by Lily Small
“Good—hic—night,” Bailey said. “And thank you, Marley—hic!”
As Bailey watched Marley shuffle off to his bed, Petey somersaulted past her, wagging his tail.
“What are you doing, Petey?” Bailey laughed.
“Trying to surprise the hiccups out of you,” Petey said, standing up and catching his breath. “Did it work?”
“I don’t—hic—think so,” Bailey said.
“Hmm.” Petey scratched his head. With a sudden whoop and twirl, he flew up into the air and performed a series of loop-the-loops in the clear blue sky.
“Any good?” he called.
“Hic—no, sorry,” Bailey called back. “But it is making me dizzy just looking at you.” She closed her eyes for a moment to get rid of the dizziness.
When she opened them again, Petey had completely disappeared. Bailey spun this way and that, trying to catch a glimpse of the little Pollen Puppy, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where—hic—are you?” Bailey called.
“Boo!” Petey cried, jumping out from behind a clump of clover.
Bailey let out a little squeal and fell backward, landing on her fluffy tail. “Petey, what are you doing?” she said.
“I’m still trying to surprise you.” Petey shook the leaves from his ears and bounded over to her. “Is it working?”
“I don’t—hic—think so, but thank you for trying so hard.” Bailey slumped to the ground in despair. “I’ve tried fresh air and sunshine and drinking backward and being surprised. But nothing seems to work. I’m beginning to think I’ll have these—hic—hiccups for—hic—ever!”
CHAPTER FIVE
Gee Whiskers!
Bailey’s silky ears flopped down over her face. She felt very miserable indeed.
“Don’t give up,” Petey said, sitting down in front of her. “Misty Wood is full of helpful fairy animals. Sooner or later we’re bound to meet someone who really knows how to cure your hiccups.”
“Do you—hic—think so?” Bailey lifted her little pink nose and tried to smile.
“Yes, I do,” Petey replied firmly. “Why don’t we go a little farther into the woods, and see who we can find?”
“Okay,” Bailey said, nodding her soft white head. “And while we fly, I’m going to take lots of deep breaths of fresh air.”
“Good plan,” Petey grinned. “Come on, follow me!”
He flicked his wings and took off into the sky, with Bailey close behind. This time they swooped low over Misty Wood, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone else who could help them.
As she flew over Heather Hill, Bailey breathed in the delicious scent of the purple heather. But that didn’t cure her hiccups.
In Bluebell Glade, they played chase with the butterflies. But that didn’t cure her hiccups, either.
As they flew, Bailey noticed the hard work her fellow Bud Bunnies had done. Lots of flowers had been opened, making Misty Wood look like a brightly colored patchwork quilt. How she wished she could join the other bunnies!
Next, they flew toward a sunny clearing. Even here there were hundreds of new buds just waiting to be opened.
“Please can we land?” Bailey asked. She couldn’t help wanting to take a closer peep. “Oh, Petey,” she sighed as they landed in the springy grass. “I should—hic—be unfurling these buds.”
“And you will be soon,” Petey said. “I just know it.”
“I hope so,” Bailey said. “Because I’m starting to get very tired and my wings have gone all droopy. It’s hard work having the hiccups, you know.”
Just then, the glinting sunlight on the grass faded and darkness fell over the clearing.
“Is it nighttime already?” Bailey exclaimed.
“No,” Petey replied. “It’s a shadow. And it’s coming from that huge creature over there.”
They both looked up to see a massive figure coming slowly toward them through the woods. Its face was covered in darkness, but the shadow it cast was very big.
“Who do you think it is?” Petey whispered, grabbing Bailey by the paw.
“I don’t know,” Bailey said. “It’s very big—maybe it’s a giraffe.”
“But giraffes don’t live in Misty Wood!” Petey pulled Bailey behind a bush.
“Who’s there?” the big shadowy figure called in a deep voice.
“Maybe it’s an elephant?” Bailey whispered.
Petey shook his head. “Elephants don’t live here, either.”
“I said, who’s there?” the voice boomed again.
Petey put his paw to his mouth, signaling to Bailey to keep quiet. Bailey nodded, but as she did so, she let out an enormous …
At once the footsteps began thump thump thumping toward the bush.
“I know someone’s there,” the voice called again.
Petey and Bailey exchanged glances.
“I bet you two hazelnut buns it’s a tiger!” Petey whispered.
THUD.
The footsteps came closer.
“With really big feet!” Petey hissed again.
THUMP.
The ground around them began to shake.
“And a really huge body!” Petey continued.
SWISH!
SWOOSH!
The bush began to rustle.
“And a really long tail,” Petey finished.
“But—hic—tigers don’t live here, either!” Bailey gasped.
“Come out!” the voice boomed, very, very close now.
Bailey and Petey looked at each other.
Bailey took a deep breath, and forgetting about her hiccups, decided to be brave. “I bet you two hazelnut buns it isn’t a tiger!” she said, and peeped out from behind the bush.
“Gee whiskers!” she cried in astonishment. “I can’t believe it’s you!”
CHAPTER SIX
A Surprise So Surprising …
“Who is it? Who is it?” Petey whispered from his hiding place.
But Bailey was so surprised that she couldn’t answer him right away.
“Is it a tiger with really big feet and a really huge body and a really long tail?” Petey asked.
“No!” Bailey cried in delight. “It’s—it’s the Easter Bunny!”
Petey came bounding out from behind the bush. “The Easter Bunny?” he yapped excitedly. “Are you sure?”
The fairy animal friends both rubbed their eyes with their paws and looked again. Sure enough, towering over them was a very large white bunny. He had a bright pink nose, pointy ears, and long, feathery whiskers. In his front paws he held a huge basket of brightly colored eggs.
“Oh, Mister Easter Bunny, sir,” Bailey cried. “I’m so pleased to meet you. You are my hero! You are my favorite bunny in the whole wide world—apart from my mom and dad and baby brother, Bobby, of course. Oh, and my grandma and grandpa and great-uncle Boris. And my cousin Bella.” Bailey grinned. “But after all of them, you’re my favorite bunny for sure! The eggs you bring are so delicious, and it’s so much fun trying to find them.” She took a hop backward and gazed up at the huge Easter Bunny. “I can’t believe I’ve met you. I always hoped, but I never dreamed I’d actually be so lucky!” Bailey tilted her head to one side. “But why are you here? It’s only the first day of spring. Easter isn’t for ages. Oh, this is so exciting, isn’t it, Petey?” Bailey turned to Petey and clapped her paws.
Petey just kept on grinning.
“Well, you certainly are a talkative little Bud Bunny,” the Easter Bunny said, smiling down at Bailey. “But I’m afraid I can’t stop for long because I am in the middle of a very important job.”
“Ooh, what is it?” Bailey cried.
The Easter Bunny bent right down so that he could whisper in her ear. “The reason I am here, little Bud Bunny, is to practice hiding eggs for the Misty Wood Easter Egg Hunt.”
“Practice?” Bailey’s eyes opened wide.
The Easter Bunny nodded. “How do you think I get so good at hiding them?”
“That’s just like
me opening the flowers with my nose,” Bailey said. “It takes a lot of practice to get it right.” She looked down at the ground and her fluffy white ears flopped over her face. “But I haven’t gotten any right this year.”
The Easter Bunny put down his basket of eggs. “Why ever not?”
“Something awful has happened,” Bailey said sadly. “I’ve got the worst case of hiccups ever. Lots of fairy animals have tried to help me cure them, but nothing has worked. Petey and I were looking for someone else who might be able to help.”
“I think—” Petey began.
But Bailey hadn’t finished. “Mr. Easter Bunny, sir, you’ve reminded me that the wood always looks so pretty when we have the Misty Wood Easter Egg Hunt.”
“I think—” Petey said again, but Bailey kept talking.
“But this year,” she said, sniffing miserably, “it’s not going to look nearly so pretty because I haven’t been able to help unfurl all the buds. Oh, dear, I don’t—”
“Shh!” The Easter Bunny held up a big paw and Bailey stopped talking at once.
“Do you realize,” the Easter Bunny said in his kindly voice, “that you haven’t hiccuped once since you’ve been talking to me? I think, my dear Bud Bunny, that your hiccups might finally be cured!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Petey said with a giggle.
Bailey clapped her paws with glee. “You’re right!” She paused and swallowed hard a few times. “I don’t feel hiccupy at all.” She fluttered her pink wings and fluffed up her whiskers. Then she turned to Petey. “Marley the Moonbeam Mole was right after all. I have been surprised by something so surprising that my hiccups have forgotten to hiccup!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hic, Hic, Hooray!
Bailey was so happy that she did a little hop in the air, landing right at the Easter Bunny’s feet. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried excitedly. “You are the best surprise ever!”
The Easter Bunny chuckled. “I’m very glad to hear it,” he said.
Bailey did another bunny hop. “Oh, Easter Bunny. Is there anything I can do to repay you for curing my hiccups?”
The Easter Bunny smiled down at Bailey. “Well,” he began, “it just so happens that there is something you could do. Both of you, in fact.” He turned to look at Petey, too.
“Oh, yes.” The little puppy wagged his tail eagerly. “Anything at all.”
The Easter Bunny tweaked his whiskers thoughtfully. “Well, as I told you, I’m here to do a very important job—practicing hiding the eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt.”
“Yes! Yes!” Petey said, chasing his tail with excitement.
“But how can I tell if I’ve hidden them really well, unless I have some helpers trying to find them?” the Easter Bunny said, his eyes twinkling.
A huge smile spread across Bailey’s face. “You mean, you’d like us to try and find them?”
The Easter Bunny nodded. “If you would be so kind.”
“Gee whiskers! That is the best job ever!” Bailey exclaimed.
Petey rolled onto his back and waved his paws in the air with delight.
“So you’ll do it?” the Easter Bunny said.
“Yes!” Bailey and Petey cried at the tops of their voices.
“Thank you,” the Easter Bunny said warmly. “Well, first of all, I need you to close your eyes while I hide two eggs. And no peeking!”
“We won’t,” Bailey said. She closed her eyes tightly and listened to the rustling of leaves as the Easter Bunny set about hiding the eggs.
“All right, you can open them now,” the Easter Bunny called.
“This is so much fun!” Petey said as they started flying around looking for the eggs.
Bailey looked under bushes and on top of branches.
Petey looked behind stones and inside nests.
The Easter Bunny leaned against an oak tree and watched as they searched high and low. “It looks as if I have done a most excellent job,” he said.
Bailey was just about to give up when she caught a glimpse of something shimmering behind a lavender bush. Very carefully, she reached a paw inside the bush and pulled out a beautiful pink speckled egg. “It matches my wings!” She beamed.
The Easter Bunny chuckled. “So it does.”
Across the clearing, Petey pulled a chocolate egg from a hollow tree trunk and let out a cheer. “I found one, too!” he cried.
Bailey and Petey flew over to the Easter Bunny with their beautiful eggs.
“Well done,” he said, smiling down at them.
“I didn’t think we were ever going to find them,” Bailey said.
“So you don’t think I need any more practice at hiding them?” the Easter Bunny said.
Bailey shook her head. “No! You’re the world’s best hider ever.”
She went to put the beautiful pink egg back in his basket, but the Easter Bunny put a fluffy white paw out. “You can keep it,” he said. “After all, it does match your wings.”
“Can I keep mine?” Petey asked, looking longingly at the chocolate egg. “It matches my paws … sort of.”
The Easter Bunny nodded. “In that case, you must.”
Bailey licked the pink egg. It tasted delicious, like spun sugar.
Petey took a bite from his chocolate egg. “Yum!” he said, licking his lips.
The Easter Bunny watched, smiling as they gobbled up their eggs. “Well, now I must be off,” he said when they’d finished.
“Already?” Bailey said.
The Easter Bunny picked up his basket. “I’m afraid so. But don’t forget, you have something else to do now your hiccups have gone,” he grinned as he waved good-bye.
Bailey put her paw to her mouth. “My buds!” she cried.
“Come on, Petey, we need to get going. Good-bye, Mr. Easter Bunny, sir, and thank you!”
With a last wave, the Easter Bunny hopped off into Misty Wood and Bailey and Petey took to the sky once more. They flew swiftly to Honeydew Meadow, where Bailey’s buds were still waiting to be opened.
“Here goes,” Bailey muttered as she landed next to an unfurled flower. “Wish me luck, Petey.”
“Good luck, Bailey,” whispered Petey.
Cautiously, Bailey shuffled up to the nearest flower.
Very slowly, she put her tiny pink nose to the tightly furled bud.
She waited for just a moment. Had her hiccups really gone? Would she be able to keep still for long enough?
She placed her nose gently against the delicate petals, and twitched. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the petals started to unfurl. Bailey gasped as the flower burst into life.
Each petal was as soft as satin and as bright as a jewel. She had never seen anything quite so pretty.
“I did it, I did it!” squeaked Bailey, hopping back to admire her handiwork.
Petey cheered and clapped. “I knew you could,” he cried, “once you got rid of those hiccups.”
“Well, I’m very glad they’ve gone, Petey,” she said. “But I’m also very glad I had them.”
“Really? But why?” Petey asked.
Bailey beamed at him. “Because if I hadn’t gotten the hiccups, I would never have met you. And you would never have agreed to help me. And we would never have gone all over Misty Wood searching for a cure. And we would never have found the Easter Bunny.
“So, you see, I made a new friend and got to meet my hero all in one day. And all because of the hiccups!”
Petey did a little flip of joy. “In that case, I say three cheers for hiccups!”
“I agree!” Bailey cried. “Hic, hic, hooray!”
How many Fairy Animals books have you collected?
Chloe the Kitten
Bella the Bunny
Paddy the Puppy
Mia the Mouse
Poppy the Pony
Hailey the Hedgehog
Sophie the Squirrel
Daisy the Deer
; Kylie the Kitten
Paige the Pony
Penny the Puppy
Bailey the Bunny
About the Author
Lily Small is the author of the Fairy Animals of Misty Wood series. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Map
Dedication
Chapter One
A Breakfast Surprise
Chapter Two
The Cheeky Pollen Puppy
Chapter Three
Head Over Heels
Chapter Four
The Best Cure for Hiccups Ever
Chapter Five
Gee Whiskers!
Chapter Six
A Surprise So Surprising …
Chapter Seven
Hic, Hic, Hooray!
Other Books in the Fairy Animals
About the Author
Copyright
Text copyright © 2014 by Houthouse Fiction Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Artful Doodlers.
Henry Holt and Company, Publishers since 1866
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
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All rights reserved.
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