The Great Bunny Escape

by Holly Anna

  Then Posey yelps loudly and points to something off in the distance. I look in that direction, and there, over a hill and far away, is something that looks like a bunny! Could it be Cutie Pie? I ask myself. It has to be!

  “Let’s go!” I cry, feeling a new burst of energy. But Posey has stopped to draw a bubble around his head with a pen.

  “What in the World of Make-Believe are you drawing?” I ask.

  Posey opens the part of the bubble covering his face.

  “It’s an astronaut’s helmet,” he says. “Now I can help rescue Cutie Pie without sneezing and scaring him away.”

  I hold up my hand, and we high-five because this is a very good Posey idea. Then Posey leaps into the air like a space guy, and he floats away after Cutie Pie.

  Since he’s taking the high road, I decide to take the low road. But first I pick up Posey’s pen, which he left behind, and put it in my pocket for safekeeping.

  Then I drop to the ground and crawl on my belly like a lizard. I don’t want to scare that silly rabbit away either! Slowly, slowly I creep up on Cutie Pie. When I get close enough, I reach out my arms and wrap them around the bunny in a great big hug.

  “Gotcha!” I cry, looking down at Cutie Pie.

  Only it is not Cutie Pie.

  It’s not even a rabbit. Well, that’s not completely true. It’s a creature that seems to have a rabbit on top of its head. It literally has a hare on its head! Get it? Hair. Head.

  And this creature is not alone. There’s a whole bunch of these bunny-ish looking creatures that were hiding! And they are all glaring at me.

  These not-bunnies are not happy with me.

  Gulp.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Hop-Toppers

  “Let go of my hare!” cries the squirmy creature, still wrapped in my arms.

  I let the creature go free. He brushes himself off as the rest of his friends gather around me.

  I apologize. “Oh my. I’m sorry. I thought you were a bunny—a bunny I’m looking for,” I try to explain.

  The one I captured scolds me.

  “Well, you should be sorry!” he says. “You have ruined a very good hiding place.”

  I look around at all the little creatures staring at me.

  “A very good hiding place?” I repeat. “I’m not sure what you mean. I was just looking for my friend’s bunny. Maybe you’ve seen him?”

  Then the creatures all begin to talk at once.

  “Bun . . . knee?” they question. “What is a bun . . . knee?”

  I’m beginning to think bunnies may not exist in the WOM. The trees hadn’t heard of them either. Then the creatures snap me back to attention.

  “There’s no time to talk!” one of the creatures warns, sniffing the air. “Traygon is coming!”

  Posey floats down from the sky and lands in front of me.

  “Where’s Cutie Pie?” he asks.

  Then I shake my head in disbelief, because seriously! Read the room, dude! I’m surrounded by little creatures who are in a major tizzy.

  Finally Posey notices something’s wrong and takes a closer look at the creatures.

  “Hey! These are not rabbits,” he declares. “They’re Hop-Toppers!”

  So that’s what they’re called, I think. The Hop-Toppers run this way and that. They seem to be looking for something, but I’m not sure what.

  Then Posey covers his mouth with his hand.

  “Shouldn’t you be hiding?” he asks the Hop-Toppers. Then his voice drops to a whisper. “What about Traygon?”

  The very word “Traygon” sets the Hop-Toppers off again. They cry and squeal and scurry this way and that. One of the Hop-Toppers complains about me to Posey.

  “Well, your friend gave away our hiding spot!” she says. “And now we have to find another one!”

  Posey turns to me and shakes his head gravely. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he says. “Hiding spots are very important to Hop-Toppers because Traygon is always chasing them.”

  I throw my hands up in the air. “How am I supposed to know that, Posey?” I ask. “And who is Traygon?”

  As soon as I say the name, a dark shadow spreads over all of us until there’s no more sun in the sky.

  I swallow hard.

  “Um, Posey?” I whisper. “Does Traygon have blue scales, black wings, pointy teeth, yellow eyes, and a spiny back like a dragon?”

  Posey nods like crazy. “She does! How’d you know?” he asks in surprise. “In fact, she is a dragon, which means she also breathes fire. We definitely need to be on the lookout.”

  I point behind Posey and cry, “In that case . . . LOOK OUT!”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Cracking Up

  I thought Cutie Pie was fast, but the Hop-Toppers split faster than a banana at an ice-cream shop!

  “GRRROOAAR!”

  Traygon roars the roariest roar I have ever heard. Even Marshmallow Trees pull up their roots and run away. I would bet a thousand peanut butter cups this dragon is not friendly.

  No wonder Hop-Toppers need to hide.

  I look for somewhere to hide too, but now that the trees are all gone, Posey and I are left standing in the middle of a bare field. There is nothing between us and Traygon, and she’s getting closer by the second!

  “Posey,” I whisper, “we need to draw a door back to the real world right now. It’s our only way out!”

  Posey takes off his special space helmet and reaches into his pockets, looking for his pen. He pulls out a watermelon, a rubber snake, a fortune cookie, a few leftover marshmallows, a floor lamp, some mustard packets, and his new pet rock, Shelly.

  Then he places Shelly on his head, and I think, This is no time for games!

  “Posey!” I cry. “Where is your pen?”

  Posey crinkles his forehead. “Oh no. I lost it!”

  And that’s when I remember—he didn’t lose the pen. I have it!

  “GRRRROOOAAAR!” Traygon roars again. The ground shake-shake-shakes beneath us.

  I quickly shove my hand into my pocket and pull out the pen, but it’s too late. Traygon is standing right over us, and I’m pretty sure we are about to be eaten or burned to a crisp.

  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spy Cutie Pie climbing up Posey’s back!

  “There you are!” I shout, but who cares? We are total goners! Is this what happens when you babysit your best friend’s bunny?

  Suddenly Lily’s fluffy little Cutie Pie nudges Shelly the rock right off the top of Posey’s head, and the rock tips straight toward Traygon!

  “Shelly!” Posey screams.

  Traygon catches the rock in her claws just as I lunge for Cutie Pie. Because I know what happens when Posey’s near Cutie Pie.

  But I’m not fast enough.

  “ACHOOO!”

  Globs of glitter snot spray everywhere. Traygon and Shelly get the worst of it. The dragon squints her eyes and shakes her head to get rid of the gooey sparkle slime. And then, for a brief moment, the WOM is quiet, except for a strange cracking noise.

  “Criiick! Craaack! Criiick!”

  Uh-oh. Something’s happening to Shelly. It looks like she’s coming apart! Then I realize Shelly’s not a rock! She’s an egg! She must be Traygon’s dragon egg! And she’s hatching!

  Pieces of shell drop to the ground, and there, in Traygon’s arms, is the world’s cutest baby dragon. Traygon sighs and looks at us thankfully. Then she spreads her enormous wings and flies away with her baby.

  Posey and I look at each other with our mouths hanging open.

  “Well, that’s not something you see every day,” Posey says. “Even in the World of Make-Believe!”

  CHAPTER TEN

  My Secret Is Safe

  “I have to go home!” I say, handing the pen back to Posey.

  He draws a door to the Real World. “I better stay here,” he says, sniffling and pointing at Cutie Pie.

  I give my imaginary friend a huge air hug so he doesn’t sneeze. Then I step back into the real
world just as Lily bursts through my bedroom door.

  Whew. Talk about good timing!

  “Here are the bunny treats and toys!” Lily says, opening her bag and pulling out a pack of tree-shaped treats. “I don’t know why, but these are Cutie Pie’s favorite. Oh, and here’s his favorite toy,” she adds, handing me a tiny stuffed dragon.

  I turn the tiny dragon over in my hand. Wow, it looks so much like Traygon! It makes me wonder, Did Cutie Pie know where he was going today? Maybe he wanted to see a real dragon.

  I watch Lily snuggle her face into her bunny’s fur.

  “I’m going to miss you so much, Cutie Pie!” she whispers, and I can tell she means it.

  “Thanks again, Daisy,” she says, handing Cutie Pie back to me. Then she looks around my glitter-tastic room, and I hold my breath. This is it. Game over. Lily is going to know something is up!

  But instead, she asks, “Hey, did you redecorate? Your room looks . . . brighter.”

  “No,” I say with a giggle. “I think Cutie Pie brightens up the place.”

  Lily nods, and then she gives me and Cutie Pie a big hug before racing back to her car.

  Once she’s gone, I hold Cutie Pie up to my face.

  “I know you’re just a fluffy bunny who loves dragons and doesn’t talk, but could you please promise to never ever tell Lily about what happened today?”

  Then guess what! That hare-brained bunny totally winks at me. And I sigh a great sigh of relief.

  Because I know my secret is safe with Cutie Pie.

  Keep reading for a preview of

  A Daisy at the Beach

  by

  Holly Anna

  “Wow! You look beachy cool, Daisy Dreamer!” I say to the me in the mirror. I am wearing my favorite bathing suit. It has colorful stripes and spaghetti straps. But not real spaghetti. Obviously.

  Why am I dressed in a bathing suit? Because today I’m going to the beach!

  I sway my hips and pretend to be a hula girl, moving my arms from left to right. I can almost hear the music playing, but my cat, Sir Pounce, looks at me like I’m a weirdo.

  Enough hula dancing for now! Time to pack my beach bag. I have a super-long list of things to take to the beach:

  Mermaid beach towel.

  Sparkly, strawberry-scented sunscreen.

  Heart-shaped movie star sunglasses.

  Over-the-rainbow striped folding

  beach chair.

  Boogie woogie boogie board.

  Hmmm. I tap my head thoughtfully. Did I forget anything? Then I snap my fingers and write down:

  Starfish sand buckets.

  Neon green and yellow shovels.

  Swim goggles.

  Book.

  And oh yeah! One more thing! I race out of my bedroom and lean over the railing. “MOM!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “Do you have my beach umbrella?” I wait for an answer.

  “All packed, honey!” Mom shouts back.

  I scramble to my room and . . . Oh no! Sir Pounce has packed himself in my beach bag. My secret spy cat has detected I’m going somewhere. I grab him around the middle and pull him right out of my bag.

  “You can’t go to the beach, silly!” I say, shaking my finger at him. “You might get lost.”

  “Mrr-row,” Sir Pounce meows.

  He doesn’t like packing, because suitcases and bags mean I’m going away. Sir Pounce doesn’t like it when I go anywhere. Obviously. One time my wild kitty tried to unpack my camp trunk and got my underwear stuck on his head. He looked like a masked superhero. Hilarious!

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Holly Anna has always had a wild imagination. When she was little, she used to doodle drawings that would transport herself and her friends to a wonderful world of make-believe. Now she visits other worlds through writing. Holly lives in San Jose, California, with her family. They have four cats: Rocket J. Squirrel, Le Mew, The Honest John Wookenchops (a.k.a. “Wookie”), and Noel.

  Genevieve Santos is an illustrator born, raised, and living in San Jose, California, and sole proprietor of a small stationery company, Le Petit Elefant. Her love for animation started at a young age, and is what drives her to draw the slightest observations. She also has an insatiable weakness for ice cream.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Holly-Anna

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Genevieve-Santos

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  IntheMiddleBooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

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  First Little Simon hardcover edition February 2019

  Copyright © 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition.

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  Jacket design by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustrations by Genevieve Santos

  This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-5344-2655-9 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-2656-6 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-2657-3 (eBook)