Petal beamed from one long, floppy ear to the other. “You’re in luck!” She beckoned them through to the dining room and piled two plates high with food for Ruby and Twinkle while Star poured them two chestnut cups of Five-Flower Fizz drink. Then the six friends settled down on the soft velveteen sofa, and Ruby and Twinkle began their story.
“I was so angry at Twinkle, I thought we’d never make up,” Ruby said. “And when Sky and Star fixed it so that we’d be on the Clover Train together by ourselves, we just started arguing again.”
Twinkle swallowed a mouthful of kale cupcake and added, “And we sat at opposite ends of the train as we rode round and round Bright Burrow.” As Twinkle spoke, Ruby munched on some parsnip pretzels. “Your gran tried to persuade us to make up, Star, but we wouldn’t even speak to each other.”
Twinkle took a slurp of his Five-Flower Fizz drink, and Ruby picked up the story. “Edna even started spinning the train in small circles, trying to make us dizzy. But that didn’t work!”
“So what did?” asked Sky, sitting forward and putting her fluffy paws on her lap.
“The Clover Train took us over Warren Street,” Twinkle squeaked. “I don’t know whether Edna did it on purpose or whether it was luck, but the train was really low, so we could see everyone clearly.”
Ruby chewed her lip. “And we saw you, Petal, at your door when Star and Sky arrived. You looked so sad.”
“It made me cry!” Twinkle squeaked.
“Me too,” Ruby added. “And it made our argument seem so totally stupid.”
“I’m sorry!” Petal said, feeling dreadful. Ruby never cried!
“No, we’re sorry!” Twinkle and Ruby said at the same time. They hopped up and wrapped their arms around Petal. Sky, Star, and Diamond leaped from the sofa and joined in the group hug.
“Can you forgive us?” Twinkle squeaked from the middle of the bunny hug.
Petal answered by bursting into tears.
“Please don’t cry!” Ruby said.
Petal shook her head as more tears sprang to her eyes, and she used an ear to wipe them away. “I’m not crying because I’m sad, but because I’m so very happy. Of course I can forgive you.”
“Oh, thank you!” squealed Twinkle. Still in the hug, he began jumping up and down, so that the whole group was soon springing about together.
When the hopping finally stopped, Star stepped away from the hug and clapped her golden paws. “So now we can really start the party!”
“Wait a moment, please,” Petal said. “I’d like to say something first.”
The five bunnies spun on the spot to face Petal. What was she going to say?
“Thank you, Star and Sky, for all you did to fix things. Thank you, Diamond, for the cake. And thank you, Twinkle and Ruby, for making up. I was worried our friendship was ruined. But now I know we’ll be friends forever. I feel so lucky!” Petal flapped her ears up high with happiness. “And NOW we can start the party!” she declared. She held up a piece of barknote—it was the list Ruby had helped Petal to write.
Activities for my burrow party
Apple bobbing
Six-legged race
Balloon pop
Musical rabbits
Pin the tail on the bunny
The lucky daisy game
Pass the parsnip
Karaoke
Twinkle squeaked with worry when he saw karaoke on the list. “We don’t have to do karaoke,” he said quickly. “It’s Petal’s party—she should choose!”
Ruby flicked her curly whiskers to agree with Twinkle. “We shouldn’t have been arguing about what to do in the first place,” she said. “It’s your party, Petal!”
“Can we do them all?” Petal asked. “I know there’s a lot on the list, but I really don’t want to miss out on anything!”
And so the friends did every single thing. Star won the apple bobbing, and Diamond and Sky were joint winners of the six-legged race. No one really won the balloon pop—although all the balloons got burst! With her excellent hearing, Petal won musical rabbits, and Ruby won pin the tail on the bunny. They each ate so many lucky daisies during the daisy game that no one could work out who won, but Twinkle was the clear winner of pass the parsnip and ended up with a gigantic pile of the vegetables!
They followed the list exactly, ending with karaoke, where they sang and made up funny dances. None of the bunnies could actually sing very well, but no one cared—except perhaps Petal’s parents, who were in the room next door and had to stick acorns in their ears.
The six friends were back together, and they felt like the luckiest bunnies in Bright Burrow.
You’re in luck!
Read on for a sneak peek at what the hoppiest, floppiest, pluckiest, luckiest bunnies around are getting up to next!
Diamond sat down on the soft warm sand of Paradise Beach, as close as she could get to Mirror Lake without getting her fur wet. She leaned forward to stare into the water. Diamond’s reflection floated back at her, her pink eyes blinking, her white glossy head resting in her little paws.
“Hey, Diamond!” someone called from behind her, making Diamond jump. She turned to see Sky and Star walking toward her. Well, Star was walking, with her golden tail swooshing from side to side. But Sky was cartwheeling, flinging up sand with her fluffy blue paws as she spun around and around.
Diamond smiled at her friends, or at least she tried to, but the corners of her mouth wouldn’t stop creeping back down again.
“What are you doing?” Star asked, stopping next to Diamond and looking around at the white-yellow sand. “Are you digging for surprises?”
Paradise Beach was known for magical surprises that were sometimes buried under the sand. Not long ago, Diamond had found a beautiful glow shell that lit up like magic. She kept it on her bedside table at home.
Diamond shook her head but didn’t explain what she was doing.
“Ooh, I know!” Sky chirruped, clapping her paws together. “You’re going for a swim, right?”
“Don’t be silly, Sky,” Star said before Diamond could reply. “It’s far too cold for that.”
Diamond nodded. She wasn’t so keen on swimming even when it was really warm and sunny. She seemed to splash so much more than her friends did, and worried that it might annoy other bunnies nearby.
“So what are you doing then?” Sky kept on, a frown forming across her fluffy blue head. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine,” Diamond said. “I was just …” She flapped a paw at the lake.
Sky flipped into the air and landed with her back paws in the water. “I’ve got it! You were trying to read your future! Ooh, I love doing that.” Sky peered over the water so far that her little blue nose got wet. “I think I see something … Oh, nope, that’s just you, Star.”
Star was behind Sky, pulling her back. “Mirror Lake can’t really show our futures, you know.”
Sky spun around, splashing water everywhere. “Sure it can!” she squeaked. “Last week I saw the biggest, tastiest dandelion cake in the reflection, and the next morning my dad had made one. I didn’t even ask for it or anything!”
“Well, I can’t see anything anyway,” Diamond said quietly.
Star frowned. “What were you hoping to see?” she asked, putting a golden paw to her chin.
Diamond sighed and explained, “I thought the lake might show me what my mom and dad are getting me for my birthday tomorrow.”
Sky stared into the water again. “Are you sure you can’t see anything at all?” she asked.
Diamond shrugged and looked down again, too. “Not really, just my own reflection … I look a bit small though, as if it’s showing me in the past, not the future! Definitely no desk for my bedroom. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about for my birthday. I’ve mentioned it to my mom and dad burrows of times!”
Star put a paw out and squeezed Diamond’s shoulder. “Just because you can’t see it here doesn’t mean you won’t get it,” Star said. “If you’ve asked your parents for a de
sk, I’m sure they’ll get it for you.”
“Maybe,” Diamond said, but she didn’t sound very sure.
“So what’s the plan for your party tomorrow?” chirped Sky, trying to take Diamond’s mind off her birthday present. “It’s at Strawberry Fields, right?”
“That’s what it said on the invitation, Sky,” Star said, remembering the pretty barknote invitations Diamond had given out last week. “It starts at twelve o’clock.” Strawberry Fields was an open-air cinema in Bright Burrow, and all the bunnies loved seeing movies there.
“But what film are we watching?” Sky asked, her navy blue eyes wide.
“That’s a surprise,” said Diamond. “I hope you’ll like it.”
Sky spun on the spot so she became just a ball of blue fluff. “Ooh, I love surprises!”
“Sky, I think we’d better go,” said Star, giving Sky a look. They’d been on their way to get birthday presents for Diamond, and didn’t have much time left before the shops closed. Star wanted to find something perfect for Diamond, but she’d end up with nothing if they carried on chatting like this.
“Sure thing,” Sky said. “Or should I say, shore thing,” Sky added, looking down at the shore of the lake.
Star groaned at Sky’s joke, but Diamond gave her a little smile.
“See you tomorrow at twelve, Diamond,” Star said.
Sky leaped into the air and kicked her legs together. “Bye, Diamond!”
The two bunnies waved and then began sprinting away across the beach.
“See you,” Diamond replied, watching her friends disappear into the distance until they were just little gold and blue dots. Diamond looked into Mirror Lake again. There really was nothing there apart from her own face glistening back at her, but it didn’t look quite right somehow …
Catherine Coe is the author of over thirty books for children, including the chapter book series The Owls of Blossom Wood and its companion series, The Unicorns of Blossom Wood. Originally from England, she now resides with her husband in Stockholm, Sweden.
Hop into
every adventure!
#1 Sky’s Surprise
#2 Petal’s Party
Text copyright © 2020 by Catherine Coe
Illustrations by Chie Boyd, copyright © 2020 by Scholastic Inc.
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First printing 2020
Cover art by Chie Boyd, © 2020 Scholastic Inc.
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e-ISBN 978-1-338-59250-4
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