Bella the Runaway Rabbit

by Tina Nolan

  As they sat and thought it through, Eva spotted the small, fair-haired figure of Grace Nicholls standing at the gate of number 23. Eva waved then ran to join her.

  “How’s Bella?” Grace wanted to know, the moment she saw Eva.

  “She’s fine. She’s got a big, comfy cage at Animal Magic. She’s nice and warm and she’s eating plenty.”

  Grace nodded slowly. “Is she sad?” she asked, tears welling up in her big grey eyes. “Does she miss me?”

  “A little bit,” Eva admitted. “But she’ll soon settle down. Anyway, I wanted to ask you some more questions about when you found Bella in your shed. Is that OK?”

  Slowly Grace nodded, then led Eva into her garden. Annie waited by the removal van.

  “Can I see the shed?” Eva asked Grace. “And can you tell me what happened on the day you found Bella?”

  “It was busy. We had lots of people looking round the house,” Grace explained as she took Eva round to the shed.

  “So when did you find Bella?” she asked.

  “After everyone had gone. It was quiet and I was playing by myself in the garden.”

  “Was the shed door open?”

  Grace nodded. “I was playing football and I kicked my ball inside by mistake. I was looking for it under the shelf with all the plant pots, and that’s when I found her.”

  “Was she hiding?”

  “Yes. Some plant pots had fallen off the shelf and rolled into a corner. Bella was hiding inside one. She was so scared she was shaking all over.”

  “I would be too,” Eva said quietly. “If I was Bella and I was lost in a big, strange garden with tall trees and dark bushes, I’d be scared stiff. So what did you do?”

  “I shut the door, then sat down and talked to her,” Grace explained. “I didn’t try to pick her up ’cos I didn’t want to scare her any more.”

  Eva smiled at Grace’s sweet and serious face. “Then what?”

  “After a bit, Bella stopped shivering. She let me stroke her. Then Dad came out looking for me and I asked him to come in and close the shed door. It was Dad who picked Bella up and took her into the house.”

  “Did she struggle?”

  “Yes. She tried to run away from Dad.”

  “She does that a lot,” Eva admitted. “And after that you looked after Bella and she let you be her friend?”

  “Yes, and I didn’t want to bring her to Animal Magic,” Grace sniffed. “I wanted to keep her! But Dad said it was the only thing to do.”

  The noise of men shifting furniture inside the house reached them, and Eva saw how sad Grace was about leaving Bella. “Bella will be OK, I promise,” she told her quietly. “Shall I tell you what I’m planning to do?”

  Grace nodded and she wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “I want to find the people who lost Bella in the first place. I think they must be sad about her running away and I’m sure they must want her back.”

  “Are you sure?” Grace whispered. Like Annie, she remembered the notices her mum had put up, and how no one had replied.

  “Certain!” Eva said with a bright smile. “And when I find her real owners, I’ll email and tell you. I’ll even send you a lovely picture of Bella with her family, back where she belongs!”

  Chapter Seven

  “My mum says you should never make promises you can’t keep,” Annie told Eva.

  All the way back home from Riverview Road, Annie had been grumbling about Eva’s brilliant idea.

  “Who says I can’t keep my promise?” Eva retorted. “I reckon it can’t be too hard to track down Bella’s proper owner.”

  “And if your cunning plan works, what then?” At the gate of Animal Magic, Annie braked then got off her bike. “Like I said – I really don’t think the person who lost Bella cares about her, otherwise they’d have tried really hard to find her after she’d run away.”

  Eva got off her bike and looked Annie in the eye. “Sometimes you’re so…”

  “…So?”

  “…So annoying!” Eva replied, flouncing off across the yard.

  “Billy’s really friendly and good-natured,” Karl was telling Owen Grey in Reception.

  Owen had driven out from town especially to see the boxer. He nodded and stroked the dog, who wriggled his backside and wagged his tail.

  “He likes you,” Karl said.

  Behind the desk, Heidi and Joel worked at the computer, updating their records.

  “I had a boxer called Lennox when I was a kid,” Owen told them. “I’ve always liked this breed.”

  “Then you know they need plenty of exercise,” Heidi warned.

  Karl frowned. He could see that Owen and Billy were bonding like crazy and secretly hoped that his mum wouldn’t come out with the stuff about Billy’s bad chewing habit.

  “I don’t mind that,” Owen said. “Walking Billy would get me out of the house. But how come he ended up here with you?”

  “His previous owners had little kids. They couldn’t cope,” Karl said vaguely. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eva flounce through the main door and head straight for one of the computers.

  “Actually, Billy has one very bad habit,” Heidi told Owen.

  Uh-oh! Inwardly Karl groaned. That was it – they might as well take an ugly mug-shot of Billy and put him permanently behind bars!

  “He chews,” Heidi explained. “Shoes, furniture – anything he can get his teeth into. We have to warn you in advance, because there would be no point in you taking him home and finding out the hard way.”

  “Oh yeah, I remember Lennox used to do that,” Owen said, thoughtfully patting Billy’s broad head. “He wrecked three pairs of my dad’s slippers, but my mum cured him in the end.”

  “How?” Karl asked quickly.

  Owen shook his head. “Don’t know. I can’t remember. I’ll have to ask Mum.”

  “Well, we’d love to know how to cure him,” Heidi said, smiling.

  Owen nodded. “But listen, now you’ve told me about this, I’ll definitely need a day or two to think about adopting Billy. And I need to discuss it with my girlfriend – OK?”

  “Fine,” Heidi agreed.

  Not fine! Karl thought. It’s back to the kennels for you, Billy boy!

  As he led Billy out of Reception, he glanced over Eva’s shoulders and saw her tapping away at the keyboard. “Do you know this rabbit?” he read in large letters on the screen. Underneath was a big photo of Bella. “What are you up to?” he mumbled.

  “What does it look like? I’m writing a leaflet.”

  Billy had stopped and turned to see Owen Grey leave the building without looking back. He whined and sidled close to Karl.

  “A leaflet? What for?” Karl asked.

  “To put through people’s letter boxes.” Eva concentrated on her typing. “Bella is a runaway rabbit who misses her owners. If you recognize her, please email us at animalmagicrescue@lineone.net.”

  “The Nicholls already tried that,” Karl pointed out.

  “No they didn’t. They only put up posters. They didn’t deliver them to people’s houses.”

  “Did you check with Mum and Dad?”

  “Nope. But don’t worry, they’ll say it’s a good idea.” Eva was confident that her parents would back her up.

  “Anyway, how do you know Bella’s first owners weren’t cruel to her? Maybe that’s why she ran away in the first place,” Karl pointed out.

  Eva sighed. “Listen!” she said. “I don’t know for sure, do I? But my guess is they were nice, kind people. They were just careless for a moment and let Bella escape. Now they’re really sad that she’s missing.”

  “Says you!” Karl retorted. He still wasn’t convinced. “Anyway, posting leaflets through doors won’t do any good.”

  “Shut up, Karl!” Eva snapped. She clicked the print key and waited for the leaflets to roll out of the printer.

  “We’ve got three enquiries from people interested in adopting Sasha,” Heidi reported to Eva when she came back
from delivering Bella leaflets up and down Main Street.

  “Cool,” Eva muttered. She tweeted at Buddy in his cage behind Reception, then placed her spare leaflets on the desk.

  “Do you want to help with a vaccination?” her mum asked, looking towards the entrance at a man and a boy with a small black and white puppy. “Hello, Mr Goodall, hello, Ben!” she called. “Come right this way.”

  Eva nodded and went into the surgery where she cleaned the table with antiseptic spray. Then Ben and his dad brought the puppy in and Heidi followed.

  “Thanks for fitting us in so quickly,” Mr Goodall told her. “I’ve been telling Ben that we can’t take Bertie for walks until he’s been vaccinated.”

  “Quite right,” Heidi nodded. “How old is Bertie? About seven weeks?”

  “Six and a half,” Mr Goodall confirmed. “We bought him from a dubious place, I’m afraid. The mother is a pure-bred Lab, and the owners were trying to fob this little chap off as pure Labrador too, but I could tell at a glance that he wasn’t. My bet is, there’s a fair bit of Border collie in him too.”

  Heidi glanced at Eva. “Sounds like Bertie comes from the same litter as Sasha – a cross-breed puppy who was brought in to us a couple of days ago. I hope you didn’t pay a pedigree price.”

  “No,” Mr Goodall replied, as Heidi quickly gave Bertie his jab and gave him back to Ben. “We’re moving out to Okeham from the city, which is finally why we allowed Ben to have a puppy.”

  As her mum lead Ben and his dad back into Reception, Eva slipped off to see Bella.

  “I saw Grace,” she murmured, putting her nose against the front of Bella’s cage. “She’s missing you loads.”

  Bella twitched her nose and took one short hop towards Eva.

  “I’m going to post leaflets about you through every letter box in the village,” Eva went on. “I’ve already started on Main Street.”

  Another hop closer. Bella seemed less shy today, perhaps drawn by the sound of Eva’s gentle voice.

  “This is good. You like me talking to you, don’t you?” Eva said.

  But suddenly Bella’s ears twitched and she shot back into the darkest corner. She’d caught sight of a face at the window.

  Eva glanced round in time to see Ben Goodall peering in at them. He looked flushed, and his forehead was creased in a worried frown.

  Thanks, Ben! Eva thought. Just when I was getting to bond with Bella you have to go and startle her!

  Ben saw Eva watching him and quickly ducked out of sight.

  Weird! Eva said to herself. Why is he acting so strange?

  In the corner of her cage, Bella sat huddled into a soft white ball, with only her big dark eyes moving, looking out for enemies and trying to hide.

  “I’ll come and talk to you later,” Eva sighed. With shy Bella, it was always one step forwards and two steps back.

  Chapter Eight

  Early next morning Eva went out to deliver more of her Bella leaflets.

  “Good luck!” Mark shouted from his van as he set off for work. He and Eva had discussed her plan to find Bella’s real owner and, unlike Karl, he’d thought the leaflets were a good idea.

  “Thanks, Dad!” Eva smiled and waved.

  She headed down Main Street, turning into Chestnut Crescent and pushing a leaflet through the letter box of each neat bungalow. Back on Main Street, she came to Swallow Court, and wasn’t surprised to see Miss Eliot standing at the door of her small bungalow. She waved at the old lady and went across.

  “Have you seen Tigger?” Miss Eliot asked.

  Tigger was Miss Eliot’s beloved tabby cat. Eva shook her head.

  “I’m worried about the traffic. Tigger isn’t used to it.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a lookout. Would you like one of these?” Eva showed the old lady her leaflet.

  Miss Eliot nodded. “I hope you succeed in finding the owner. She’s such a sweet little rabbit, isn’t she? Someone somewhere must be heartbroken about losing her.”

  “That’s exactly what I think!” Eva agreed.

  “And how is your mother? And the rescue centre?”

  “Cool, actually. The Council says we can stay open, which is a great big weight off our shoulders. But it means Mum is mega busy. Besides, she’s worried about owing people money. But that doesn’t stop you popping in to see us any time you want, by the way,” Eva gabbled. She liked Miss Eliot, but she was eager to get on her way.

  “I must bring Tigger in soon for her flu jab,” the old lady said, relieved when she spotted the little tabby strolling across the lawn in the centre of the courtyard. “Here, Tigger!” she called and clapped her hands.

  Seizing her chance, Eva hurried on. Soon she’d made it to the edge of the village, so she crossed the road, turned into a side street and delivered her leaflets to the big houses on Earlswood Avenue.

  “Hey, Eva!” Karl’s friend, George Stevens, was in his driveway, dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, his dark hair tousled as if he’d just crawled out of bed. “What have you got there?”

  “Leaflets.” Eva blushed and tried to squeeze past. Somehow George always made her feel about five years old. He acted like he was a grown-up, looking down at a snotty-nosed kid.

  “Show!” George stretched out his hand and snatched a leaflet. “Hmm, cute. Is this the rabbit Karl told me about – the one that ran off and hid in the fridge?”

  Eva nodded, her cheeks flushing deeper than ever.

  “As it happens, we’ve got a spare rabbit cage and a run in our back garden,” George went on. “I kept rabbits when I was younger, but I haven’t had one for a while. I like the look of Bella though.”

  “Right,” Eva muttered. “But actually, Bella’s different. We’re not trying to find a new home for her right now.”

  “Are you sure? Karl said he’d put her on the website.”

  Eva swallowed hard. “Yeah, but look at the leaflet. It says that we’re searching for Bella’s proper owner.”

  “That’s not what Karl told me.” George frowned. “I bet if I went down to Animal Magic right now and offered five-star rabbit accommodation in a big cage with a long run out the back your mum would snap my hand off!”

  “I don’t think so.” Eva shook her head. “That’s not the plan for Bella.”

  But the more she argued, and the longer George looked at Bella’s cute photo, the less he seemed to be listening.

  “In fact, I think I’ll cycle down there right now,” George decided, disappearing inside the garage to fetch his bike.

  “No – wait!” Eva said feebly. She had to step quickly out of George’s way as he set off down the drive. “I promised Grace Nicholls … we need to find out who Bella really belongs to… Don’t, George. Please listen to me!”

  But he was gone, and Eva was left with a bunch of leaflets and a sinking feeling that Bella’s future had suddenly slipped out of her hands.

  “What’s got into you? You should be pleased!” Karl stood behind the desk in Reception, ready for a face-off with Eva.

  George had beaten her back to Animal Magic and had already put in his offer to give Bella a new home. He appealed to Heidi, who was studying spreadsheets on the computer. “We’ve got the hutch and everything. You can come and see it if you want.”

  “But, Mum, can’t we wait a few days?” Eva pleaded. She was wishing desperately that she’d found time to talk to her mum about her plan. “Does Bella have to be rehomed right away?”

  Karl stepped in on his friend’s side. “Course she does! Mum, don’t listen to Eva. Bella would love it at George’s place. And he’s had pet rabbits before, remember!”

  “I promised Grace I’d find Bella’s real owner!” Eva told her mum. “Dad knows about it. And Bella’s really shy and scared. She needs someone special.”

  “Hey, watch it,” Karl muttered. “Are you saying George isn’t special?”

  “No. I didn’t mean that.” Eva grew flustered. “It’s just too soon. Bella needs to stay here for a while.”r />
  “Make your mind up,” Karl snapped. “One minute you want to send her back to an owner who let her run off in the first place and couldn’t care less about her anyway. The next minute, you want to keep her here!”

  Sighing, Heidi broke off from her work. “Karl – Eva, stop arguing. It’s giving me a headache.”

  Karl clamped his mouth shut and frowned at Eva. She took a deep breath and glared back.

  “That’s better.” Heidi came to the counter to talk to George. “It’s good of you to offer Bella a home,” she began.

  Yesss! Karl stared triumphantly at his sister.

  “But have you checked it out with your mum and dad?”

  Course he hasn’t! Eva gritted her teeth and carried on glaring. He got on his bike and dashed straight down here!

  “Mum won’t mind,” George answered steadily.

  “But you haven’t actually asked her yet?”

  “No.”

  See! Eva outstared her brother.

  Karl dropped his gaze and shuffled some papers on the counter.

  “What I suggest is this,” Heidi decided, turning to Eva and trying to soften the blow. “We have to be sensible about it. I think George should go home and talk to his parents about offering Bella a home. If they say yes, we should go ahead because we know George and we can be sure that he’ll take good care of Bella.”

  So who’s in the right now? Karl flashed Eva a final look of triumph.

  Eva’s heart thudded. Her shoulders sagged.

  “But!” Heidi held up a warning finger. “In the meantime, Eva, I suggest you carry on with your search.”

  Eva took a sharp breath then nodded.

  “Let’s give you twenty-four hours to find Bella’s first owner. If by then you haven’t succeeded, and if George’s parents agree, we’ll rehome her at Earlswood Avenue – end of story!”