The Pampered Rabbit

by Tina Nolan

  This series is for my riding friend Shelley,

  who cares about all animals.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Copyright

  “Jump, Holly, jump!” Eva stood in the yard at Animal Magic, training Holly to leap through a hoop.

  Holly was the Harrisons’ black and white Border collie pup. She raced towards the hoop, then screeched to a halt. She sat and stared at it, her head cocked to one side.

  “You didn’t jump,” Eva said with a disappointed frown. At this rate, Holly’s agility training would never take off.

  “Try lowering the hoop,” Eva’s dad, Mark, suggested as he led Peggy the pony out of the stables.

  Clip-clop, clip-clop – Peggy’s hooves sounded hollow. Holly pricked up her ears and ran to investigate.

  “Here, Holly! Good dog!” Eva called. On the list for this morning’s training routine were the weave poles and see-saw, as well as the hoop.

  Agility training was Eva’s latest Big Idea.

  “Holly’s learned how to sit and do all the basics,” she’d explained to her mum, dad and brother, Karl, at teatime the day before. “Now I want to train her to do more complicated stuff.”

  Karl had given one of his big-brother snorts. “Eva found a website on agility training,” he explained to his parents. “She was on it for hours. It shows pictures of dogs on see-saws and dogs crawling through tunnels. She reckons Holly is going to be a champion!”

  “Isn’t she a bit young?” Heidi had asked, glancing at Holly curled up on her bed by the kitchen fire. “Don’t dogs have to be fully grown before they can officially enter agility tests?”

  But Eva’s dad had encouraged her. “You can never start them too young, eh, Eva? Holly might be a puppy prodigy, for all we know!”

  So here she was, on a cold Saturday morning in March, her red jacket zipped up to her chin, trying to persuade Holly to jump through a hoop.

  “Here, Holly!” she called again. This time the puppy obeyed. She ran back to Eva and wagged her tail.

  Meanwhile, Mark tied up Peggy and went inside to muck out her stable.

  Eva held the bright green hoop close to Holly’s nose. “Smell this. It’s made of plastic. And all you have to do is jump right through the middle!”

  Holly sniffed and gave the hoop a lick.

  “You – through – here!” Eva explained carefully. Then she spotted Karl coming out of Reception. “Hey, can you hold this for me?” she called.

  Reluctantly, he came over and took the hoop from Eva. “Like this!” she told Holly.

  She scrambled clumsily through it, then turned to face her. “Da-dah!”

  Yip! Holly said, with an excited wag of her tail. But she didn’t move.

  “Brilliant!” Karl laughed. “Just like on the website – not!”

  Eva’s feelings were hurt. “I don’t know why you’re laughing,” she said. “You should be helping me to train Holly, not making fun.”

  Karl shrugged. “Like Mum said, she’s too little for agility training, aren’t you, Holls?” He leaned forward and patted her.

  “You’re just making excuses not to bother,” Eva argued. “You won’t be laughing when Holly becomes the youngest champion ever!”

  Yip! Holly barked, her brown eyes sparkling.

  Just then, a car turned into the yard off Okeham Main Street. A man and a girl climbed out.

  “Hiya, Karl!” the dark-haired girl called, waving at him.

  Eva saw her brother’s face turn red. She recognized the pretty newcomer as Mia Logan – a girl in the same class as Karl at Clifford Comprehensive. “What’s she doing here?” she whispered.

  “The Logans are moving to Okeham,” he hissed back. He picked up Holly and held her close as if he was trying to hide behind her. “Today, actually!”

  “So this is Animal Magic?” the tall man said as he glanced at the stables, the cattery, kennels and the porch leading into the reception area. “I hear you have a great set-up – Mia’s told me all about it.”

  “Thanks for promising us the hay for Fern’s new hutch.” Mia breezed up to Karl.

  “One less thing for us to think about,” Mr Logan explained to Eva. “Moving house is hectic enough, without having to remember to stock up with things like hay, so we really appreciate the help.”

  “Come with me,” Karl told Mia, thrusting Holly into Eva’s arms and leading Mia towards the stables.

  “Mia’s mad about her rabbit,” Mr Logan continued. “She can hardly bear to be separated from her. Fern gets only the best food and bedding. And we just bought her a brand-new hutch.”

  Eva smiled and nodded. She watched Karl carry the overflowing bag out of the stable. “Watch out for Peggy!” she warned.

  The little chestnut pony suddenly reached out and took a mouthful of hay from Karl as he passed. Mia grabbed Karl’s arm as if she was scared. Karl’s face grew redder still.

  “Here, let me,” Mr Logan said, striding across the yard to take the bag from Karl. “Come on, Mia, let’s get a move on. There are a million and one jobs to do back at the new house.”

  Quickly, they thanked Karl, put the hay in the boot, then drove off.

  “So?” Eva demanded as Mr Logan drove off.

  “So – what?” Karl muttered, picking pieces of hay from his sleeve.

  “You’re blushing red – red – red!” Eva laughed.

  Karl frowned, then glared at her. “Am not!” he mumbled as he stalked off. “You stick to dog training, Eva. Concentrate on Holly, why don’t you?”

  “Mark and I have decided to hold a spring party!” Heidi announced later that morning. She stood in Reception with Eva, Karl and their grandad, Jimmy Harrison.

  “Cool!” Karl and Eva cried.

  “Not next Saturday, but the one after – to celebrate Animal Magic’s success,” Heidi explained. “And to thank everyone who has helped to make it happen over the last year.”

  “Great idea. We’ll design an invite and put it up on the website.” Karl got busy straight away.

  “Print some out so we can hand them round the village.” Eva couldn’t wait – an Animal Magic party would be supercool!

  “Jen will be back by then, so she can help us celebrate, too.”

  “Where is Jen?” Jimmy asked as Eva sat with Karl to work on the invites.

  “She’s on a course,” Heidi replied. “She wants to update her knowledge on small animal care.”

  “Eva, how did you get on with Holly this morning?” Mark interrupted as he came in from the yard. “Did she eventually jump through the hoop?”

  Holly sat on her bed, ears pricking up when she heard her name.

  “Hah!” Karl grinned. “Do pigs fly?”

  Heidi looked out of the window as a vehicle similar to Mark’s own delivery van pulled off Main Street. “Mark, isn’t that Stephen Jennings? I wonder what he’s doing here.”

  They didn’t have long to wait to find out. They saw Mark’s workmate jump out of his van, carrying what looked like an injured dog wrapped in a blanket.

  Eva ran out with her mum and dad to help. She held the door while Stephen carried the dog into Reception.

  “I found her in the car park at the back of the big chocolate factory in Okeham,” Stephen explained. “I was delivering parcels when I spotted her lying beside a rubbish skip.”

  “Good work, thanks for bringing her in,” Mark said, watching anxiously as Heidi led the way into an examination room an
d asked Stephen to place the dog on the table.

  Eva gasped when she saw the state the poor dog was in. It was a dark brown cross-breed without a collar, so thin that you could see her ribs, with a big cut across the pad of her front paw. Her eyes were glazed over.

  “This looks serious,” Heidi said quietly, glancing up at Mark with a worried look in her eye.

  “Eva, run to the house and bring my white coat. Check that the stethoscope is in the pocket. Mark, would you fetch the stand for a fluid drip? Stephen, I’m sure Jimmy would take you over to the house and make you a coffee, if you’d like one…”

  For the next hour Eva watched anxiously as her mum worked. Would she be able to revive the poor, starving dog and patch up the gash on her foot? She stayed in the examination room while Heidi attached the drip, then stitched the wound. All the while, the patient lay with her eyes half closed.

  “Eva, can you fetch a clean blanket?” Heidi would ask. Or, “Stroke her head and speak to her gently while I clean the cut. That’s right.”

  “You’re going to be fine,” Eva whispered to the dog. “We’ll look after you and make you better.”

  “Her heartbeat is stronger,” Heidi announced after she’d finished the sutures. “I’ve given her an injection of antibiotics to clear up any infection.”

  “Will she be OK?” Eva breathed. The dog’s eyes were fully open now and she was trying to lift her head. Heidi nodded. “Let’s hope so. I can only say one thing for certain – she wouldn’t have got through another night if Stephen hadn’t brought her in.”

  “Did I hear my name being mentioned?” Stephen Jennings asked as Karl showed him into the examination room.

  “Mum says you’re a hero – you saved her life!” Eva exclaimed.

  “Did I really?” Stephen beamed. “That’s good to hear.”

  “She’s not microchipped, so as soon as she’s well enough, we’ll put her on our website for someone to adopt,” Eva rushed on. “She needs a name. What would you like to call her?”

  “Me?” Stephen blushed. He seemed pleased to be asked. “Well, I suppose since I found her at the chocolate factory, and because she’s a lovely dark brown colour, we could call her Cocoa.”

  “Cool,” Karl agreed.

  Eva grinned. She stroked the patient’s soft, floppy ears. “Did you hear your new name, Cocoa? You’re going to get well soon, and we’re going to find you a perfect new home.”

  As soon as Cocoa seemed to be through the worst, Eva dashed back to the house to find Holly. The puppy was at the door, waiting for her with a sad “Where have you been?” expression.

  “I know – I’ve been ages!” Eva admitted, kneeling down to give her a cuddle. “We had an emergency in the surgery. But I’m here now. And listen, Holly, I’ve had another idea – I realize it was hard for you to learn to jump through the hoop, so I’ve decided we should join an agility training club!”

  Yip! Holly loved being cuddled and stroked. She licked Eva’s hands.

  “I’m going to look on the Kennel Club website!” Eva declared. “It’ll tell us where our nearest club is. There’ll be lots of other dogs learning to run through tunnels and do the weave poles. You’ll be able to copy them!”

  “In the meantime, has Holly had her morning walk?” Mark asked as he came downstairs into the kitchen.

  “Oops – no!” Eva realized they’d all been too busy. “I’ll take her now.”

  “Karl’s almost ready to print out the party invites and he wants your final approval,” her dad reminded her, as Eva grabbed Holly’s lead and led her out of the house. “So don’t be too long.”

  “I’ll be back before you know it!” Eva called. She strode out of the yard.

  “Hi, Eva! Hi, Holly!” Annie Brooks called from next door.

  Holly heard Annie’s voice and tugged at the lead. Together, she and Eva joined Annie, who was dressed in her favourite Animal Magic sweatshirt and jeans.

  “Snap!” Eva grinned, unzipping her jacket.

  “Keep the Saturday after next free – we’re having an Animal Magic party!” she announced. “Tell your mum and dad. Tell everybody!”

  Annie nodded. “OK, I’ll mention it to the Logans. I’m going to Earlswood Avenue with Mum in a minute to help them move in. Mum is Mrs Logan’s best friend.”

  “That’s nice,” Eva said, eager now to be on her way. “See you later!” She waved at Linda Brooks, who had just come out of the house, then at George Stevens, turning in to the yard at Animal Magic on his bike.

  “Is Karl in?” George yelled.

  Eva nodded. At this rate she’d never get down to the riverside. “Come on, Holls, let’s go!” she said, setting off at a brisk walk.

  Half an hour later, Eva was back at home. She had the next part of her day planned out, and first up was checking on the Kennel Club website for a local agility training club.

  “Phone call for you,” her dad said as she walked through the kitchen door. He held out the phone.

  “Hi again, Eva,” Annie said. “You have to come up to Earlswood Avenue!”

  “Hi, Annie. What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

  “No, nothing bad. But you totally have to come and see Fern.”

  “I’m a bit busy. Maybe later.” Eva chose a cheese and pickle sandwich from a plate on the table. She took a big bite.

  “But Fern is totally gorgeous!” Annie exclaimed. “Eva, Mia’s got Fern a big new hutch with a living area and a separate bedroom and feeding platform. Mr Logan is going to build a run in the garden. It’ll be really cool!”

  “Sounds good,” Eva admitted.

  “Better than good, Eva!” Annie was bubbling with excitement. “This is a rabbit mansion! And Fern is just so adorable – you’ve got to come and see!”

  It was no good – Eva couldn’t resist. Quickly she told Holly to lie in her bed. “Give me ten minutes,” she told Annie. “I’ll be there!”

  Eva rode up to Earlswood Avenue on her bike, pedalling hard up the hill and getting off outside the house where a big removal van was parked. She removed her helmet, then stood aside as two men carried a sofa down the ramp.

  “Hi, Eva – you’ll be so glad you came!” Annie cried, running down the drive to meet her. “Mia’s helping Fern to get used to her new hutch – come and see!”

  So Eva followed Annie around the side of the house into the back garden, where they found Mia kneeling by a big new two-storey rabbit hutch. In her arms she held a soft, caramel-coloured rabbit, with long floppy ears and big dark eyes.

  “Now Fern, this is your new home,”Mia was saying. “You have a downstairs bit, where you can sit and see what’s going on in the garden. Then you walk up the ramp here, into your bedroom, where it’s nice and cosy.”

  “Isn’t she cute?” Annie whispered to Eva as they joined Mia and Fern. “Look at those lovely floppy ears!”

  Eva smiled. She loved Fern’s big dark eyes and her soft brown nose, her long whiskers and her drooping ears. “She looks kind of sad,” she said softly.

  “Fern is a dwarf lop,” Mia told them, letting them stroke the rabbit. “She’s a year old and she won’t grow any bigger.

  She weighs just over two kilos.” “She’s lovely!” Eva sighed. “How long have you had her?”

  “Since she was a baby,” Mia explained. “She wasn’t very well at first – the vet in Okeham said she hadn’t been given the right food to eat at the place where we bought her, so since then I’ve given her the best of everything – the best muesli, the best hay, the best fruit and vegetables…”

  “In other words, you spoil her!” Annie laughed.

  “That’s what Mum and Dad say,” Mia confessed with a slow smile. “But I can’t help it, can I, Fern?”

  “This has to be the best hutch as well!”

  Eva grinned as she inspected Fern’s new home. “I like the bedroom – it’s nice and high off the ground.”

  Mia nodded. “It keeps her dry and it means foxes can’t get near her. I’ve line
d the floor with wood shavings and hay, so she can snuggle up at night.”

  “Cool!” Annie was impressed.

  “I’ve put her food bowl in the compartment next to the bedroom so she won’t have far to go if she wakes up hungry. And her water bottle fixes on to the wire netting. It even fits into a little padded sleeve, so the water won’t freeze in winter!”

  “I like it!” Eva said. “I wonder if Fern knows how lucky she is.”

  “Let’s see,” Mia said quietly, deciding that it was time to let her rabbit explore her new hutch. She asked Annie to open the door, then she placed Fern inside and closed the door behind her.

  At first Fern crouched on the cold grass and twitched her nose.

  Eva noticed she was shivering. “The poor little thing’s not sure what’s going on,” she murmured. “Everything is so new.”

  “It’s OK, Fern,” Mia whispered. “It’s safe to take a look around.”

  The small rabbit blinked, then took one hop forward. She sniffed at the ground, then at the wooden ramp leading to the upper level.

  “I put some chopped apple and carrots in her food bowl,” Mia whispered to Eva and Annie. “I’m hoping the smell will attract her.”

  Sure enough, Fern placed her front paws on the ramp and sniffed the air.

  “Yummy carrots!” Annie breathed.

  Eva willed Fern to carry on.

  Hop-hop – she was halfway up the ramp.

  She twitched her nose, smelling the hay in the bedroom. Hop-hop – up the ramp and out of sight.

  “Yesss!” Mia, Annie and Eva grinned happily.

  They heard Fern rustle through the sawdust and hay, and waited for her to follow her nose, out through the bedroom door on to the feeding platform. Sure enough, a small brown nose and a pair of long whiskers soon appeared.

  “Sooo sweet!” Annie whispered.

  Though it was cold and windy in Mia’s garden on the hill, Eva felt a warm glow inside her. She watched Fern emerge from her sleeping quarters, her brown eyes shining, her lovely caramel coat gleaming in the sunlight.