Heidi Heckelbeck and the Tie-Dyed Bunny

by Wanda Coven

  Perfect, thought Heidi. All I have to do is gather the ingredients. But first I have to make sure Maggie’s safe. Heidi emptied her toy crate. Then she lined the bottom with her old baby blanket. She fluffed Maggie’s wet fur with the towel and gently lowered her into the crate.

  Heidi changed into a clean shirt and skirt. Then she bolted downstairs.

  Heidi took a peek into the kitchen. Uh-oh, she thought. Everyone’s in there. Aunt Trudy had the mixer on. Henry and Mom were sitting at the table and snapping beans. Dad was slicing the ham.

  Okay, thought Heidi. Just act natural. She strolled into the kitchen and walked to the cupboard. Then she pulled out a measuring cup.

  “Hi, sweetie,” Mom said. “Would you like to join us?”

  “No, thanks,” said Heidi as she pulled a bottle of ginger ale from the fridge. “Just getting a drink.”

  “In a measuring cup?” asked Aunt Trudy.

  Heidi poured ginger ale up to the one-cup line. “Don’t want to drink too much soda,” she said.

  Then Heidi poured the ginger ale from the measuring cup into a tall glass.

  Mom and Aunt Trudy exchanged glances.

  Heidi sat at the table and added a teaspoon of sugar to her ginger ale.

  “Mom, Heidi just put sugar in her ginger ale!” said Henry.

  Mom frowned.

  “What’s the big deal?” Heidi said innocently. “It’s sugar free. It needs a little sugar.”

  “You’re weird,” said Henry.

  Heidi shrugged and grabbed a whisk from the utensil holder. Then she scooted out of the kitchen.

  “That girl is up to something,” she heard Aunt Trudy say.

  “She sure is,” said Mom.

  Heidi raced upstairs with her glass. I’d better hurry before I get caught, she thought. She ran to the bathroom and squeezed a pea-size glob of toothpaste into the cup. The toothpaste had little blue specks in it. Then she whisked the potion. She grabbed her Witches of Westwick medallion and sat next to her toy crate. Heidi carefully drizzled the potion on Maggie and spread it over the stains. Then Heidi held her medallion in her left hand and placed her right hand on top of Maggie. She chanted the spell.

  Heidi lifted her hand from the bunny and looked down. Her eyes got wide. Then she cupped her hand over her mouth.

  “Oh no!” Heidi cried. “What have I done?”

  Maggie was white with blue polka dots.

  “I can’t take you back to school looking like THIS!”

  Heidi picked up Maggie and wrapped her in the old baby blanket.

  There was only one thing left to do.

  Get help.

  Heidi carried Maggie downstairs. Boy, am I going to get it, she thought. But she had no choice. She had to tell Mom and Aunt Trudy. They were the two best witches she knew. Heidi stood in the doorway of the family room. Mom and Aunt Trudy were relaxing and drinking tea. They looked up when they saw Heidi.

  “Heidi, what’s Maggie doing out of her cage?” Mom asked.

  Heidi bit her lip. “Mom, I did something really bad,” she said.

  Mom and Aunt Trudy looked at each other.

  “Does it have to do with Maggie being out of the cage?” asked Mom.

  Maggie squirmed in the towel.

  “Yes,” said Heidi.

  “Okay, out with it,” said Mom.

  Heidi took a deep breath. “I wanted to show Maggie the Easter eggs.”

  “And?” Mom asked.

  “And then she jumped out of my arms and spilled the Easter egg dyes,” Heidi explained. “The dyes stained her fur, and I couldn’t get them out.”

  Mom sighed.

  “It gets worse,” said Heidi.

  She unwrapped the blanket.

  “I used a stain removal spell, and look what happened.”

  Mom gasped.

  Aunt Trudy tried not to laugh. “What kind of toothpaste did you use in the spell?” she asked.

  “The white-with-blue-speckles kind,” said Heidi.

  “Well, that explains the blue polka dots,” Aunt Trudy said.

  “Can we fix it?” asked Heidi.

  “That depends,” said Mom.

  “On what?” Heidi asked.

  “If you can promise to follow the Rabbit Rules for the rest of the weekend.”

  “I cross my heart and hope to obey ALL rules for the rest of my life,” said Heidi.

  “Then perhaps we can find a solution,” said Mom.

  “It’s not that simple,” said Aunt Trudy, who practiced her witching skills more often than Heidi’s mom. “There’s one ingredient that may be hard to find.”

  “What?” asked Heidi.

  “The ears of a white-chocolate rabbit,” said Aunt Trudy.

  “Do they even make rabbits out of white-chocolate?” Heidi asked.

  “Yes,” said Aunt Trudy. “But not as many as milk-chocolate and dark-chocolate rabbits.”

  “And Easter is tomorrow,” added Mom. “They might be sold out.”

  “I’ll take a look this evening,” said Aunt Trudy. “If I can find a white rabbit, we can change Maggie back tomorrow.”

  “Oh, thank you, Aunt Trudy,” said Heidi. “I’m sorry I caused so much trouble.”

  “That’s why we have rules,” said Mom.

  Heidi nodded.

  Aunt Trudy put on her coat and patted Maggie on the way out.

  “Maybe you should call her Dot,” she said with a wink.

  “Not funny,” said Heidi.

  Henry walked in from the kitchen. “What’s not funny?” he asked while nibbling on some ham.

  “Don’t ask,” said Heidi.

  “Ready? On your mark! Get set! GO!” shouted Dad.

  Heidi and Henry clutched their Easter baskets and raced into the backyard. Henry grabbed plastic eggs from the birdbath, from the flowerpots, and from all along the fence.

  Heidi tried to keep up, but her mind was on Maggie. Aunt Trudy hadn’t called yet to say she’d found a white-chocolate rabbit for the spell. What if she doesn’t find one? thought Heidi. I can’t go back to Brewster Elementary with a polka-dot rabbit!

  After the hunt Heidi and Henry counted their eggs. Henry had found eighteen eggs. Heidi had found only six.

  “I WON!” Henry shouted. “For the first time in history, I beat you!”

  Heidi shrugged. “I let you win,” she said.

  “You would NEVER just LET me win,” said Henry.

  “True,” said Heidi. “But I did today.”

  “Is it because of what happened to Maggie?” asked Henry.

  “What do YOU think?” said Heidi.

  “I think this year’s first prize goes to Henry!” interrupted Dad as he handed him a giant chocolate chicken.

  Heidi got a small chocolate chicken.

  “I’m glad I didn’t get a chocolate RABBIT,” said Heidi gloomily. “I’d rather not think about rabbits, let alone eat one.”

  Heidi didn’t play with Maggie all morning. She couldn’t bear to look at her polka-dot fur. It only reminded her of the mess she was in.

  At noon the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Heidi shouted. She opened the door to find Aunt Trudy. She was smiling and carrying a brown grocery bag in her arms.

  “I had to go to five stores,” she said.

  “Did you find one?” asked Heidi.

  Aunt Trudy pulled a white-chocolate rabbit out of the bag.

  “It was the only one that was completely white,” she said.

  Heidi hugged her aunt. “You are the BEST!” she said. “Can we change Maggie back?”

  “The sooner the better,” said Aunt Trudy. “Get your Book of Spells and medallion.”

  Heidi ran to her room and grabbed her Book of Spells and Witches of Westwick medallion.

  Aunt Trudy opened the book to Chapter Ten: “Cuddly Critters.” Heidi and Mom gathered the ingredients for the spell. Then Aunt Trudy melted the white-chocolate rabbit’s ears in a saucepan. She added a half cup of lemon juice, a quarter t
easpoon of salt, and a tablespoon of sage. Then she placed polka-dot Maggie in the sink. When the mixture had cooled, she spread the potion over Maggie’s fur. She held Heidi’s medallion in her left hand and gently placed her right hand over Maggie. Heidi and Mom watched as Aunt Trudy chanted the spell.

  Aunt Trudy lifted her hand. Maggie looked as white as a cotton ball.

  “You did it!” Heidi cried.

  “You mean I undid it,” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi hugged her aunt. “I’m so sorry this happened,” she said.

  “Did you learn something?” Mom asked.

  “I sure did,” said Heidi. “I learned that I really REALLY want my very own pet.”

  Aunt Trudy and Mom frowned.

  “How about we recover from this pet experience first?” Mom said.

  Heidi hung her head.

  “And we’ll think about it,” said Mom.

  Heidi called Dad and Henry in for their Easter meal. Then she gave Maggie a slice of apple as a special treat.

  “I don’t want to take you back to school tomorrow,” Heidi said. “But at least you’re the right color.”

  Mom and Heidi carried Maggie’s cage to Principal Pennypacker’s office. Mom gave Heidi a hug good-bye and went on her way.

  “How did it go, Heidi?” asked the principal as he opened the cage and lifted Maggie into his arms.

  “Great,” said Heidi.

  The principal pet Maggie’s fur.

  “Her coat looks very shiny and clean,” he said. “Did you give her a bath?”

  “Just a little one,” said Heidi, trying not to make too much of it.

  Then Principal Pennypacker stopped petting Maggie and raised an eyebrow.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Heidi.

  “Well, I could’ve sworn Maggie had a brown spot behind her left ear,” said the principal.

  Heidi gulped. “Uh, I never noticed a brown spot,” she said.

  “That’s odd,” he said. “I must’ve imagined it.”

  Then he nuzzled Maggie against his cheek. “Oh my,” he said. “Do I smell sage?”

  Heidi laughed nervously. “Um, I’d better go to class,” she said. “I don’t want to be late.”

  Principal Pennypacker looked curiously at Heidi.

  “Yes,” he said. “You’d better run along.”

  Heidi hurried to the door. On the way out, she noticed a large black book sticking out of Principal Pennypacker’s bag. It had gold writing on the spine. Wow, that actually looks a lot like my Book of Spells, she thought.

  Then a funny feeling came over Heidi as she walked down the hall. Does Principal Pennypacker know what happened to Maggie? she wondered. The thought made her shiver. But how could he? Unless . . . Could it be?

  Heidi swallowed.

  Could Principal Pennypacker be . . . a WITCH?

  At school Heidi told Lucy Lancaster about the the flower girl dress.

  “You’re so lucky!” Lucy exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to be in a wedding.”

  “Want to trade places?” asked Heidi.

  “Very funny,” said Lucy. “So, what does your dress look like?”

  “I brought a picture,” Heidi said. “But promise not to laugh.”

  “Promise,” said Lucy.

  Heidi reached into her back pocket and pulled out the picture. She started to hand it to Lucy, but Melanie snatched it out of Heidi’s hand.

  “Let ME see!” cried Melanie.

  “Hey, that’s MINE!” cried Heidi.

  Melanie looked at the picture and squealed with laughter.

  “Oh my gosh, that dress is SO icky!” cried Melanie in between laughs.

  Stanley Stonewrecker snuck up behind Melanie and grabbed the picture out of her hand.

  “Wow, Heidi,” said Stanley as he handed the picture to Lucy. “You look great in that dress.”

  Melanie folded her arms and turned up her nose. “I’ll bet Heidi won’t even be able to walk in that dress,” said Melanie. “She’ll probably trip and fall when she walks down the aisle.”

  Heidi couldn’t believe what Melanie had just said. It was as if she knew Heidi had had a bad dream about falling down at the wedding. How does she do that? Heidi thought. And what if I really do fall down in front of everybody?

  WANDA COVEN has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she’s able to visit other worlds through writing. Wanda lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and son. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.

  PRiSCiLLA BURRIS has illustrated numerous books and materials for children, parents, and teachers. She enjoys painting cakes and creating art for products, which include murals, greeting cards, and rubber stamps! Priscilla lives with her family in Southern California.

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  Meet the author and illustrator and get activities at

  KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Wanda-Coven

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Priscilla-Burris

  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

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Jacket design by Ciara Gay

  Jacket illustrations by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Coven, Wanda.

  Heidi Heckelbeck and the tie-dyed bunny / by Wanda Coven ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (Heidi Heckelbeck ; 10)

  Summary: Heidi is chosen to take the principal’s rabbit home over Easter weekend and promises to follow all the rules, but she decides to break one and even her magic is not enough to set things right again.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8937-0 (pbk : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-8938-7 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-8939-4 (ebook : alk. paper) [1. Rabbits as pets—Fiction. 2. Easter—Fiction. 3. Witches—Fiction. 4. Magic—Fiction.] I. Burris, Priscilla, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.C83393Hbt 2014

  [Fic]—dc23

  2012051745