Heidi Heckelbeck and the Tie-Dyed Bunny Read online

  Chap ter 1: THE BUNNY HOP

  Chap ter 2: BUNNY TALK

  Chap ter 3: AND THE WINNER IS . . . !

  Chap ter 4: RABBIT RULES

  Chap ter 5: DAZZLING DYES

  Chap ter 6: SILLY WABBIT!

  Chap ter 7: SCRUB-A-DUB-DUB

  Chap ter 8: GOING DOTTY

  Chap ter 9: RABBIT EARS

  Chap ter 10: HOPPY EASTER!

  Chap ter 11: SPOTLESS!

  ‘Heidi Heckelbeck Is a Flower Girl’ Excerpt

  About Wanda Coven and Priscilla Burris

  Boing!

  Boing!

  Boing!

  No one could sit still in Mrs. Welli’s second-grade classroom. Everyone wanted to hold Maggie. Maggie was a fluffy white bunny with bright blue eyes. She belonged to Principal Pennypacker, but sometimes he let Maggie go on classroom visits.

  This week Mrs. Welli’s class had Maggie. Mrs. Welli let her students take turns holding the bunny. When it was Heidi’s turn, she cuddled Maggie in her arms. The other kids gathered around.

  “Her fur feels like velvet,” said Heidi.

  Lucy Lancaster stroked Maggie’s fur. “She’s the softest little fluff ball in the whole world,” she said.

  “Let me touch her!” said Natalie Newman.

  “No, I want a turn!” said Melanie Maplethorpe as she pushed her way to the front of the group.

  Mrs. Welli clapped her hands.

  “Everyone, take your seats,” she said. “It’s time to put Maggie back in her cage. The bunny needs a rest.”

  Heidi slowly walked to the cage and let Maggie hop in. Then she sat down with the rest of the class.

  “I have very exciting news, boys and girls,” Mrs. Welli said.

  The class looked eagerly at their teacher.

  “Principal Pennypacker is going to pick one lucky boy or girl to take Maggie home for Easter weekend.”

  Everyone gasped and squealed.

  “At the end of the day,” Mrs. Welli continued, “the principal will draw a name from our class hat. The winner will take Maggie home tomorrow.”

  Mrs. Welli passed out a piece of paper to each student in the class.

  “If you’d like to take the rabbit home, please write your name on the slip of paper,” she said.

  Everyone began to chatter about who would get the bunny. Heidi had always dreamed of having her very own pet. Oh, I hope I’ll get the bunny, she thought as she wrote her name on the paper. But her chances didn’t seem good. Everyone wanted to take Maggie home.

  “Come on, kids. One, two, three—all eyes on me!” Mrs. Welli said.

  The room quieted down.

  “I know everyone’s excited about the rabbit,” said Mrs. Welli. “But right now I want you to line up quietly for art.”

  Everyone lined up, but it was too hard to be quiet. They chatted, giggled, and hopped like bunnies all the way down the hall.

  Boing! Boing! Boing!

  “Time to decorate your Easter baskets,” said Mr. Doodlebee, the art teacher. “You may use stickers, markers, glitter, and gemstones.”

  “I love stickers,” said Lucy, placing a bunny sticker on her basket.

  “Gemstones are the best,” said Heidi as she glued several purple and emerald gems in a checkerboard pattern.

  “That’s very creative, Heidi,” said Mr. Doodlebee.

  “Thanks,” said Heidi, admiring her basket.

  Melanie sat next to Heidi at the table. She cleared her throat to get Mr. Doodlebee’s attention. “And what do you think of MY basket?” she asked. Melanie, also known as Smell-a-nie, was usually mean to Heidi.

  “Oh my!” said Mr. Doodlebee, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s extremely sparkly.”

  “I know,” said Melanie proudly. “You can never have too many sparkles.”

  Heidi and Lucy giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Melanie in a snooty voice.

  “Your face!” said Lucy. “You have as much glitter on your face as you do on your basket.”

  Melanie brushed her face with the back of her hand.

  “Just wait and see. The Easter Bunny is going to LOVE my basket,” said Melanie. “And I’m going to get the MOST candy.”

  “I hope the Easter Bunny wears sunglasses,” said Bruce Bickerson.

  “How come?” Melanie asked.

  “So he doesn’t go blind when he sees your basket,” said Bruce.

  Heidi and Lucy giggled.

  “Very funny,” said Melanie. “You weirdos won’t laugh when you see how much candy I get. I’ll even have enough to share with Maggie.”

  “Hold on,” said Lucy. “Who says you’re going to get Maggie?”

  “I say so,” said Melanie.

  Lucy rolled her eyes.

  “What makes you so sure?” asked Stanley Stonewrecker.

  “I just have a good feeling about it,” said Melanie. “That’s all.”

  Bruce looked up from his basket.

  “Did you say you are going to give CANDY to Maggie?” he asked.

  “Yup,” said Melanie.

  “Don’t you know candy is not good for rabbits?” said Bruce.

  “HEL-LO!” said Melanie. “For your information, the Easter Bunny GIVES OUT candy. I’m pretty sure that means candy is okay for rabbits.”

  Heidi looked at Lucy.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s cracked,” said Heidi.

  The girls laughed.

  Heidi and her classmates filed back into Mrs. Welli’s classroom after art. Principal Pennypacker had already arrived. He stood at the front of the room while everyone hurried to their seats.

  “I hope Smell-a-nie doesn’t get the bunny,” whispered Lucy.

  “She’d better not,” Heidi whispered back.

  Heidi shot a quick glance at Melanie. She caught her eye by accident. Melanie stuck out her tongue. Heidi quickly looked away.

  Then Mrs. Welli handed the class hat to Principal Pennypacker.

  “Is everybody ready?” asked the principal.

  “Yes!” shouted the class.

  Heidi squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. She wished she knew a spell that would make the principal pull out her name.

  “Here we go!” said Principal Pennypacker. He reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. Then he looked at the class and said, “Heidi Heckelbeck!”

  Lucy squealed.

  Melanie fell off her chair.

  Heidi sat still with her eyes shut.

  Lucy poked Heidi.

  “Open your eyes, silly,” said Lucy.

  Heidi opened her eyes and let out her breath.

  “Did I REALLY win the rabbit?”

  “Yes, you really did!” said Lucy.

  Melanie turned toward Heidi.

  “That is just SO unfair,” she complained. “You are way too WEIRD to take care of the rabbit.”

  “And you’re way too mean to DESERVE the rabbit,” said Lucy, who always stuck up for Heidi.

  Melanie frowned and turned away.

  “Congratulations, Heidi!” said Principal Pennypacker. “Please have your mom or dad pick up Maggie after school tomorrow.”

  Heidi nodded.

  And just like that, Heidi became the keeper of the bunny.

  Heidi had bunny on the brain all day Friday. She couldn’t wait to take Maggie home. When Heidi’s dad arrived at the school, Mrs. Welli gave Heidi a list of rules for taking care of rabbits. Heidi and Dad read them over together.

  MAGGIE’S RABBIT RULES

  1. ALWAYS HAVE PLENTY OF FRESH HAY IN THE RABBIT CAGE.

  2. NEVER LET THE WATER BOWL GET EMPTY.

  3. AT LEAST TWICE A DAY,
FEED YOUR RABBIT HAY, PELLETS, AND GREENS. A SMALL AMOUNT OF FRUIT IS OKAY ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

  4. DO NOT FEED MAGGIE CANDY, CEREAL, CRACKERS, OR CHOCOLATE.

  5. GIVE MAGGIE AN OLD TOWEL TO SNUGGLE IN.

  6. RABBITS LIKE TO PLAY! MAKE SURE MAGGIE HAS HER JINGLE BALL, TUNNEL, AND TOY CARROT.

  7. SCOOP OUT DIRTY RABBIT BEDDING AND REPLACE IT WITH FRESH BEDDING AS NEEDED.

  8. NEVER LET MAGGIE ROAM AROUND BY HERSELF. ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON HER WHEN SHE’S OUTSIDE THE CAGE.

  “Please follow all the rules,” said Mrs. Welli. “Especially the last one.”

  “I promise,” said Heidi.

  Then Heidi and her dad carried Maggie’s cage to the car.

  “This is going to be the best Easter ever!” Heidi said as she buckled her seat belt.

  At home Mom found a cozy corner in the family room for Maggie. She laid newspaper on the floor and placed the cage on top.

  “Can we take Maggie out of the cage now?” asked Heidi.

  “You may only take Maggie out of the cage when Dad or I are in the room,” said Mom.

  “I know,” said Heidi.

  “And Maggie can only be loose in a small, enclosed area,” said Dad.

  “I have an idea,” said Heidi. “Let’s use Henry’s old play yard to pen Maggie in.”

  “Perfect,” said Mom.

  Dad found the play yard in the garage. He set it up in the family room. Then Heidi gently scooped Maggie from her cage and placed her inside the play yard. Mom got a bag of lettuce from the fridge and handed it to Heidi. Heidi placed a small mound of leaves in the play yard.

  Hop! Hop! Hop! Maggie hopped all around. Then she nibbled on a big piece of lettuce.

  “She is SO cute!” Heidi said.

  “Adorable,” agreed Mom.

  “And SMART!” said Henry. “Like me!”

  Everyone looked at Henry, who had just made a grand entrance.

  He had on his magician costume, complete with white gloves and a black top hat. He pulled off his hat and held it up in the air.

  “Ta-da!” said Henry. “And now I will make your bunny disappear!”

  “Oh, no, you won’t!” said Heidi, holding Maggie close.

  “But I’ll make her come back,” said Henry. “I promise.”

  “How about you just make YOURSELF disappear?” said Heidi.

  “Very funny,” said Henry.

  “Better yet,” said Mom, “why don’t you make one of your stuffed animals disappear?”

  “Maybe later,” Henry said. “May I hold Maggie?”

  “No way,” said Heidi.

  “Yes way,” said Mom firmly. “But you must be very gentle.”

  Henry sat down in the play yard. Mom spread a towel in his lap. Heidi carefully set Maggie on the towel.

  “Wow,” said Henry. “I can’t believe we have a real, live rabbit in our house.”

  Heidi smiled.

  “Now all we need are some Easter eggs,” she said.

  On Saturday, Heidi set two cartons of hard-boiled eggs on the table in Dad’s lab. Dad worked for a soda pop company called The FIZZ. He usually used his lab to invent new sodas, but today Dad created dazzling Easter egg dyes. He mixed glittery gold and silver. He whipped up neon pink, blue, and yellow. He swirled together tie-dye colors with sparkles. Then he set out paints and brushes. He wiped his hands on his lab coat.

  “We’re ready!” he said.

  “I’ll go get everybody,” said Heidi. She ran to the living room. Mom and Henry were reading Easter stories. Aunt Trudy held Maggie in her arms.

  “I see you’ve met Maggie,” said Heidi. “Did you know she’s mine for the whole weekend?”

  “Wow,” said Aunt Trudy. “That’s one big fluffy responsibility.”

  “I can handle it,” said Heidi.

  “Of course you can,” said Aunt Trudy with a wink.

  Heidi smiled proudly.

  “You know what?” she said. “It’s time to dye Easter eggs!”

  Henry jumped from the couch.

  “Me first!” he shouted, and ran toward the lab.

  “Hey!” yelled Heidi. “Wait up!” She ran after her brother. Mom and Aunt Trudy followed behind.

  Heidi and Henry each dyed six eggs. Then they painted designs on them. Heidi painted tiny bunnies on one egg and itty-bitty carrots on another. Henry drew swirls and zigzags on his eggs. Aunt Trudy dotted hers. Dad did tie-dye, and Mom speckled a whole nest full of robin’s eggs.

  Everyone admired one another’s eggs.

  “I can’t wait to put my eggs in my Easter basket,” said Heidi.

  “And I can’t wait to put mine in my lunch box,” Henry said.

  “Ew,” said Heidi. “They’ll smell like stink bombs.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” Henry asked.

  “You’ll lose all your friends,” said Heidi.

  “No way. My friends love stink bombs,” Henry said.

  Everyone had things to do to get ready for Easter. Dad had to pick up the ham. Mom and Aunt Trudy had to prepare side dishes and dessert. Henry had to clean his room.

  Heidi went to the family room to visit Maggie. She peeked into the cage. Maggie hopped over and stood up on her hind legs. She wants to play, Heidi thought. Maybe I can take her out for a minute or two. She knew she wasn’t supposed to take the rabbit out of the cage without a grown-up around, but she couldn’t resist. I’ll put her right back, she promised herself. Besides, everyone’s so busy. They’ll never know. Heidi checked to see if anyone was looking. Then she slowly unlatched the cage. . . .

  “Hello, little bun-bun!” Heidi said as Maggie burrowed into the crook of her arm. “I’ll bet you get lonely in that crummy old cage. You want to do something fun? ME TOO!”

  Then Heidi got an idea.

  “Let’s look at the Easter eggs!” she said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Heidi tiptoed to the lab. She could hear Mom and Aunt Trudy chatting in the kitchen. Heidi opened the lab door with one hand. Maggie squirmed. Heidi held her more firmly.

  “Voilà!” she said, showing Maggie the eggs.

  Maggie squirmed some more. Heidi tried to get a better hold on the bunny, but Maggie wriggled even more. Then, ka-boing! She hopped right out of Heidi’s arms and onto the counter. Boing! Boing! Boing! Maggie hopped through the bowls of egg dyes. Colors splattered everywhere! A few Easter eggs rolled onto the floor. Crack! Crack! Maggie hopped toward the edge of the counter.

  “Oh no!” Heidi cried.

  She dove to save the rabbit. Maggie landed on Heidi’s back and then hopped to the floor. Heidi chased her under Dad’s desk.

  “Gotcha!” she said as she grabbed Maggie around the middle.

  Maggie had neon pink, blue, and yellow dyes all over her fur. Heidi had gotten splattered too. Puddles of dyes covered the counter and dripped onto the floor.

  “What have I done?” she cried. “I’m in BIG trouble. I need to clean up this mess FAST!”

  She set Maggie in a deep sink to keep her safe. Then she sponged the dyes off the counter and the floor. She picked up the eggs. They had spider cracks everywhere.

  “Oh, Maggie!” cried Heidi. “How COULD you?”

  She put the eggs in the wastebasket and covered them with paper towels. Then she lifted the tie-dyed Maggie from the sink.

  “We’d better get out of here before we get caught,” said Heidi.

  She slipped out the door and looked both ways. Then she raced upstairs to her bedroom and zoomed into the bathroom. Heidi grabbed a bottle of baby shampoo and put Maggie in the sink.

  “Time for a bunny bath,” she said.

  Heidi squeezed shampoo onto Maggie’s fur and then lathered it with a cup of warm water. Then she checked Maggie’s fur. The dyes were still there. Heidi poured on more shampoo, but Maggie scrambled out of the sink and onto the counter. She scampered across the tiles and knocked over the soap dish. Heidi grabbed her and put her back in the sink.

  “Sit still!” Heidi said. “D
on’t you know we’re in HUGE trouble?”

  Heidi scrubbed some more. But it was no use. The dyes would not come out.

  Heidi then rinsed the soap from Maggie’s fur. Maggie shivered.

  “Hang on, fur ball,” Heidi said. “It’s time for our backup plan.”

  Heidi wrapped Maggie in a towel and hurried to her bedroom. She knew she wasn’t supposed to practice her spells without asking, but this was an emergency. Heidi pulled her Book of Spells from under the bed. She flipped through the pages until she found a chapter called “Stain Removal from A to Z.”

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Heidi said.

  She read through the list of stains: barbecue sauce, blood, chocolate, coffee, dessert, dirt . . . DYE! She flipped to the spell and looked it over.

  Do your colors bleed in the washing machine? Have you ever dyed your hair purple and then changed your mind? Has Easter egg dye ever wound up on something besides the eggs? Don’t cry over spilled dye! This is the spell for you!

  Ingredients:

  1 pea-size squirt of white toothpaste

  1 teaspoon of sugar

  1 cup of ginger ale

  Combine the ingredients in a large cup. Blend with a wire whisk. Apply potion to stain. Hold your Witches of Westwick medallion in your left hand. Hold your right hand over the stain. Chant the following words:

  FiDDLE DEE DOO!

  FiDDLE DEE DEE!

  LET This [NAME OF OBJECT]

  BE STaiN FREE!