were very kind fairy animals at heart.

  “Look, don’t cry,” he said. “I think I know how you can get rid of your hiccups.”

  “Hic—really?” Bailey gave a small sniff and wiped her eyes.

  “Hic—really.” The puppy smiled. “Follow me.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Head Over Heels

  “My name’s Petey, by the way,” the puppy called back over his golden wings as they flew up into the warm air. “What’s yours?”

  “Bailey,” she replied. She fluttered her wings faster to keep up, but it wasn’t easy to fly when you had the hiccups. Every time she hiccuped she fell a bit behind.

  Finally, they reached a clearing. Down below them was a huge pond. It glistened silver and blue in the sunlight.

  “Moonshine Pond!” exclaimed Bailey, looking down. “What are we doing here?”

  Petey guided her down gently to the sandy shore of the pond. “To get rid of hiccups, you need to have a drink,” he explained.

  “A drink?” Bailey shook her head. “Oh, no. It was drinking juice that gave me the hiccups. I don’t think I ought to—hic—drink any more.”

  Petey grinned. “Ah, but you got the hiccups from drinking forward,” he explained. “So to get rid of them, you have to do the opposite. You have to drink backward.”

  Bailey was confused. “Drink backward? How am I supposed to drink backward?”

  Petey shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not exactly sure,” he said. “I heard my grandma say it to my sister once when she had the hiccups. It must have worked because she hasn’t had them since. Come on!”

  Bailey watched as Petey dashed down to the edge of the pond, where the pearly water lapped over silver pebbles.

  “It does look really nice,” Bailey said, hopping after Petey. “Perhaps it will do the—hic—trick.” She leaned forward to take a slurp of the sparkling water.

  “No, not like that!” Petey cried.

  Bailey froze. “What’s the—hic—matter?” she asked.

  “You have to drink backward, remember?” Petey said. “Look, I think it’s like this.”

  He put his paws on her back and turned her around so that she was facing away from the pond. “Now,” he said, “lean backward and take a drink.”

  “Lean backward?” Bailey shook her head. “But that’s—hic—impossible.”

  “Do you want to get rid of your hiccups or not?” Petey asked.

  Bailey gave a sigh and bent backward until the tips of her ears dangled down into the water.

  “Brrr. The water’s cold!” she squeaked. But then she hiccuped again. She leaned back even farther, so that the top of her head was in the water and her furry tummy was pointing up to the sky.

  “Nearly there,” Petey called out cheerily. “You’ll soon have gotten rid of those—uh-oh—oh no—oh, dear!”

  SPLASH!

  Bailey had lost her balance. She tumbled head over heels into the water and landed with a splishy sploshy PLOP, right on her bottom.

  “Ow, ow, ow!” she cried, clambering out of the pond. She shook the water from her whiskers and at the same time let out an enormous …

  “HICCUP!”

  Petey rolled around on the bank of Moonshine Pond, laughing and laughing.

  “You looked so funny!” he gasped. “Do it again! Please!”

  “Stop—hic—saying that!” Bailey thumped her furry white foot. “You said you would help me get rid of my hiccups—HIC—but now they’re even—HIC—worse than before. And I’m soaking wet!”

  She stretched out her poor bedraggled wings.

  “Sorry,” Petey said again. “But it really wasn’t my fault. Honestly, Bailey, it can’t be that hard to drink backward.”

  “Okay, then,” Bailey said. “If you think it’s so easy, why don’t you—HIC—try it?”

  Petey clapped his front paws together and grinned. “All right, little Bud Bunny. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Petey marched down to the edge of the pond. Then he turned around and set his back legs wide apart. Slowly, he bent backward, tipping his soft, furry head down toward the water.

  “See how easy it is?” he said. “Look, I’m nearly there.”

  But just at that moment, his legs began to wobble. “Just a little bit farther,” he gasped. “Whoa!”

  There was an almighty SPLASH and this time it was Petey who tumbled, head over heels, into the cold water.

  Now it was Bailey’s turn to laugh. “You looked so funny!” she cried. “Like a big golden frog hopping off a lily pad!”

  Petey bounded out of the pond, shaking his fur and sending water spraying in all directions.

  “I suppose it serves me right,” he said with a chuckle. He flopped down on the grass beside Bailey. “Now we’re both soaking. Drinking backward isn’t as easy as I thought.”

  “No, it’s not,” Bailey said, her smile fading. “So, what am I going to do now?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The Best Cure for Hiccups Ever

  Bailey and Petey stretched out on the bank. The sun felt lovely and warm on their damp fur, and they soon began to dry out.

  Bailey was still hiccuping, though. “Today has been the unluckiest day of my life,” she sighed. “I’ve been looking forward to unfurling the flowers for a whole year, but at this rate I won’t be able to open a single—hic—bud.”

  Just at that moment, there was a rustle in the hedgerow behind them. A small black face with a pointy nose and tiny eyes peered at them grumpily.

  “Hey, what’s going on out there?” the creature said crossly. “All your noise woke me up.”

  “Oh no, it’s—hic—Marley,” Bailey whispered to Petey.

  “Hic—who?” Petey whispered back.

  “Marley the Moonbeam Mole,” Bailey explained. “He’s a—hic—friend of my mom and dad’s. We’re in big trouble now.”

  Marley squeezed his velvety little body out of his hiding place. He shook out his glittery wings and made his way toward them.

  “He doesn’t look very happy,” Petey whispered.

  “Of course he’s not,” Bailey said. “Moonbeam Moles sleep during the day because they—hic—have to work all night.”

  “Of course,” Petey said. “They catch the moonbeams to put in the pond to make it all shimmery.”

  “Exactly.” Bailey nodded. “So, right now, Marley should be fast asleep.”

  “Bailey, is that you?” Marley’s tiny eyes blinked blindly.

  “Hello, Marley. Yes, it’s me,” said Bailey.

  The sleepy mole’s velvety brow furrowed. “What are you doing all the way over here? It’s the first day of spring. Shouldn’t you be busy in the meadow opening the buds?”

  “She was,” Petey quickly explained. “I was the one who brought her here
. Sorry.”

  “So you should be, young Pollen Puppy,” Marley grumbled. “How am I supposed to sleep with all of your chatting and splashing going on?”

  “We’re so sorry, Marley,” Bailey said quickly. “We didn’t mean to—hic—wake you. HIC!”

  “Goodness me,” Marley gasped. “Those hiccups sound serious.”

  “They are,” Bailey said glumly. “I’ve had them all morning and I haven’t been able to open a—hic—single flower.”

  “I thought drinking backward might cure them,” Petey added. “So that’s why we came to your pond.”

  Marley shook his head and gave a little chuckle. “I’ve heard of that old cure,” he said. “I’m not sure it works every time. But don’t worry, I have a much better idea.”

  “You do?” Bailey and Petey cried.

  “Yes, I do. Now listen carefully.” Marley beckoned them closer with his little pink paw. “What I am about to tell you is the best cure for hiccups ever invented.”

  “It is?” Bailey exclaimed. She and Petey leaned in eagerly.

  “To get rid of hiccups,” Marley whispered, “you need to be surprised by something so surprising that your hiccups forget to hiccup.”

  Bailey and Petey looked at each other. “Something so surprising that your hiccups forget to hiccup,” Bailey repeated. “But I’ve already done so many surprising things today, Marley. Getting hiccups in the first place was surprising. Meeting Petey was surprising. And falling into the water was definitely—hic—surprising!”

  Petey shook his golden head. “Those things can’t have been surprising enough,” he said.

  “Exactly.” Marley nodded. “But I’m sure something will come along that you really weren’t expecting.” Then he gave a big yawn and stretched out his arms. “I’m afraid I’m very sleepy. So if you don’t mind, I will leave you to find the cure by yourselves. Good luck. And good night!”