There was a stunned silence, then Calvin turned to the film crew. “Tell me you got all that.”
The cameraman checked his tiny screen and nodded.
Calvin clapped his hands, beaming. “Bravo, Harriet, that was a real show-stopping performance!” He leaned towards EE. “Do you think she meant to do that?”
EE picked up the limp remains of the space hopper, a strange look on his face. “It’s hard to say for sure, but with Harriet, anything is possible.”
“Dad!” Susie said, hitting EE on the leg. “Of course she meant to do it. She is a Stunt Bunny, after all.”
“Well, whether she meant it or not, I don’t need to see any more,” Calvin said, as I hopped out of the sandpit and shook myself off. “I think Harriet is going to be a terrific triple-jumper!”
It was exactly what I wanted to hear. The space hopper shenanigans might not have worked out quite the way I’d planned but they certainly seemed to have impressed Calvin, and the viewers of the Team Superpets TV show would love them. Now the real work could begin – turning me from a Stunt Bunny into an Animalympian. And I was ready. I’d bring home a triple-jump medal or my name wasn’t Harriet Houdini!
Normally, I missed filming Superpets when we were on our summer break but my busy schedule with Calvin meant I didn’t have time to think about anything other than hopping, skipping and jumping. He came round almost every day to work with Susie and me, much to Mrs Wilson’s delight. Honestly, she fussed non-stop over Calvin and always seemed to be interrupting our training to offer him a cup of tea or slice of cake.
“Mum, you’re in the way again!” Susie exclaimed, when Mrs Wilson tottered into down to the sandpit for the fifth time that day in a silky dress and an impossibly high-heeled pair of shoes. “Harriet was just about to do a jump.”
“I thought you might be peckish,” Mrs Wilson said, waving a plate of chocolate biscuits around and wobbling wildly as her heels sank into the grass.
The cameraman reached out took a biscuit. “Don’t mind if I do.”
“Thanks very much, Mrs Wilson,” the sound man said and snatched one from the plate just as Mrs Wilson started to lose her balance. The biscuits flew up into the air, landing on the grass.
She clung onto Calvin for support. “Oops, clumsy me!” she giggled. “I hope you didn’t want a biscuit . . .”
“Mum!” groaned Susie, her cheeks turning rosy.
I knew exactly how she felt and covered my eyes with my paws.
Calvin shook his head. “No, thank you. We athletes have to keep trim.”
Was it my imagination or did Calvin sound a bit regretful that he’d said no to the biscuits? Maybe he had something in common with EE after all!
Mrs Wilson straightened up and smoothed her dress down. “Well, do let me know if there’s anything you need.”
She wobbled her way back up the garden and into the house, leaving the chocolate biscuits behind her. They smelled delicious and I might have been tempted to have a sneaky nibble if Calvin hadn’t been watching me sternly. That didn’t bother Smudge, the Wilsons’ cat, and he stuck out a claw to snag himself a snack. Purring, he settled down on the grass with his treasure but Susie had spotted him.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said in a firm voice as she took the biscuit off him. “Chocolate is very bad for cats.”
Swishing his tail, Smudge let out a disappointed-sounding miaow and swiped a paw at Susie. Then he turned his back on her and stalked over to the fence. Before you could say moody moggy, he had vanished into next-door’s garden.
“There are – ah – too many distractions out here,” Calvin said, looking at the biscuit in Susie’s hand as though he was trying not to lick his lips. “Why don’t we go and watch some recordings of my best triple jumps to get some inspiration instead?”
It sounded like a good idea to me – the smell of that scrummy chocolate was very distracting.
Susie scooped me up into her arms. “Don’t get any ideas, Harriet,” she said as she carried me into the house. “Chocolate is definitely not on the Stunt Bunny menu!”
The three weeks leading up to the qualifying competition flew by. Calvin was a great teacher, in spite of Mrs Wilson’s embarrassing interruptions. Thanks to his exercises and some special organic food he’d recommended, I was fitter and faster than I’d ever been. We trained nearly every day, as well as watching recordings of other athletes to pick up tips. Calvin even did a few triple jumps of his own to help me with my performance. Soon, I knew exactly how to hop, skip and jump so that I covered the longest possible distance. It was good fun, but sometimes I missed those lazy afternoons in my hutch!
Calvin seemed really pleased with the results. “Harriet Houdini, I do believe you’ve got what it takes to be a winner,” he said the evening before the qualifying competition. He fired a beaming smile around the Wilson family. “Well done, everyone, you’ve done a brilliant job. We’re more than ready for tomorrow.”
Susie puffed up her chest proudly, Mrs Wilson looked like she might faint and EE looked less grumpy than usual.
“What actually happens at these qualifying competitions?” he asked.
Calvin’s expression grew serious. “Animals from all over the country get together to prove to the judges they’re the best at their event.” He gazed around solemnly. “I won’t lie, it’s going to be tough. Only one animal per event will be chosen for the Animalympics to compete for Great Britain.”
Susie’s chin wobbled. “Do you think Harriet is good enough?” she asked, her voice quavering.
Calvin dropped her an enormous wink. “Oh, there’s no need to worry about this little bunny. Harriet isn’t just good, she’s the best!”
Clapping her hands, Susie’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t wait to show Gloria and the other pets what Harriet can do.”
Neither could I. If the other trainers were as good as mine, Superpets were going to wipe that medals table clean!
The qualifying competition was being held at a big athletics stadium in the city. A luxury bus picked up all the pets and their owners up from the Superpets studio and took us there. It reminded me of the Superpets: Live! tour, when we’d travelled up and down the country to perform in various cities. If I hadn’t been glad before that Doodle had left the show, I was the moment we got on the bus. She suffered from an icky tummy when she travelled and there was no way I wanted to share a seat with a pukey poodle again, let me tell you.
Gloria met us in the car park of the stadium with the camera crew. “This is it,” she said, gazing around at us animals and our owners. “Your chance to put everything you’ve learned into practice. I hope you’ve all been working hard?”
I waved my paws inside my travel basket. Next to me, Tornado Taz looked up at the women’s sprint champion he’d been training with and let out a proud purr. Lulu the chimpanzee and her gymnastics trainer twirled their silver batons into the air and caught them at exactly the same time.
Gloria looked pleased and waited until the owners had stopped babbling about what their pet had been up to. “Excellent. Then let’s get in there and show those judges exactly why our pets are super!”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Hopping with excitement, I peered up at Susie as she lifted my basket and we set off towards the stadium. It was almost my time to shine and I didn’t plan on missing a second.
Inside, we split into two groups – the pets who were competing and the pets who were cheering us on. As Cherry the counting kitten, Spike-tacular and the others headed to the stands to take their seats, the film crew went to set up to catch all the action around the stadium and the rest of us went to the changing rooms to get ready. Trevor and his terrapins left for the pool to show off their high-diving skills and Lulu danced her way towards the gymnastics hall for her competition. Susie clipped the lead onto my new red, white and blue harness.
“Ready, Harriet?” she asked.
I hopped in the air and kicked my back legs out.
Beside us, Tim pulled
a numbered shirt over Taz’s head. “Ready?”
Taz let out an eager miaow and together, we set off down the tunnel to the athletics stadium.
The track, which ran in an enormous loop in front of row after row of seats, was filled with all kinds of animals getting ready to race, including a red squirrel and a hamster inside a shiny plastic ball. Off to one side, I spotted a long, thin greyhound stretching with his tall, skinny owner and glanced at Taz with a gulp. Tornado Taz was fast but was he quicker than a dog born to run? Taz didn’t seem worried, though. With a quick swish of his tail, he sat down next to Tim and began to clean his paws.
Taz’s trainer hurried off to make sure the race officials had Taz’s name on their list of racers. Calvin scanned the arena for a moment and then pointed to the enormous grassy area in the middle of the running track.
“The triple jump is what’s called a field event. It will be held over there, in the centre,” he explained to Susie and EE. “In fact, I can see the sandpit from here. Let’s go and check in.”
“Can’t we stay to watch Taz race?” Susie asked, a disappointed look on her face.
Sitting down on the grass, I fixed EE with a meaningful stare.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing whether Taz can beat that greyhound,” he rumbled. “If that’s all right with you, Calvin?”
Calvin checked his watch. “We’ve got fifteen minutes until our qualifier begins. Why don’t you watch the race and I’ll go and register Harriet with the triple jump judges? I’ll meet you back at the finish line of the sprint.”
A few minutes later, one of the officials lifted a megaphone to his mouth. “Could all animals competing in the one hundred metre sprint qualifier please make their way to the yellow flag at the start of the race.”
Taz’s sprint champion trainer jogged towards us. “That’s us,” she called. “Come on, Taz.”
The tabby cat got to his feet, arching his back in a long stretch. I hopped closer and touched his nose with mine.
“I think that means good luck,” Susie said. “Harriet really hopes Taz wins.”
“So do I,” Tim said, watching Taz walk away with his trainer. “So do I!”
As the animals lined up underneath the yellow flag fluttering in the breeze, we made our way to wait beside the Team Superpets camera crew at the finish line. The crowd went quiet. I squinted up, trying to catch a glimpse of Spike-tacular or Cherry but there were too many people there.
At the starting line, the greyhound turned to Taz and snarled. Taz ignored him and crouched low, ready to race.
An official lifted a small starting pistol into the air. “On your marks,” he called, in a loud voice. “Get set . . . Go!”
The animals streaked away and the stadium erupted into roars of support. The squirrel got off to a good start but it was no match for the greyhound and Taz. For one horrible moment, I thought the greyhound might win but as they sped towards the finishing line, Taz found an extra burst of speed and nudged over the line first.
I leaped high into the air in celebration and Susie clapped her hands in delight. Even Calvin looked impressed as he jogged to join us.
“That’s one speedy puss,” he exclaimed.
Tim chuckled. “That’s why they call him The Tabby Tornado.”
“Harriet’s just as fast, she beat him in a race after all,” Susie said proudly. “Although I suppose she did have a bit of help.”
She was right, in a way – Doodle and Miranda had tried their hardest to make me lose when I’d raced Taz by giving Susie some “special” lotion for my feet, but they’d only ended up helping me win. That didn’t mean I’d beat him again, though – he’d been nothing but a blur on the track a minute ago.
“Not bad for a cat, eh?” Tim said into the camera as he reached down to ruffle Taz’s fur. “Next stop, the Animalympics!”
All that talk of winning reminded me that now it was my turn to claim a place at the greatest animal athlete show on Earth.
It seemed that Calvin agreed because he looked down at me. “Ready to put the bunny hop into the triple jump, Harriet?”
I didn’t need to be asked twice! Waving a paw at the panting Taz, I hopped towards the middle of the field, where more pets were warming up for their events. Over by the high jump was a large green frog. She was watching a grasshopper take a practice leap over the bar with a hungry flick of her tongue. On the discus pitch, a Shetland pony spun in a dizzying circle, a red disc clamped between his teeth. When he reached the painted line on the grass, he opened his mouth and the disc flew high into the air. It landed a long way away and the pony tossed his mane happily.
When we reached the triple jump pit, I blinked. Standing at the start of the run-up was a small brown goat.
EE looked as puzzled as I felt. “Can goats jump?” he whispered to Calvin.
“I think we’re about to find out,” Calvin replied, nodding at the goat, who was staring straight ahead and pawing the ground with his hoof.
As we watched, his owner rubbed the fur behind the goat’s long floppy ears and then backed away. Next to the sandpit, official judges leaned forward, waiting to record the length of the jump.
“Billy the Kid, first jump,” a man in a luminous orange jacket called, his face serious.
Billy let out a snort and dipped his head to begin his run-up. Seconds later, his hooves clattered onto the launch board.
“Hop . . . skip . . . and . . . jump!” Susie squeaked beside me and I held my breath to see where in the sand Billy would land.
The moment he hit the yellowy-brown dust, I knew it had been a good jump. Everyone’s eyes turned to the j scoreboard to see the distance. I swallowed. It hadn’t just been a good jump, it had been great, and it equalled my best efforts back at home.
“Well, that answers that question,” Calvin said, after Billy had leaped two more equally big distances. “Goats can definitely jump.”
He’d get no argument from me – Billy the Kid was an amazing triple-jumper. The real question was, was he better than a Stunt Bunny? There was only one way to find out – Billy and I would have to go ear to ear!
My heart was thumping as we watched all the other competitors jump. One by one, they took their turn. A toad called Tiny did well and Fuzz the duck was disqualified for flapping his wings midair but, by the time it was my turn to jump, the goat was still the one to beat.
Calvin stared down at me, a serious look on his face. “You’re up next, Harriet,” he said, reaching down to unclip my harness. “Time to put all that training to good use.”
“Good luck,” Susie whispered, as she tugged sweatbands onto my paws and a headband under my ears. “I know you can do it.”
I wished I felt as sure as she sounded – Billy had jumped an awfully long way. But I hadn’t become Britain’s favourite bunny by giving up easily and I wasn’t about to start now. Taking a deep breath, I hopped to the beginning of the run-up and stared at the distant sandpit, imagining I was in our garden at home. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about damaging EE’s roses today!
My first jump was a complete disaster. Just as I was about to leap into the air, a fight broke out between Tiny and Fuzz and I missed the launch board. The machine next to the board let out a shrill beep, meaning the jump wouldn’t count. Calvin shot a furious glare at Tiny and Fuzz’s owners as they dragged their squabbling pets away.
My second attempt felt much better and there was no beep to tell me I’d overshot the launch board. Even so, it wasn’t quite good enough to beat Billy and his name stayed at the top of the scoreboard. Disappointed, I hopped back to the start. Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a triple-jumper after all.
“Harriet Houdini, final jump,” the official said, in a serious tone.
Suddenly I caught a glimpse of Susie’s face next to Calvin. Her blue eyes were filled with hope as she gave me a thumbs up. In a flash, I realised I couldn’t let her down and I steeled myself to give this jump everything I had.
With an encouraging nod from Calv
in, I flattened my ears and started to run. Everything else disappeared as I focused on the rapidly approaching board. Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I hit it squarely in the middle and launched myself into a gigantic bunny hop. A second later, I hit the ground again and thrust upwards in a mighty skip. The next time my back paws made contact with the path, I used all my strength to soar high into the air. For a moment, I hung there, then dropped to the sand below and landed with a thud on my fluffy tail.
Time seemed frozen. I didn’t dare look at the distance, until I heard a whoop from Calvin and an excited squeal from Susie.
“You did it, Harriet!” she cried, running up to the edge of the sandpit and hopping from one foot to the other. “You’ve got the biggest jump of the day!”
Calvin was right behind her. “That was some seriously amazing triple jumping! You beat your personal best.”
Gloria hurried over to us, the film crew in tow. “Well done!” she exclaimed, beaming a big smile at me. “It looks like all the Superpets stars have earned their place in the Animalympics.”
Susie let out an excited scream and the film crew high-fived each other. Even EE looked pleased.
“I think it’s time for another nickname,” Gloria went on, looking thoughtful. “How does Harriet Houdini – Fluffy Jumper sound?”
I thought for a minute and then wiggled my cotton wool tail in approval. The Animalympics were calling me and I couldn’t wait for the real competition to start!
Now that we’d qualified for the Animalympics itself, it was time for Team Superpets to move into the athletes’ village. And with only two weeks until the opening ceremony kicked everything off, we all had some serious training to do. But if I was expecting the animals and owners competing in the Animalympics to be anything like the ones on Superpets, I was in for a shock.
Medal Mayhem Page 2
