For Isla
H. P.

For my mum x
E. S.

Chapter One

Not a Safe Place

“Fetch!” called Jasmine to her sheepdog, Sky.

The frisbee flew across the village green towards the pond. Sky bounded after it, his feathery tail wagging. He leapt into the air, caught the frisbee in his mouth and raced back to Jasmine, dropping it at her feet.

“Good dog,” said Jasmine, ruffling his thick, soft coat. She picked up her sweatshirt from the grass and pulled it over her head. It was the first week of the Easter holidays, and the days were warm and sunny, but the evenings were still chilly.

She threw the frisbee again and Sky hurtled after it. He would never tire of this game.

“Jasmine!” shouted her older sister, as Sky shot across the rug she was sitting on, scattering books and paper in all directions.

“Oops, sorry, Ella,” called Jasmine. “I’ll throw it the other way.”

Ella didn’t reply. She was too busy stacking her books back in a tidy pile and gathering up the notes that Sky had littered across the rug.

Sky dropped the frisbee at Jasmine’s feet. Jasmine threw it in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, it travelled further than she had intended. She clapped her hand to her mouth in dismay as Sky raced on to the football pitch, where her little brother Manu was training with his team. Sky jumped up to catch the frisbee, almost colliding with a boy who was chasing the ball.

Manu laughed in delight. “That’s my sister’s dog!” he shouted, as Sky wove in and out of the players and returned to Jasmine.

“Sorry, Sky,” Jasmine said, as she stroked his handsome head. “There’s just not enough room in this park for a dog like you.”

Jasmine and Sky usually played in the fields of their home, Oak Tree Farm, a mile away on the edge of the village. But Jasmine’s parents had gone for a rare night out this evening, leaving Ella in charge of her younger siblings. Mum and Dad had dropped them all at the village green on their way to the restaurant, leaving them to walk home once Manu had finished his football training.

Jasmine threw the frisbee again, aiming for a clear patch of grass. Sky raced after it, but it landed on top of a bush near the main village street. Sky leapt up but he couldn’t reach it. Jasmine ran over to the bushes.

“Sorry, Sky,” she said, as she squeezed through the branches to retrieve the frisbee.

As she wriggled out of the bushes, she noticed a movement on the other side of the lane. Her eyes widened in amazement.

At the edge of the road, a little rabbit sat up on its hind legs, twitching its nose and looking around with bright dark eyes. It wasn’t a wild rabbit. It had light-brown fur and the distinctive white markings of a Dutch rabbit: a white blaze down the middle of its face, white paws and a wide white band around its middle. It had to be somebody’s pet. And it looked very young.

“Oh, my goodness,” said Jasmine. “Where have you come from, little bunny? That’s not a safe place for you.”

Sky trotted up to her and she quickly clipped his lead to his collar and tied it to the railings at the edge of the green.

“Stay there, Sky,” she said. “I need to catch the rabbit before it gets run over.”

The rabbit dropped on to all fours and started nibbling the grass on the verge. Jasmine looked both ways before crossing the road a few metres away from it.

She had caught animals before, and she knew that the best way was to drop a cloth over the animal and then scoop it up. She took off her coat, taking care not to make any noise, and tiptoed towards the little bunny.

Just as she was about to drop her coat over it, she heard a car coming round the corner. The rabbit bolted into the road. Without thinking, Jasmine dashed after it, lunging to catch it.

The car swept around the corner. Jasmine saw its shiny black front and heard its horn blare as the driver swerved wildly to avoid her. She scrambled back to the verge and stood frozen on the grass, her heart pounding painfully, as the car drove out of sight. Then, her stomach churning, she looked up and down the lane, dreading what she might see.

There was nothing. The rabbit had completely disappeared.

Jasmine tried to take a deep breath, but it came out all juddery, and she realised she was shaking. She crossed back to the green, sank down beside Sky and gave him a big hug. He licked her cheek and his warm, comforting presence calmed her a little.

“What a mess, Sky,” she said. “Where can the poor rabbit have gone? I need to find it before anything else happens.”

She untied his lead and they walked back towards Ella, who was sitting near the pond. As boys streamed off the football pitch at the end of training, Manu ran towards Jasmine.

“Guess what!” he called. “I just saw a rabbit! Not a wild rabbit, a pet one.”

A surge of hope sprang up in Jasmine. “When? Where?”

“Just now, in the hedge by the football pitch. Come and look.” He started pulling her towards the pitch.

“Did it have a white blaze down its face and a white band around its middle?” Jasmine asked.

“Yes! Did you see it too?”

“Yes, by the road. I’m so glad it’s OK.”

“Oh,” said Manu, staring into the hedge. “It’s gone. It was right there. A cute little black-and-white bunny.”

Jasmine frowned. “You mean brown and white. Light brown.”

“No, black and white.”

Jasmine stared at him, trying to puzzle this out. Maybe the rabbit’s colour had looked darker in the hedge. Or maybe Manu just wasn’t very observant.

“Anyway,” she said, “it’s not here now. Let’s look along the hedge.”

They walked slowly towards the pond, scanning the hedgerow as they went, but there was no sign of a rabbit. As they got to the pond, though, Jasmine saw a flash of white in the bushes on the far side.

“Look,” she whispered.

The white flash moved and, to Jasmine’s astonishment, a black-and-white rabbit emerged cautiously on to the grass.

“See!” said Manu. “I told you. Black and white.”

Jasmine turned to her brother, her eyes wide. “That’s amazing! There are two of them!”

Chapter Two

Operation Rabbit Rescue

“Let’s catch it!” said Manu, but Jasmine grabbed him as he ran towards the rabbit. The bunny dropped on to all fours and scampered back under a bush.

“You can’t just grab it,” Jasmine said. “You’ll need your hoody to drop over it. And we’ll need a pet carrier. I’ll call Tom. Stay and watch the rabbit, and look out for the other one. Don’t move an inch, OK?”

She tied Sky’s lead securely to a tree. “I know you wouldn’t hurt the rabbits,” she said, “but you might try to play with them, and that really wouldn’t help right now.”

She kissed his head and then walked over to the rug. “Ella, can I borrow your phone? I need to call Tom.”

Tom was Jasmine’s best friend. He had a pet carrier for his guinea pigs and his cat, and Jasmine knew he would want to come straight to the green and help to catch the rabbits. But the call went to voicemail, and Jasmine remembered he had gone to his aunty’s for tea. She left a message and handed the phone back to Ella.

“We’ve seen two pet rabbits on the loose,” she said. “Can you help us catch them?”

Ella sighed. “Honestly, you can’t even go to the village green without finding an animal emergency.”

Jasmine and Tom planned to run a rescue centre when they grew up, and they had already rescued many animals. They had rehomed some, and returned others to the wild, but Jasmine had been allowed to keep Truffle the pig, Dotty the deer and Mistletoe the donkey, who now lived together in the orchard at Oak Tree Farm. Button the duck lived in the farmyard with the chickens, and Lucky the ram lived with the other sheep. Sky slept in the house, and Jasmine also had two cats, Toffee and Marmite. They roamed wherever they pleased, but they loved to sleep curled up together on Jasmine’s bed.

“It’s hardly my fault I’m good at noticing things,” said Jasmine. “What do you want me to do? Leave the poor bunnies to be run over, or gobbled up by predators?”

Ella sighed again, but she marked her page with a bookmark and got to her feet. Manu turned as they approached, a huge grin on his face.

“Look!” he said, pointing to the weeping willow tree beside the pond. The fawn-and-white bunny was sitting beside it, nibbling at a patch of clover.

“Oh, she’s back!” said Jasmine. “What a relief!”

“Maybe there’s loads of them,” said Manu. “Maybe a whole litter escaped.”

Jasmine gazed at the rabbits. They looked so sweet and cuddly, with their velvet noses and soft fluffy paws. She longed to hold and stroke them.

“We need a plan,” she said. “We have to catch them and keep them safe until we find their owner.”

“I know,” said Manu. “I’ll lay a trail of banana pieces on the ground, and they’ll follow them.” He rummaged in his rucksack and pulled out a squished and speckled banana that had probably been lying at the bottom of his bag for several days.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Jasmine. “Rabbits don’t eat bananas. We’ll never catch them if you don’t take it seriously.”

She looked at Ella, who was staring at her phone screen. Why were both her siblings so useless?

“Ella, get off your phone! You said you’d help.”

“I’m reading tips for catching escaped rabbits,” said Ella, showing Jasmine the website.

“Oh, sorry,” said Jasmine. “What does it say?”

“It says bananas are the best food to tempt them with, because of their strong smell.”

“See!” said Manu. “I’m so clever!”

“Well done,” said Jasmine begrudgingly. How annoying that he had been right. She was the one who knew about animals, not Manu!

“What else does it say?” she asked Ella.

“It says strong-smelling herbs like parsley and mint are good too. And it also says if you have a few people to help, you can make a kind of enclosure around the rabbit by holding towels out sideways. Apparently the rabbit will think they’re fences.”

“We could use coats and jumpers,” said Manu. “And the rug. That will make a nice big fence.”

“Right,” said Jasmine. “Operation Rabbit Rescue. We’ll put banana pieces on the ground, and when one of the rabbits comes to eat them, we’ll creep up and surround them. But no one except me is allowed to do the actual catching, OK?”

“Bossy boots,” said Manu. “Why not me?”

Jasmine gave him a look. Manu was not known for his animal-handling skills.

“We should give them names,” she said, as Manu laid banana pieces on the ground. “So we know which one we’re talking about when we’re trying to catch them.”

She gazed at the rabbits, who were now hopping about by the pond, grazing happily. “Let’s name them after the plants they’re eating,” she said. “So this one is Clover. I think she’s a girl.” She pointed to the fawn-and-white rabbit. “And this,” she said, indicating the black-and-white bunny, who was eating a dandelion flower, “is Dandelion. I think he’s a boy.”

“Sweet names,” said Ella approvingly.

They sat on the rug to watch the rabbits. “Come on, bunnies,” Jasmine whispered. “Come and eat the lovely banana.”

Clover hopped out from under the willow tree. She raised her head and sniffed the air. Then she got up on her hind legs, turned her head and sniffed some more. Jasmine held her breath as the little bunny dropped on to all fours and cautiously came closer. She stopped and sniffed. Then she hopped right up to a piece of banana and started to nibble at it, taking quick, eager bites around the edges.

“Now,” Jasmine whispered. “Manu, go round that side. Ella, creep behind her.”

They crept into position, holding the jumper, the coat and the rug stretched out in front of them like fence panels. But as they tiptoed closer, Clover stiffened. Her ears moved forwards and back. Then she froze, her ears fully forward.

They inched towards her, and she squealed and leapt away. Manu rushed to grab her, but he tripped on Ella’s pile of books and went flying, head first, straight into the pond.

SPLASH!!

Jasmine stared in horror as her brother disappeared below the surface.

“My books!” wailed Ella, rushing to grab two sinking volumes. “They’re ruined!”

Jasmine pulled off her shoes, but just as she was about to jump in, Manu’s head and arms appeared above the water. His hair was covered in pond weed, like a wet green wig. He spat and spluttered, spitting out a mouthful of muddy water.

“Manu!” cried Jasmine. “Can you get out?”

His arms flailed around and he disappeared below the surface.

“Ella, stop fussing over your books and help!” yelled Jasmine.

Manu’s head appeared again, and he coughed up another mouthful of pond water.

“It’s so squidgy, my feet keep sinking,” he spluttered, as he tried to doggy-paddle his way to the shore.

Ella put down her books at a safe distance from the water and came to the edge of the pond. They each held out a hand and Manu grabbed on to them and heaved himself on to the grass. Water poured from his shorts as he struggled upright, shivering with cold.

“You ruined my books,” said Ella. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“That water’s freezing,” said Manu, through his chattering teeth.

“Take your clothes off and put your hoody on,” said Ella, picking it up off the grass.

“He can’t wear that,” said Jasmine. “We need it to catch the rabbits.”

“Where are the rabbits?” asked Manu.

Jasmine looked around frantically in every direction. Dandelion and Clover had completely disappeared.

Chapter Three

Mortal Danger

Jasmine spun round to face her dripping brother.

“This is all your fault! You scared them away with all that splashing.”

“How is it my fault?” said Manu. “I was trying to catch him.”

“I told you only I was allowed to catch them! And this is exactly why.”

“Calm down, Jasmine,” said Ella.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! What if the rabbits never come back? What if they get hit by a car, or a fox gets them?”

“I’m sure they’ll come back,” said Ella. “We’ll just have to wait. Manu, take your wet clothes off and put my hoody on; it will cover you better.” And she returned to her books.

Jasmine blew out her cheeks in exasperation. If only Tom or her parents were here. Neither of her siblings had a clue how to handle animals.

“Maybe they’ve gone back to their home,” said Manu.

Perhaps they had, Jasmine thought. But since she didn’t know who they belonged to, she would never know. If they didn’t come back to the green, she would always worry about what had happened to them.

“I’m starving,” said Manu, looking longingly at the nibbled piece of banana on the grass. He was now wearing only Ella’s hoody, which luckily reached almost to his knees.

“Don’t eat the banana,” said Jasmine. “We need it for the rabbits.”

“I’m not going to,” he said indignantly. “I was only saying—”

Jasmine grabbed his arm. “Look!”

She pointed to the garden on the far side of the railings behind the pond. A little fawn-and-white rabbit was lolloping across the lawn.

“Clover!” said Manu. “See, she’s fine.”

“No thanks to you,” said Jasmine.

“I wonder if Dandelion’s there too,” said Manu. He started to walk towards the railings, but Jasmine pulled him back.

“You’ll scare them away again,” she said. “Stay here.”

The garden that Clover was exploring belonged to Holly Tree House, the retirement home where Jasmine’s friend Mr Hobson lived. Mr Hobson was a retired farmer, and Jasmine had adopted his donkey, Mistletoe, when he moved into Holly Tree House.

Clover lolloped towards the railings.

“Come on, Clover,” whispered Jasmine. “There’s more to eat on this side.”

To her delight, Clover hopped through the bars and wandered down to the water’s edge. She sat among the primroses, her ears swivelling, alert to every sound. A duck flapped its wings and Clover skittered up the bank and hid under a bush. Jasmine could just see a glimpse of white fur.

“I don’t think she’s ever going to let us catch her,” she murmured despairingly.

But a few minutes later, Clover peeped out from the leaves, velvet nose twitching, and wandered hippity-hoppity along the side of the pond. She stopped in front of the banana and started to nibble at it. Her nibbling grew quicker and her ears moved flat down her back.

Jasmine nudged Ella, who was separating the wet pages of her books and wafting them around to dry in the breeze. “Let’s catch her,” she whispered.

Ella reluctantly got to her feet and picked up the rug.

Suddenly there came a piercing volley of yapping, and a small, fluffy black dog raced towards them like a furry tornado.

Clover gave a high-pitched squeal and bolted into the undergrowth. Jasmine stared in horror as the dog hurtled towards her.

“No!” she cried, throwing herself into the dog’s path. The duck quacked in distress and the dog jumped into the pond after it.

“Sooty!” called a man strolling casually towards the pond, as the duck flapped up into the willow tree. “Sooty, come back!”

“You need to keep your dog under control,” Jasmine told him, shaking with anger. “We’re trying to catch a rabbit, and now it’s escaped again.”

The man gave her an unpleasant look but said nothing. The dog scrambled out of the pond and shook itself all over its owner. He clipped its lead on and walked away without a backward glance.

“I don’t believe it!” exclaimed Jasmine in despair. “We were so close. Poor little Clover. She’ll never come back now. And neither will Dandelion.”

“Well, we can wait for a bit,” said Ella, going back to her books. “But we need to walk home before it gets dark.”

“I’m not going home until we’ve found the rabbits,” said Jasmine. “They’re in mortal danger. Manu, watch the pond and let me know if they come back. Don’t try to catch them without me. I’m going to search.”

Crouching in front of the bushes where Clover had fled, she pushed the leaves aside and peered in. Two sparrows flew out, but the rabbit wasn’t there.

She stood up, and saw a sight that turned her cold with fear.

A big fox strode out on to the grass from a clump of bushes just ahead of her. It stopped and looked straight at Jasmine, and its cool, confident gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

“Don’t you dare,” she said. “Don’t even think about it.”

The fox held her gaze for another few seconds, then trotted off across the green. Jasmine shuddered. The shadows were lengthening. She had to find the rabbits before darkness fell.

Perhaps they had gone back to Holly Tree House. She walked to the railings and peered through. Two wild rabbits were grazing the lawn.

A grumpy-looking man carrying a shopping bag came along the path towards her. Ugh. It was Mr Morrison, their school caretaker. Famously bad-tempered, he was the last person she wanted to see. Still, Jasmine thought, he lived around here, so he might have spotted the rabbits.

“Excuse me, Mr Morrison,” she said. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen two escaped pet rabbits? One’s black and white and one’s fawn and white.”

Mr Morrison gave a nasty laugh. “You’d be lucky,” he said, with some satisfaction. “Pet rabbits wouldn’t stand a chance out here. Fox will have got them by now, sure as anything.”

Jasmine wished she hadn’t asked him. Why had she ever thought he might be helpful?

“Well, thanks anyway,” she said.

“Or a badger will have had them,” he continued happily.

“I don’t think there are—” Jasmine began.

“Or a dog,” he said. “Or a cat. Something will have got them. You’re wasting your time.”

He carried on along the path, noticeably cheerier than before. Jasmine made a face at his receding back as she walked towards the lane, feeling sick with dread. What if they had run into the road?

“Jasmine!”

She looked up and saw her best friend walking towards her, holding his pet carrier.

“Tom!”

At last, somebody with some sense! Now they finally stood a chance of catching the rabbits.

As Tom approached, Jasmine heard running footsteps behind her. She whirled round.

Manu was racing across the green, chasing Dandelion, who was zigzagging across the grass in leaps and bounds. To Jasmine’s horror, Manu was herding the rabbit directly towards the road.

“Stop!” she cried, lunging desperately at Dandelion. “Manu, stop!”

But Dandelion raced out into the lane.

Frozen in horror, Jasmine saw car headlights appear around the corner. The vehicle swerved to avoid the rabbit and headed instead directly into Tom’s path.

She saw Tom, with a look of terror, drop the pet carrier and jump out of the way.

And, as the car headed on down the lane, she saw Dandelion race away from it and take a giant leap, right into the arms of a startled Tom.

Chapter Four

Poor Little Thing

Jasmine stared in shock at Tom, his arms wrapped tightly around the little rabbit. He looked stunned.

Manu laughed in delight. “We caught him!”

Jasmine rounded on her brother in fury. “You nearly got him killed!”

“But he’s OK. And we caught him!”

“His heart’s beating so fast,” said Tom, moving away from the road. “He must have been terrified.”

Jasmine stroked Dandelion’s head. “Poor little thing,” she murmured. “I can’t believe he jumped into your arms like that.”

She turned back to Manu. “Rabbits can die of shock, you know. You’re lucky he’s still alive. What on earth were you thinking? I told you not to do anything without me.”

“Anyway,” said Tom hastily. “He’s safe now. Let’s put him in the carrier to rest.”

Jasmine retrieved the carrier from where Tom had dropped it. She took out a pile of folded towels, seeing with approval that Tom had lined the bottom of the carrier with hay. Tom carefully placed the little rabbit inside and closed the door.

“What about the other one?” Tom asked.

As they walked to the pond, Jasmine told him the rabbits’ names and filled him in on their attempts to catch them.

“And after Jasmine went off to search,” said Manu, “Dandelion came out of the bushes and just sat on the grass. He looked like he’d be easy to catch, so I thought I’d surprise you.”

“Well, you certainly did that,” said Tom.

Ella was very surprised to see them return with Tom and Dandelion, and even more surprised when she heard the full story of how they caught Dandelion.

“Thank goodness you’re OK,” she said to Tom. She stood up and started packing her books in her bag. “We need to go home. It’s almost dark.”

“Well, I’m not coming until I’ve found Clover,” said Jasmine.

“I don’t think we’ll find her in the dark,” said Tom.

Jasmine stared at him in outrage. Was he taking sides with Ella?

“Because rabbits are crepuscular,” Tom explained.

“They’re what?” Jasmine said.

“Crepuscular. It means they’re most active at dawn and dusk. I found that out when I was reading about how to catch them. It said that once it gets dark, they’ll hide away somewhere until morning.”

“Exactly,” said Ella, as though she’d known this all along. “And she might even have gone back to her home anyway.”

“But … the fox…” said Jasmine. She couldn’t bear to think what dangers Clover might face tonight.

“A fox won’t be able to get her if she’s gone into a burrow,” said Ella.

That didn’t reassure Jasmine. Were wild rabbits friendly to domestic rabbits? What if they bullied Clover and hurt her?

“We can come back at dawn,” Tom said. “That’s when she’s likely to come out to eat. And we need to give Dandelion water, and settle him down for the night.”

Jasmine looked at the sweet little bunny sitting hunched in the carrier. He looked tense and nervous. It would be good to take him home and calm his nerves. She could feed him some tasty carrot pieces. And he would definitely need water after all his adventures.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s take Dandelion home. We’ll come back first thing in the morning and find Clover.”

Chapter Five

A Quick Learner

Back at Oak Tree Farm, Jasmine made sure the kitchen doors were closed and the cats weren’t around, and then she set the carrier on the floor and lifted the little rabbit out. Nestled in the crook of her arm, Dandelion looked around the kitchen. Jasmine kissed the top of his head.

“Welcome to Oak Tree Farm, little bunny,” she said.

Tom phoned his mum, who was happy for him to stay the night at the farm. Then he fetched a dish of water, and Jasmine lowered Dandelion gently to the floor in front of it. The little bunny placed his fluffy front paws on the edge of the dish and lapped at the water, one ear swivelling, listening to Tom and Jasmine’s conversation.

“Oh, look, he’s so cute!” murmured Jasmine.

Dandelion raised his head and looked at her, bright-eyed and enquiring.

“Yes, we are talking about you,” she said. “Won’t Mum and Dad be surprised when they get home?”

“When will they be back?” Tom asked.

“Oh, not for hours,” said Jasmine airily. “They hardly ever go out, so I bet they’ll be really late.”

“I wonder who Dandelion and Clover belong to,” said Tom. “They can’t have had a very good hutch, if they both escaped.”

“No,” said Jasmine, with a lurch in her stomach as she thought of Clover all alone on the dark village green.

Then she gasped as a new thought struck her. “What if someone released them on purpose? Maybe the owner was moving to a place where pets weren’t allowed or something. Or they couldn’t afford to feed them any more.”

“Then they should have taken them to a rescue centre,” said Tom. “Not just abandoned them.”

“Of course they should. But some people are very irresponsible.”

They were silent for a minute. Then Jasmine said, “If they have been abandoned, maybe I’ll be allowed to keep them.”

Tom laughed. “No, you won’t. You know what your mum will say.”

Jasmine imitated Nadia’s voice. “You’ve got quite enough animals already, Jasmine.”

“To be fair,” said Tom, “you have got quite a few.”

“I don’t have any rabbits. And if Dandelion and Clover were abandoned by their cruel owner, it would be mean not to give them a new home.”

“I’ll make a poster,” said Tom. “We can print out lots and put them up around the village tomorrow.”

Dandelion finished drinking and hopped a few steps away from the water bowl. He sat with a tensed, crouched body, his ears flattened against his back. Jasmine and Tom sat on the rug a little way away from him.

“Maybe food would help him relax,” said Tom.

“I’ll get some herbs,” said Jasmine. “That article Ella read said rabbits love parsley and mint.”

She picked the greenest sprigs of parsley and mint from her mum’s pots of herbs outside the back door. She laid a sprig of each a little way in front of the tensed-up bunny. “Here you are, Dandelion.”

The rabbit’s nose began to twitch, and he raised his ears.

Tom smiled. “I think he likes the smell.”

“He just needs time to relax and trust us,” said Jasmine. “Why don’t you make the poster while we’re waiting? You can use Mum’s laptop.”

Tom sat at the table and started typing. After a few minutes, he asked, “Does this look OK?”

Keeping an eye on Dandelion, Jasmine read the poster over his shoulder.

RABBITS, LOST
AND FOUND!!

HAVE YOU LOST
YOUR RABBITS?

HAVE YOU SEEN AN
ESCAPED PET RABBIT?

Two young Dutch rabbits were spotted on Thursday 9th April, by the pond on Westcombe Village Green. We are keeping one safe but the other is still missing.

If you have lost your rabbits, or if you have seen a Dutch rabbit around the village, please call the number below.

“I’ll put your mum’s number on them,” said Tom. “Do you think that’s OK?”

“Of course,” said Jasmine. “Are you going to put a picture on it too?”

“I’ll find a drawing of a rabbit to put on it, but not an actual photo of Dandelion. If we don’t put photos on the poster, we can ask whoever phones to describe the rabbits to us, and then we’ll know if they actually are the owner.”

“Oh, look,” Jasmine said, pointing at Dandelion.

The little bunny was inching his front feet towards the tasty herbs. His back feet stayed in the same place, so that he looked as though he was growing longer and longer. Jasmine and Tom watched, fascinated.

After a little while, Dandelion hopped back into a sitting position, looking and listening, his whiskers quivering. Then he took a couple of tentative steps towards the herbs. His nose twitched appreciatively and his ears faced forwards. He paused, his ears swivelling. He tiptoed up to the greens and sniffed the parsley. He took a little nibble, and then nibbled faster and faster until the whole sprig had disappeared into his mouth. He sniffed the mint, then gobbled that up too, the leaves disappearing so fast that they looked as though they were being sucked in by a vacuum cleaner. Then he sat and looked around, as if hoping for more treats.

“Let’s see if he’ll follow us for food,” said Tom.

They moved further away, and Tom laid another parsley sprig on the floor.

“Over here, Dandelion,” Jasmine called softly. “Food for you.”

Dandelion took a couple of tentative steps towards them.

“Good boy,” said Jasmine, as the bunny hopped to the parsley, sniffed it and started hoovering it up with incredible speed. “Well done!”

They moved to the other side of the room, and Jasmine laid a sprig of mint on the floor.

“Dandelion!” she called softly.

Dandelion sat up, twitching his nose. He swivelled his ears and looked in their direction. Then he hopped across the room, investigated the mint and started eating it.

“Wow, he’s a quick learner,” said Jasmine.

“Or he just loves food,” said Tom.

“Well, that’s just as good. We’ll be able to teach him loads of things if he loves food rewards. Let’s see if he’ll hop over a box.”

She set two cereal boxes end to end on the floor to make a low wall. Then she knelt on the other side of the boxes and held out some parsley.

“Dandelion!” she called. “Jump!”

Dandelion turned to look at her, his ears forward. Jasmine dangled the parsley in front of him and then drew it back.

“Jump!” she repeated encouragingly. And to her delight, Dandelion hopped lightly over the boxes.

“Well done!” said Jasmine, laying the parsley on the ground in front of him.

“He’s so clever,” said Tom. “Let me have a go.”

He knelt on the other side of the box, held out some mint leaves and called Dandelion’s name. The little bunny hopped straight back over the boxes.

“He’s really good,” said Jasmine. “If no one claims him and I get to keep him, I’ll train him to be a rabbit show-jumper. There’s all sorts of rabbit agility contests you can enter.”

A wonderful image came into her head, of Dandelion winning the National Rabbit Show- Jumping Championship. “He’s the best-trained rabbit we’ve ever seen,” the judges would say, as they presented her with an enormous silver trophy. “How did you do it?”

Tom called Dandelion again, but this time the bunny placed his front feet forwards, one at a time, lifted his head and gave a big yawn.

“Oh, he’s sleepy!” said Tom. “That’s so cute!”

“Let’s put him back in the carrier,” said Jasmine. “We can take it up to my room for the night. Then we can –”

She stopped, as she heard the rattle of the back door opening and the sound of high heels on the scullery floor. Her parents were back, hours earlier than she had expected.

The kitchen door opened and Mum walked in. Her sparkly dress, silver sandals and glamorous hairdo were so different from the clothes she wore in her job as a vet that Jasmine found it quite disorientating.

Nadia’s gaze fell on the rabbit in Jasmine’s arms, and her eyes widened.

From the scullery, Dad called, “I’m going out to check the calves.”

“OK, see you soon,” said Nadia, but her eyes didn’t leave the scene in front of her. Her gaze went from Jasmine, to Tom, then back to the rabbit.

“Oh, Jasmine,” she said. “Can I not leave the house for one evening without you bringing home another animal?”

Chapter Six

A Good Plan

“It’s not my fault!” said Jasmine. “We couldn’t just leave them there.”

“Them?” said Nadia, looking around the kitchen in alarm. “How many are there?”

“Only one more,” said Jasmine, her stomach lurching again as she thought of poor Clover. She told her mum the whole story.

“Goodness,” said Mum. “And there was I thinking I’d get home to find you working on your miniature garden.”

The village spring fair was taking place on the green on Saturday. Jasmine and Tom were entering the Miniature Garden on a Plate competition. They needed the prize money for their animal boarding business. They had saved all their Christmas and birthday money, and if they won the competition they would have enough to buy a lovely big hutch and run they had seen advertised. Jasmine hoped that the extra income this would bring in would help pay for the food for all of her rescued animals.

“I phoned the man who’s selling the hutch and run,” said Tom. “He said he’ll reserve it for us until Saturday, but after that he’s going to advertise it again.”

“We’ll have the money by Saturday,” Jasmine said confidently. “I’ve got loads of great ideas for our miniature garden.”

“It will be so good to have our own boarding hutch,” said Tom. “Then we can look after Jacob’s guinea pigs in half term. He can’t bring their hutch because it’s fixed to the ground.”

“Exactly,” said Jasmine. “We’ve already had to turn down Samira’s rabbits this holiday because we don’t have a hutch. And they would have paid loads. We’ll make so much money if we have an animal holiday home all set up in the garden.”

She stroked Dandelion’s silky fur. “We’ll make the miniature garden tomorrow,” she told Nadia. “After we’ve got Clover back and found the rabbits’ owner. Tom’s made a poster, and we’ll print lots out and go to the green with Dandelion first thing in the morning to put them up.”

“It said in the advice about finding lost rabbits,” Tom told Nadia, “that if they’re bonded with another rabbit, you should take it with you when you search. Their scent’s supposed to attract the other rabbit’s attention.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Nadia.

“Can you give Dandelion a health check?” Jasmine asked. “Just to make sure he doesn’t have any injuries or anything that needs treating.”

Nadia smiled ruefully. “I’d better put an apron on. I’m not really dressed for work.”

While she got ready, Tom laid out a clean towel on the scullery counter, and Jasmine sat Dandelion on it.

“You’re a lovely little rabbit, aren’t you?” said Nadia, stroking his back.

“How old do you think he is?” Tom asked.

“He looks very young. Dutch rabbits are fully grown at about six to seven months. I’d guess this one’s about three months old.”

“Only three months!” Jasmine said. “No wonder he was frightened.”

Dandelion sat calmly while Nadia examined his coat for dandruff, fleas and parasites. Then she checked his eyes, nose, ears and teeth to make sure they were in good condition.

“He’s obviously used to being handled,” she said, as she picked him up and turned him over. “And you were right. Dandelion is a boy.”

“I knew it!” said Jasmine.

“He looks very healthy and well looked after,” Nadia said. “Somebody will be missing him. Can you fetch my scanner from the car, Jasmine?”

“Oh, do rabbits have microchips?” Jasmine asked.

“Some do. It’s worth checking.”

When Jasmine returned with the scanner, Nadia ran it over Dandelion. If he had had a microchip inserted by a vet, the scanner would beep and an ID number would show up on the display screen. Nadia could then put the number into an online database to find the owner’s contact details.

But the scanner stayed silent.

“No microchip,” Nadia said. “I’ll post a message on all the local online groups, and I’ll call the rescue centres and the other vets’ surgeries in the morning. I’ll put one of your posters up in our surgery too, Tom. I doubt the rabbits went far from home.”

“Imagine how horrible to go out to the hutch and find your rabbits have escaped,” said Tom.

Jasmine felt sick as she thought of Clover, alone in the wild all night. Please, please let her be safe, she thought.

Chapter Seven

The Very Same Rabbit

Dad drove Jasmine and Tom to the village green very early on Friday morning. They had already been up for an hour so that Tom could take Sky for a walk while Jasmine groomed Mistletoe and fed her other animals.

Dandelion sat between them in his pet carrier in the back of the car. He had plenty of hay, fresh greens and a water bottle. Tom carried the towels for catching Clover. Jasmine had a big bag containing the posters, scissors, string and drawing pins. They had put the posters in plastic wallets in case it rained, and Jasmine had punched holes in the plastic so they could tie them to railings and gates.

“Good luck,” called Dad as he dropped them off. “Phone Mum when you find Clover, and she’ll come and fetch you. Oh, and Jasmine?”

“Yes?” said Jasmine, carefully lifting Dandelion’s carrier out of the car.

“Would you pop into Holly Tree House and ask Mr Hobson if he’d like to come and visit Mistletoe on Sunday? I can pick him up around two.”

“Sure,” said Jasmine. It was always nice to see Mr Hobson. He was one of the few people who was properly interested in her animals.

They searched the green, tying posters to the railings as they went. They looked under every bush and behind every tree. Jasmine even crawled through the tunnel in the children’s playground. But there was no sign of Clover.

Jasmine felt sick. She couldn’t shake off the image of that huge fox.

“Maybe we should sit by the pond with Dandelion and wait to see if Clover appears,” said Tom. “That’s where they mostly were last night, isn’t it?”

Jasmine pictured Clover nibbling the lawn of the retirement home. “You sit by the pond,” she said, “and I’ll go to Holly Tree House.”

“Ask if they’ll put up a poster,” said Tom. “Loads of people visit from the village.”

“Good idea,” Jasmine said.

Mrs Bright, the manager of Holly Tree House, was happy to put a poster on the notice board in Reception. “Mr Hobson’s in his room,” she said. “He’ll be thrilled to see you.”

Mr Hobson’s room was on the ground floor. When Jasmine walked in, he was sitting by the open French windows that led out to the lawn. To Jasmine’s amazement, a beautiful cock pheasant stood by his chair, pecking seeds from the carpet.

“Oh, Jasmine, I’m glad it’s you,” said Mr Hobson, with a sheepish grin. “Some of the staff might not approve of Percy coming indoors.”

“He’s gorgeous,” said Jasmine. “Where did he come from?”

The pheasant was incredibly beautiful, with a gleaming copper-coloured body and tail feathers, shiny purple and green neck feathers, and scarlet flaps around his eyes that looked as though they were made of felt.

“He just appeared one day,” said Mr Hobson. “I heard a pheasant calling nearby, so I went out on the lawn to have a look, and there he was. Old John Burfield was visiting, so I asked him to bring sunflower seeds and mealworms. Percy seemed to enjoy the company, so I put the seeds closer and closer to my room, until one day he walked right in.”

“Wow,” said Jasmine. “How amazing to have a tame pheasant.” She crouched at eye level to the bird and he surveyed her, his head on one side.

“Hello, Percy,” she said. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Lovely, isn’t he?” said Mr Hobson. “And you’ll never guess what else I saw on the lawn this morning.”

“What?” asked Jasmine, gazing admiringly at the pheasant’s glossy plumage.

“A little brown-and-white rabbit. Sitting there by the patio, up on his hind legs, nibbling the flowers out of the pot.”

“Clover!” cried Jasmine.

“No, not clover, they were little blue flowers.”

“Not the plant, the rabbit! Oh, I’m so glad she’s alive!”

Mr Hobson’s eyes widened. “Is she your rabbit?”

“No, but I’ve been searching for her since yesterday. I was scared she’d been eaten by a fox.” And she told him the whole story.

Mr Hobson was delighted. “Well, I never! The very same rabbit!”

“It’s amazing,” said Jasmine. “I was so worried about her being out all night. Where exactly was she when you saw her?”

“Right there,” said Mr Hobson, pointing to the big tubs of flowers outside his room. “Nibbling the trailing plants, cute as anything. Only a youngster, I’d say.”

“And did you see where she went?”

“Somebody banged a door and she nipped off that way,” he said, pointing to the wooded area on the other side of the garden. “I haven’t seen her since, but I’ll keep an eye out and let you know.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll go and tell Tom. Do you think Mrs Bright would let us look for her?”

“Of course she would,” said Mr Hobson.

“I’ll go and ask her. And would you like to come and see Mistletoe on Sunday afternoon? Dad said he can pick you up.”

“That would be lovely,” said Mr Hobson. “If it’s not too much trouble for your dad.”

“No, he suggested it. Mistletoe will be so happy to see you.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow too, if you’re going to the village show,” Mr Hobson said.

“Oh, great, see you there,” said Jasmine. “Bye, Mr Hobson. Bye, Percy.”

She ran to the railings that separated the garden from the green. Tom had his back to her; he was feeding blades of grass to Dandelion through the bars of the carrier.

“Tom!” called Jasmine. “Guess what! Mr Hobson saw Clover!”

“Oh, wow!” said Tom, his face lighting up. “When? Where?”

“This morning, on the patio, and then she ran into the woodland. Come and help me look.”

Tom was already on his feet. “Come on, Dandelion,” he said, picking up the carrier. “Let’s go and find your sister.”

Chapter Eight

Trespassing

“Of course you can look,” said Mrs Bright, when Jasmine told her about Clover. “I hope you find her. And I’ll ask everyone to keep an eye out.”

Tom set Dandelion’s carrier down in front of the dense woodland. “Can you smell your sister’s scent?” he asked. “Is she nearby?”

“The problem is,” said Jasmine, gazing around the huge garden, “there’s so much for her to eat here. Why would she want to come back?”

“Most pet rabbits do come back,” said Tom. “That’s what it said in the articles, anyway.”

“Where in this garden would she be most likely to go?” Jasmine said. “Is there a vegetable patch? Or a herb garden?”

Tom’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Like Peter Rabbit, sneaking into Mr McGregor’s garden.”

“Exactly. I’ll go and ask Mr Hobson.”

Mr Hobson was dozing in his chair, but he opened his eyes when Jasmine came in through the open French windows.

“We don’t have a vegetable garden here,” he said. “But Stan Morrison’s garden backs on to this one, and he grows a lot of vegetables.”

“Mr Morrison the school caretaker?” said Jasmine.

“That’s him, yes. Grumpy old so-and-so.”

Jasmine pulled a face. Of all the gardens in the village, why did it have to be Mr Morrison’s?

She took a deep breath. “Where exactly is his garden?” she asked.

Mr Hobson was delighted to bunny-sit Dandelion while Jasmine and Tom carried out their mission. They figured they might have to make a quick getaway, and that wouldn’t be easy with a rabbit in a carrier.

They left Mr Hobson talking to Dandelion, and, armed with a towel each, they made their way around the side of Holly Tree House.

“That’s it,” whispered Jasmine, pointing to a gate set into the wall. There was chicken wire between the bottom of the gate and the ground, presumably to keep rabbits out of Mr Morrison’s garden. But the wire had been pushed up at one end, making a gap just big enough for a little bunny to squeeze through.

Jasmine lifted the latch and pushed, but the gate didn’t budge, and it was too high to see over the top.

“It must be bolted,” she said. “I need to stand on something.”

“Here,” said Tom, pointing to a bucket beside a compost heap. He fetched it and placed it upside down in front of the gate. Jasmine climbed on to it and peered into the garden. On either side of a brick path were neat rows of vegetables and herbs: carrots, cabbages, spinach, radishes, kale, parsley and thyme. It was rabbit heaven!

“Can you see Clover?” whispered Tom.

“Not from here,” said Jasmine.

“What about Mr Morrison?”

“No, the garden’s empty.”

Jasmine leaned over the gate and wiggled the bolt open. Then she climbed down from the bucket.

“Ready?” she asked.

“If he catches us, he’ll kill us,” said Tom.

“I know,” said Jasmine, feeling sick. “If he comes out, we run for it, OK? Bolt to Mr Hobson’s room and hide in his bathroom. He’ll cover for us.”

Tom nodded. Jasmine opened the gate.

“You go right, I’ll go left,” whispered Tom. “Look under everything. Clover might have found a safe place to sleep for the day.”

With the towel under her arm, Jasmine inched along the row of cabbages, wincing at the sight of her footprints in the soil. She gently lifted the big outside leaves, casting nervous glances towards the house. Tom searched a jumbled heap of flowerpots in the far corner.

Jasmine moved on to the next row, but there was no cover for a rabbit in the delicate carrot fronds. She peered among the spinach leaves, but Clover wasn’t there.

Suddenly she spotted something in the soil outside the garden shed. Rabbit droppings! They could be from a wild rabbit, of course, but it was a hopeful sign.

The shed door was ajar. It looked dark and peaceful inside. Exactly the kind of place a little rabbit might choose for a morning nap.

Jasmine beckoned Tom, pointing into the shed. He tiptoed to join her, and she inched the door open a little wider, holding the towel in front of her like a wall. They crept inside and Tom closed the door.

A lawnmower stood at the back, with bags of compost stacked next to it. Tools leaned against the walls, next to flowerpots and seed trays. A heap of empty hessian sacks was piled up in one corner.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jasmine saw a rippling movement among the sacks. She stared at the pile. It was perfectly still. Had she imagined it?

But Tom must have seen something too, because he caught her eye and pointed. Jasmine nodded, tense all over. What if it was a rat? Although she was a friend of all animals, she found it hard to be fond of rats. And she certainly didn’t fancy being bitten by one.

Tom mimed lifting up the sacks and dropping a towel over whatever was underneath. Jasmine nodded and held her towel ready. Tom bent down and whipped up the pile of sacks. And there she was! A sleeping fawn-and-white bunny.

Jasmine just caught a glimpse of her before she dropped the towel and scooped her up. The little rabbit wriggled but Jasmine held her firmly in the towel.

The children grinned at each other in delight.

“We did it!” said Tom.

“Clover!” Jasmine whispered. “We found you! I’m so, so glad you’re safe. Let’s take you back to your brother. He’ll be so happy to see you.”

Tom inched the door ajar and peeped out into the garden. He quickly withdrew his head and turned to Jasmine with a look of horror.

“He’s walking down the path!” he whispered.

Jasmine’s stomach plummeted in terror. What would Mr Morrison do if he found them? Would he call the police and have them arrested for trespassing?

They glanced around the shed in panic, desperately searching for a hiding place. As the footsteps drew closer, Tom huddled into the corner behind the door and pulled Jasmine after him. Jasmine held Clover in what she hoped was a firm but comforting hold. If Mr Morrison came in, their only chance of staying hidden was if he left the door open, concealing them behind it.

What if he stayed in the garden all afternoon? It couldn’t be good to leave Clover wrapped up in a towel for long. She wouldn’t get enough oxygen. But she couldn’t risk unwrapping her, in case she leapt away.

The door handle turned. Jasmine and Tom shrank even further back into the cramped, cobwebby corner.

They stood frozen, not daring to breathe, as Mr Morrison walked in. He picked up a large fork and spade and walked out again, leaving the door open. A minute later, they heard the sound of digging.

“What are we going to do?” whispered Jasmine.

Tom shrugged his shoulders in despair. “He’s left the door open,” he murmured, “so he’s probably going to keep coming in and out. We might be here for hours.”

“We can’t be,” said Jasmine. “We can’t keep Clover under a towel for hours.”

“What else can we do?”

“Run for it when his back’s turned.”

Tom’s eyes widened in alarm. “No way!”

“Well, have you got a better idea?”

Tom was silent. Jasmine crept out from behind the door and peered into the garden. Mr Morrison was digging, and he had his back to them.

“Now,” she whispered.

Looking petrified, Tom followed her out of the shed. Holding Clover close, Jasmine crept around the edge of the garden, casting fearful glances at Mr Morrison’s back.

At the gate, she stepped aside for Tom to open it. He winced as he inched the latch up, and Jasmine held her breath as he opened the gate. He slipped through into the garden of Holly Tree House, and Jasmine followed. But as she did, her foot caught the upturned bucket and it clattered on to its side.

The children froze for a second. Then they raced down the path and turned the corner on to the lawn.

“Hey, you!” they heard behind them. “Come back here!”

They burst through the open French windows of Mr Hobson’s room, ran past the startled old man and dived into his bathroom. From the open window, they watched Mr Morrison stomp past. After a minute, he stomped back again, looking grumpier than ever, and trudged back down the path towards his garden.

“Phew,” said Tom, clutching dramatically at his heart. “I thought we were done for.”

“Sorry about that,” Jasmine said to Mr Hobson, as they emerged from the bathroom. “But guess what!”

Tom closed all the doors, and Jasmine placed the towel on the floor.

“Look!” she said, as she carefully unwrapped the little bunny. “We found Clover!”

Chapter Nine

Safe With Us

“What a relief,” said Mr Hobson, when they told him the story. “I was starting to worry that he’d put you into a stew with the rabbit!”

Jasmine stroked Clover, who was sitting on her lap. She seemed none the worse for her adventures.

“Thank you for looking after Dandelion,” she said.

“I enjoyed it,” said Mr Hobson. “We had a nice chat, didn’t we, Dandelion?”

To Jasmine’s shock, Clover suddenly sprang off her lap and lolloped across the room.

“Come back, Clover,” said Jasmine, holding out a sprig of parsley. But Clover showed no interest in the food. Jasmine picked up the towel to drop over her, but as she drew closer, the rabbit skittered under the bed.

Mr Hobson laughed. “She’s a lively little thing, isn’t she? I think she’s got a taste for freedom.”

Jasmine peered under the bed and gasped in horror. “Clover, no!” she exclaimed. “Stop it! Oh, no, I can’t reach her.”

“What’s she doing?” asked Mr Hobson, as Tom looked under the bed too.

“Chewing electric wires!” cried Jasmine. “Stop it, Clover, you’ll electrocute yourself!”

But Clover carried on happily munching the plastic-coated lead of Mr Hobson’s bedside lamp.

“We’ll have to move the bed,” said Tom. They pulled the bed away from the wall and Jasmine threw herself across it and grabbed the rabbit. Clover squealed and kicked, but Jasmine kept a firm hold of her.

“Open the carrier, quick,” she said.

Tom opened the door and she put Clover inside. Jasmine heaved an enormous sigh of relief as Tom shut the door.

“Finally!” he said. “Both safe at last.”

“That’s quite an achievement to catch two escaped rabbits,” said Mr Hobson. “Especially one as lively as that Clover.”

“I hope she hasn’t wrecked your lamp,” said Tom. He switched it on. “Phew, it still works.”

“Rabbits love chewing electrical cables,” said Mr Hobson. “In the wild, sometimes tree roots grow into their warrens, you see, so they learn to nibble them off as soon as they see them. And domestic rabbits still have that instinct. Cables look like tree roots to a rabbit.”

“Oh, look!” said Jasmine, pointing to the carrier, where the rabbits were tentatively sniffing each other.

“They’re getting reacquainted,” said Mr Hobson.

“Dandelion can probably smell all sorts of interesting things on Clover,” said Jasmine. “Flowers and sheds and sacks and wires.”

“Listen,” said Tom. “They’re purring.”

Jasmine frowned. “Do rabbits purr?”

“It’s different from a cat’s purr,” said Tom. “I was reading about it. They do it by clicking their teeth together gently. They only do it when they’re really happy.”

Jasmine listened to the gentle clicking sound coming from the carrier. Then Dandelion licked Clover’s cheek and began to groom her face.

“That’s so sweet,” Jasmine said. “They really love each other.”

“Let’s phone your mum,” said Tom. “Then we can take them back to the farm.”

Nadia was delighted to hear the news.

“That’s fantastic, Jasmine!” she said. “Great work.”

Jasmine heard the landline start to ring in the background.

“I’d better get that,” Nadia said. “I’ll meet you by the pond.”

Hopefully it was someone phoning about the rabbits, Jasmine thought.

They thanked Mr Hobson again and carried the bunnies to the village green. Dandelion and Clover snuggled up happily while they sat by the pond.

“Why’s Mum taking so long?” asked Jasmine, when they had been waiting for nearly half an hour.

“Hey, Jasmine,” said Tom. “Do you know that lady?”

Jasmine turned and saw a woman hurrying across the green, beaming and waving to them. She frowned in confusion. “No, I’ve never seen her before.”

The woman had long grey hair pinned up on her head. She wore a flowing green dress that came down to her ankles, and more jewellery than Jasmine had ever seen on one person: dangly earrings, a chunky necklace, big bracelets, and rings on every finger.

Jasmine was even more confused when the woman greeted them like old friends.

“Jasmine! Tom!” she cried, flinging her arms wide as though she was about to hug them. “Oh, bless you both, you absolute angels!”

Jasmine shrank back in alarm as the woman peered into the pet carrier.

“Oh, you absolutely wonderful children! I’ve been completely frantic since I discovered they’d gone last night, and then this morning I came out to look on the green and I saw your poster, so I just phoned your wonderful mother, and of course she asked for a description of the bunnies, how very sensible. Imagine if some terrible person had tried to get themselves a bunny by false pretences! Naturally, I gave her a full description, and then she told me what you’d done for these precious creatures, and I honestly don’t know how to thank you for such kindness.”

“How did they escape?” Jasmine asked, when the woman finally took a breath.

“Do you know, I have absolutely no idea. They’re not actually mine, you see, they’re my granddaughter’s, but she and my daughter have gone on holiday and I said I’d look after the bunnies. She absolutely adores them, so I was out of my mind with worry. It’s been the most appalling time. I was just telling your wonderful mother that I had a telephone call from a dear friend this morning, and she’s not well at all and really needs me to go and look after her, but of course I couldn’t go while the bunnies were missing. I’m just so grateful to you.”

Jasmine didn’t want to encourage her to talk any more, but since she still hadn’t answered the question, she had no choice but to ask another one.

“So where did they escape from?”

“Well, I gave them a lovely big shed, and I thought it was perfectly secure. At my daughter’s house they have a hutch and a run, and I’d have thought a shed would be far more secure than that, wouldn’t you?”

“It depends on the shed,” said Jasmine, thinking this woman really didn’t seem sensible enough to be trusted with looking after rabbits. “Did you check it for holes?”

“Well, no, but it seemed fine. I mean, it’s made of wood. Could they chew their way out?”

“Maybe,” said Tom. “Rabbits can chew through wood.”

“So where will you put them now?” asked Jasmine.

The woman looked confused. “Oh,” she said. “Yes, I suppose they might escape again.”

Jasmine felt herself getting crosser by the second. “You can’t put them back in the place they’ve escaped from unless you fully rabbit-proof it,” she said. “They’ll definitely escape again, and they might not be so lucky next time.”

The woman pressed her hands to her face in horror. “Oh, dear, oh dear. I just haven’t got time to sort out the shed, and I don’t have anywhere else to put them. And besides, my poor friend has nobody around to look after her, and it sounds as though I might need to stay until her brother can get there, and I’m not sure when that will be. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Would you like us to look after them instead?” asked Jasmine, glancing at Tom.

The woman stared at her in amazement. “Would you?” she said breathlessly. “Would you really do that?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jasmine saw her mum approaching.

“Of course,” she said, very much hoping that Nadia was in a good mood. “We like looking after animals.”

Privately she thought, If you want to give us money, we’d be grateful for that too. But she didn’t actually say it.

“Hi, Mum,” she said.

“Hello,” said Nadia, smiling at the children. Then she turned to the woman. “Leonora? We spoke on the phone.”

Leonora clasped Nadia’s hand in both of hers. “Nadia, how lovely to meet you. What utterly wonderful children you have. I cannot get over their kindness! They’ve actually offered to keep the bunnies while I go and look after my friend.”

Nadia raised her eyebrows and shot Jasmine a look. “Oh, have they?” she said.

Leonora turned anxious eyes on Nadia. “Oh, goodness, I do hope that’s all right. My daughter and granddaughter will be coming to collect them tomorrow afternoon, so it will only be for a day. But if it’s too much trouble, do just say, of course.”

Jasmine knew her mum wouldn’t be able to say no to that pleading look.

“It’s fine,” said Nadia. “Jasmine and Tom will do the work.” And she gave Jasmine a stern gaze.

Jasmine and Tom beamed at each other. They would have until tomorrow afternoon with the rabbits! They could spend hours playing with them and teaching them tricks!

“We’d love to do it,” said Jasmine. “And they’ll be safe with us.”

Chapter Ten

Expert Escapologists

“So where are you planning to house these rabbits?” asked Nadia, as they got into the car.

Jasmine hadn’t actually thought that far ahead, but she wasn’t going to admit that to her mother.

“I thought maybe in my room?” she said hopefully.

Nadia shot her a look in the rear-view mirror. “You mean you want them just hopping about free-range in your bedroom?”

“If that’s OK?” said Jasmine.

“That is absolutely not OK,” said Nadia. “You said Clover was chewing electrical wires in Mr Hobson’s room, and she was only there for a few minutes. Two rabbits running loose in your room for a day would destroy the place.”

Jasmine could tell it wasn’t worth arguing. “Could you maybe borrow a hutch and a run from one of your clients?” she asked.

“I can ask around, but there’s no guarantee of getting one at such short notice.”

“What about that empty chicken house in your garden?” asked Tom.

“Oh, yes!” said Jasmine. “That might work.”

“It’s a bit dilapidated,” said Nadia. “I doubt if it’s rabbit-proof. Especially for a couple of expert escapologists like these two.”

“Me and Tom can clean it up and make it rabbit-proof,” said Jasmine.

“Tom and I,” Nadia corrected.

“Sure, you and Tom can do it if you want to,” Jasmine said.

“Haha, very funny. I’ll ask around for a hutch to borrow. The rabbits will be all right in the carrier for a few hours.”

“We’ll play with them in my room now,” said Jasmine, “so they’ll get some exercise.”

When they got back to Oak Tree Farm, Manu and his best friend Ben were in the scullery, patting down mud on a plate.

“Is that for your miniature garden?” Jasmine asked. “Or is it your dinner?”

Manu ignored this and peered into the pet carrier. “Oh, you found Clover!” He stretched out his muddy hands. “Can we play with them?”

“Definitely not,” said Jasmine. “These rabbits are master escapologists. Especially Clover. Don’t you dare open the carrier.”

“Fine,” said Manu. “We’re busy anyway, aren’t we, Ben?”

He pointed proudly to the muddy plate. It looked more like a building site than a garden, Jasmine thought. But she kept her thoughts to herself.

“I’ve had some good ideas for our miniature garden,” she said to Tom. “I thought we could use moss for the grass, and make a little path from pebbles. And fill a coffee-jar lid with water for a pond.”

“We could float clover leaves on the pond for water lilies,” said Tom.

“Oh, yes. And I’m going to make a teeny-tiny washing line with two forked twigs and a piece of string. Mum gave me some fabric to cut out teeny-tiny clothes to go on it. It’s going to be amazing.”

“We can start it this evening and finish it tomorrow,” said Tom. “There’ll be time tomorrow in between playing with the rabbits, and –”

He stopped, staring at Manu and Ben.

“Why have you two tied your legs together?” Tom asked.

Jasmine looked and saw that Manu’s right leg and Ben’s left leg were tied together with scarves.

“We’re practising for the three-legged race at the fair,” said Manu. “We’re going to stay tied together the whole day, and then we’ll be really good at it.”

“Come on, let’s go and make the gravestones,” said Ben.

“Gravestones?” said Jasmine, as the boys hobbled out of the room. “Why are they making gravestones?”

Mum shook her head. “Sometimes it’s best not to know.”

Mum gave Clover a health check, and then Tom and Jasmine took the rabbits up to Jasmine’s room. When Tom opened the carrier, the rabbits stood still for a while, twitching their ears and noses. Then they tiptoed out into the room, with their ears forward and their tails down, cautiously beginning to explore.

“We forgot to ask Leonora their real names,” said Tom. “Shall we ask your mum to phone her?”

“No,” said Jasmine. “I like Dandelion and Clover. I mean, imagine if we found out they’re actually called Barry and Sheila. I don’t want to call them Barry and Sheila. And I don’t think they’ll mind us calling them Dandelion and Clover for one more day.”

While Mum was checking Clover, Tom had found some empty toilet-roll tubes in the recycling box and stuffed them with hay. “I read that some rabbits love picking them up with their teeth and throwing them around,” he said. Now he put them on the floor, in front of the rabbits. Clover hopped over to one of them. She sniffed the hay. Then she picked up the tube with her teeth and started to eat it.

Jasmine laughed. “She prefers cardboard to hay! Is it OK for them to eat cardboard?”

“That article I read said plain cardboard’s fine,” said Tom. “That’s why loo-roll tubes are good. Cardboard is plant fibre, so it’s basically what rabbits eat anyway. But they mustn’t have shiny card, or anything coloured or printed.”

Dandelion approached another tube. He sniffed all around it and nudged it with his nose. It rolled gently forwards and he nudged it again.

“Look, I think he’s a footballer!” said Jasmine.

“You mean a noseballer,” said Tom.

“Clover just likes chewing,” said Jasmine, looking at the fawn-and-white bunny, who was demolishing the cardboard with astonishing speed. “It’s lucky she’s got something harmless to chew now, instead of electric leads.”

“Rabbits’ teeth never stop growing,” said Tom. “Same as guinea pigs’. So they have to chew a lot to keep their teeth trimmed, otherwise they have big problems.”

He rolled another tube towards Dandelion. The rabbit nudged it with his nose. Tom rolled it again and he nudged it back.

“Wow,” said Jasmine. “He’s amazing! I wonder if his owner taught him tricks.” She rolled the tube towards Dandelion again.

“Wait, where’s Clover?” asked Tom.

Jasmine looked up. Clover had disappeared. Then they heard a scratching, tearing noise on the far side of Jasmine’s bed. She looked, and there was Clover, digging frantically at the rug.

Jasmine laughed. “You won’t be able to dig through there,” she said. “Come and play with us.”

She lifted the rabbit up. Clover gave an annoyed grunt and kicked her back legs. Jasmine set her down beside Dandelion, and Tom put a shoebox a little way in front of her and sat on the other side of it, holding out a handful of hay.

“Jump, Clover!” he called. “Come and get the hay.”

But Clover just put her front paws on the shoebox lid and started to chew it.

“I don’t think she likes doing tricks,” Jasmine said. “She just likes chewing and digging.”

To Jasmine and Tom’s delight, Nadia phoned from work late that afternoon to say she had managed to borrow some housing for the rabbits.

“One of my clients’ friends is on holiday, and they’ve put their rabbits in boarding kennels, so their hutch and run are empty this week,” she said. “Dad says he can fetch them in his truck when he’s finished in the calf barn.”

It was already getting dark by the time Dad brought the hutch and run to the farm. Jasmine and Tom helped him carry them to the garden.

“It’s a lovely big run,” Jasmine said. “They’ll have plenty of room to play.”

“Just make sure it’s secure,” said Dad. “We don’t want any more dramas with escaping rabbits.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll check it really carefully.”

“Good. Right, I’m off to a meeting. I’ll see you in the morning,” said Dad.

Tom and Jasmine brought the rabbits to the garden in their carrier while they examined every inch of the hutch and run, using a torch to make sure they didn’t miss any holes.

“It seems really firm,” said Tom. “I don’t think even Clover will be able to chew through it.”

“What if they tunnel out though?” said Jasmine. “Or a fox tunnels in?”

A look of anxiety crossed Tom’s face. “Let’s look up what it says on the rabbit website.”

The website advised rabbit owners to fit a wire-mesh “skirt” around the run, sink wire under the grass or place paving slabs around the edges, to make it harder for rabbits to tunnel out.

“We can’t do any of that tonight,” said Jasmine. “It’s nearly dark, and no one’s here to help us.”

Tom was still reading. “It also says you can give them a digging pit,” he said. “A big pot or a litter tray, filled with soil.”

“Excellent,” said Jasmine. “Let’s do that.”

They put a bucket full of soil in the run, lined the hutch floor with wood shavings, and filled the bedroom area with straw. Then they put a handful of greens and a big bundle of hay in the hutch.

“That website said rabbits should eat their own body size in hay each day,” said Jasmine. “Imagine eating your own body size in anything.”

“I could eat my body size in ice cream,” said Tom.

“You should try it.”

“Someday I will,” said Tom. “They’re meant to have a couple of egg cups of rabbit pellets each day too.”

“Yes, Mum’s bringing some,” said Jasmine. “She should be home soon.”

Tom looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go. We won’t have time to start the miniature garden tonight.”

“Can you come early in the morning?” asked Jasmine.

“I’ll come straight after breakfast,” Tom said. “Right, little bunnies, your holiday home is ready.”

As soon as she was in the hutch, Clover started exploring, sniffing at the wood and the wire. Dandelion settled down to nibble the greens, but Clover scampered down the ramp into the run and headed straight to the bucket of soil. She rose on to her hind legs and started digging with her front paws.

“She just loves digging,” said Jasmine. “It’s lucky we gave her that bucket.”

When Jasmine woke up on Saturday, she dressed quickly and went straight to the garden.

The first thing she saw was a large heap of soil in the rabbits’ run.

The next thing she saw was a big black hole.

Oh, no! Had a fox tunnelled in?

She rushed to the hutch, her heart thumping. With shaking hands, she fumbled with the latch and flung the doors open.

She stared in horror and disbelief.

The hutch was empty.

Chapter Eleven

What Are We Going to Do?

Jasmine gazed wildly around the garden. There was no sign of the rabbits.

“Oh no, oh no!” she wailed. Feeling sick, she raced up the path and into the house. She ran through the scullery and burst into the kitchen, where Nadia was sitting at the table drinking tea.

“They’ve tunnelled out!” Jasmine cried.

Nadia froze, her mug halfway to her mouth. “What?”

“The rabbits! They’ve tunnelled under the run and they’ve both gone.”

She felt her throat closing with panic at the thought of all the things that might have happened to them. Foxes, badgers, poisonous plants…

Nadia was on her feet. “Right, the first thing is to search the garden. They probably haven’t gone far. I’ve got to go to work, but I’m sure Tom will help. It’s a shame Ella’s not here.”

Ella had gone to stay with one of her university friends.

“I can ask Manu to help if you like,” said Mum.

“Please don’t,” said Jasmine. “He was worse than useless last time.”

When Tom arrived, eager to start the miniature garden, Jasmine had to break the terrible news. Tom was shocked, but he quickly became his usual calm, practical self.

“That website said escaped rabbits often return,” he said. “So we need to leave the run door open, with treats inside to tempt them back.”

Armed with towels, Jasmine started searching the garden at one end and Tom at the other, working in silence so as not to startle the rabbits. Jasmine was on her hands and knees looking under a bush when she heard a loud shriek, followed by peals of laughter. She looked up to see Manu and Ben lying in a tangled heap on the lawn, kicking their tied-together legs in the air in a fruitless attempt to free themselves.

She ran over to them, glaring. “Stop it!” she hissed furiously. “The rabbits are on the loose. You need to be silent so they don’t run further away.”

Manu tried to scrabble up, but Ben rolled in the other direction and he collapsed on the ground again.

“Stop moving, Ben!” he said. “I can’t get up.”

“We can catch the rabbits for you,” Ben said, pulling at the knotted scarves. “We’ll use our fishing nets to trap them.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near them,” said Jasmine. “Just stay out of the garden. And the orchard. And the fields around the house.”

“Where can we practise for the race then?” said Manu.

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Just make sure it’s a very long way from here.”

“Do you think they might have gone back to the village green?” asked Tom, once they had scoured the garden and the orchard. “Or Holly Tree House? They seemed to like it there.”

“Let’s go and look,” said Jasmine. “Clover might be in Mr Morrison’s garden again.”

Tom pulled a face. “I really don’t want to go back there.”

“They might even have gone to Leonora’s house,” said Jasmine. But she didn’t hold out much hope. And the thought of Leonora made her feel even worse. How would she tell her that she had lost her little granddaughter’s beloved bunnies? Especially after she had been so confident that she could keep them safe!

“Any luck?” asked Dad, coming down the garden path.

“No,” sighed Jasmine.

“Have you had anything to eat this morning?” Dad asked.

“We don’t have time,” said Jasmine. “We have to go and search the green.”

“You can’t keep searching on an empty stomach,” said Dad, and he made them come indoors for a late breakfast. “You never know,” he added. “They might come back while you’re inside.”

As he put the milk back in the fridge, his phone pinged. He looked at the message and made an exasperated noise. Then the landline started to ring too.

“Can you answer that, Jasmine?” he said. “I need to deal with this.”

“Maybe it’s someone saying they’ve found the rabbits,” Jasmine said hopefully, as she picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Is that Nadia?” the caller asked.

“It’s Jasmine.”

“Jasmine! It’s Leonora. I just phoned to thank you again for having the rabbits. I hope they haven’t been too much trouble.”

Jasmine made an agonised face at Tom. “We had a lovely time playing with them yesterday,” she said.

“Oh, how wonderful! I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“How’s your friend?” Jasmine asked, desperate to change the subject.

“How sweet of you to ask. She’s still quite poorly, but her brother’s coming today, so I’ll be home in a few hours, which is lucky, because my daughter’s coming to collect the rabbits this afternoon. Grace – that’s my granddaughter – is so grateful to you for finding them and keeping them safe. You and Tom are absolute heroes in our family.”

“Thank you,” said Jasmine, feeling terrible.

“When would be a good time to fetch them?”

“Er… I’m not quite sure. We’re going to the spring show this afternoon. Shall I ask Mum to ring you when she gets back from work? She finishes early today.”

“Perfect,” said Leonora. “Bye, Jasmine. Thank you so much again.”

Jasmine put the phone down, feeling like the worst person in the world.

“This is awful,” said Tom. “What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to find the rabbits,” said Jasmine, making a huge effort to dredge up her usual optimism. “Come on. I bet they went back to the green.”

Chapter Twelve

Drop It!

Jasmine and Tom walked the mile to the village green, taking the carrier with two towels in it, and a bag of food to tempt the rabbits. They scanned the verges and hedgerows along the lane, desperately hoping to see the two little bunnies, but there was no sign of them.

The green was buzzing with preparations for the spring fair. A track with lanes had been marked out for the children’s races. Stallholders were arranging their goods, and in a big white marquee, they saw judges in white coats scrutinising the competition entries.

“I can’t believe we didn’t get to make our garden,” said Jasmine. “Now we won’t be able to buy the hutch. Not that anyone will trust their animals with us anyway, after this.”

“Let’s try Holly Tree House first,” Tom said, clearly trying to stay hopeful. “I don’t think the rabbits will be on the green with all this going on.”

“Jasmine!”

They turned to see Manu and Ben running towards them from the marquee, beaming with excitement.

“Our miniature garden’s way better than all the others,” said Manu. “And if we win, we’re going to give you the prize money. We’ve decided.”

“What?” said Jasmine. “Why?”

“Because you need it for your business,” said Ben. “And you didn’t have time to finish yours.”

“That’s so kind,” said Jasmine, touched by their thoughtfulness. “Thank you so much.”

“Thank you,” said Tom. “That’s really nice of you.”

“I know,” said Manu. “We’re very kind people.”

At Holly Tree House, Jasmine asked Mrs Bright if they could search the gardens again. Then they went to say hello to Mr Hobson. When he heard about the rabbits, he promised to spend the day watching out for them.

“I haven’t seen the pheasant today either,” he said. “But I expect he’ll be along for his food at some point.”

“We’ll look out for Percy while we’re searching,” Jasmine promised.

Tom wrote down his phone number so thatMr Hobson could let him know if he saw Dandelion or Clover. Then they went to search the gardens, starting one at each end and meeting in the middle. But when they finally met up, neither of them had anything to report.

“I reckon Clover’s gone back to Mr Morrison’s garden,” Jasmine said. “And she’s definitely the ringleader, so I bet Dandelion followed her there.”

Tom looked fearful but determined. “OK,” he said. “Let’s go.”

But when Jasmine stood on the upturned bucket and leaned over the gate, she discovered that Mr Morrison had fixed a padlock to the bolt.

“There’s no way we can get in then,” said Tom.

Jasmine stretched down and rattled the padlock, just in case it wasn’t properly locked.

“Hey, you! What do you think you’re doing?”

She shot upright. Mr Morrison was stomping down the garden path, his face crimson with fury.

Tom grabbed her hand and she scrambled down from the bucket. As they raced away, they heard Mr Morrison shouting, “I’m calling the police! You’ll be arrested for attempted burglary!”

Jasmine spotted a gap in the hedge on the far side of the garden. “In here!” she gasped, and they wriggled into a hollow that was just big enough for them and the pet carrier.

“What are we going to do?” said Tom, white-faced and wide-eyed with fear.

“I don’t think he’ll actually call the police,” Jasmine said. “And if he does, we can just tell the truth, that we were looking for the rabbits. We weren’t even in his garden, were we? It can’t be illegal to look over a gate.”

“Let’s stay here for a bit,” said Tom. “In case he comes looking.”

They peered anxiously through the leaves, but the garden was deserted. Jasmine began to breathe more easily. She settled herself cross-legged on the ground, and Tom did the same. A shaft of sunshine broke through the clouds, and the dandelions on the lawn glowed golden in the light.

Jasmine couldn’t see Mr Hobson in his room across the garden. Perhaps he was at lunch. They ate early at Holly Tree House.

She hoped Percy would come back soon; Mr Hobson obviously loved his company.

Tom gasped, and grabbed Jasmine’s arm.

“Look,” he whispered.

He pointed to a clump of bushes near the fence. At first, Jasmine saw nothing unusual. And then she spotted it. A twitching velvet nose, poking out between the leaves. And as she watched, holding her breath, a little fawn-and-white bunny hopped out on to the strip of grass between the bushes and the hedge.

“Clover!” she breathed, joy and relief flooding through her.

And then a little black-and-white bunny hopped out behind his sister.

“Oh, my goodness! Both of them!”

Tom and Jasmine grinned at each other in pure delight. All the terrible images of predators and poisonous plants and traffic accidents faded away as they gazed at the happy, healthy, relaxed little rabbits busily nibbling the lawn.

“Shall we put the carrier out with food in it, and hope they go in?” Tom suggested.

“Good idea,” said Jasmine. “They must be tired after travelling all this way.”

She took the towels out of the carrier while Tom peeled a banana and laid a piece inside with some tasty greens. They crept out of the hedge and placed the open carrier a few metres away from the rabbits. Then they sat by the hedge and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Music and chatter drifted across from the green, as visitors started arriving at the fair. The smell of burgers and onions filled the air as the barbecue got going. Jasmine felt hollow with hunger.

The rabbits showed no interest in the carrier. They seemed quite happy nosing about on the lawn and eating the grass.

“I don’t think this is going to work,” said Tom eventually.

“No,” said Jasmine. “I think we should try and catch them.”

“But if we catch one, the other one will run away again,” said Tom.

“How about we catch both at the same time?” Jasmine suggested. “You creep from one side and I’ll creep from the other, and when I give you a signal, we’ll both drop the towels and scoop them up.”

“Hm,” said Tom doubtfully. “It sounds easy.”

“Well, do you have a better idea?”

Tom didn’t. So they slowly got to their feet. Tom inched his way towards Dandelion, while Jasmine tiptoed around the edge of the bushes to approach Clover from the other side.

The rabbits continued to graze. But as the children approached, Jasmine saw Clover stiffen and prick up her ears.

They couldn’t risk her getting away again. Jasmine caught Tom’s eye and nodded. Then she dropped her towel over Clover.

Before the towel could land on her, Clover took a gigantic leap. She flew past Tom and disappeared into the hedge.

Jasmine let out a cry of despair. They had failed again!

She looked at Tom, who was clasping his bundled towel close to his chest. He looked astonished.

“I’ve got him!” he said.

“Well done,” said Jasmine. “That’s brilliant. Quick, let’s put him in the carrier.”

She opened the doors and Tom popped Dandelion in. He started nibbling at a parsley sprig, apparently unharmed and untroubled. But Jasmine could feel no joy at his safe capture. For the second time, Tom had caught Dandelion, but she had allowed Clover to get away.

“I’m going to search for Clover,” she said. “You stay with Dandelion in case she comes back.”

She searched along the hedgerow, which led to the wooded area at the side of the garden. As Jasmine walked through the trees, she heard a sound that made her blood run cold. A loud, high-pitched squeal from somewhere in the wood. A rabbit’s alarm call, warning other rabbits of a predator nearby.

Jasmine froze, and the squeal came again. She hurried towards the sound, her heart thumping.

The rabbit’s squeal sounded for a third time, and Jasmine’s eye was caught by a movement in the bushes. She turned cold. A fox was trotting up the slope away from her. Something dangled from its mouth. Something limp and heavy and lifeless.

“Put that down!” Jasmine yelled, racing after the fox. It broke into a run, speeding through the trees towards the fence.

“Drop it!” screamed Jasmine. “Put it down!”

The fox dropped its kill, and cleared the fence in one bound. Sick with dread, Jasmine crashed through the undergrowth towards the motionless creature on the ground.

It was a beautiful cock pheasant.

Chapter Thirteen

No Hope Left

Jasmine stumbled back through the undergrowth, blinded by tears. Tom turned white when he saw her.

“What’s happened? Clover?”

“Percy,” she sobbed. “A fox took him.”

“Oh, no! Poor Percy. And poor Mr Hobson. He’ll be so sad.”

They sat in silence until Jasmine finished crying. Then Tom said, “Do you think we should tell Mr Hobson?”

Jasmine wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “We have to. Otherwise he’ll be waiting and waiting.” She started sobbing again at the thought of the old man patiently waiting for the pheasant to visit him.

Tom thought for a minute. “We don’t actually know the pheasant was Percy, do we? We should tell him what happened, but it might not have been Percy.”

But Mr Hobson wasn’t in his room.

“He’s probably still at lunch,” said Jasmine. “We’ll have to come back later.”

Tom looked at his watch. “We’re supposed to be at the fair now. If we take Dandelion there, maybe Clover will come to join him.”

“Not likely, with all the noise, and people everywhere,” said Jasmine.

“At least the fox isn’t in this garden any more,” said Tom.

What with the fox and the fair, Jasmine thought, Clover would probably never come back. She might be miles away by now. What would she say to Leonora’s little granddaughter?

With no hope left in her, Jasmine trudged behind Tom to the village green, where Manu and Ben were coming out of the marquee.

“Did your garden win?” Tom asked.

“No,” said Ben indignantly. “That judge was rubbish.”

Jasmine closed her eyes in despair. So that was that. They couldn’t buy the hutch.

It served her right, she thought. She obviously wasn’t fit to run a rescue centre. All she wanted to do was look after animals, yet she’d completely failed at it.

“Our garden was way better than all the others,” said Manu. “Come and look.”

He led them to the table of miniature gardens and pointed proudly. “There!”

Manu and Ben’s garden was quite different from the rest. Instead of grass and flowers, their plate was covered with bare soil, out of which stuck several lopsided pieces of cardboard shaped like gravestones.

“Oh!” said Tom. “A miniature graveyard!”

“Read the gravestones,” said Ben. “We made up all the names.”

“In memory of Di Laughing,” Tom read aloud. “Rest in peas.”

“I did that one,” said Manu, pointing to a headstone that read: In loving memory of Dee Ceased.

“Do you like this one?” asked Ben. “The dog was my idea.”

A small plastic dog from Manu’s model farm stood next to the gravestone. The grave was just a hole with a heap of soil around it. Scattered around the hole were tiny bones and teeth from the collection Manu had found all over the farm.

The gravestone read: Here lies Doug Upp. Rest in pieces.

“Nice,” said Tom.

“The judge said it wasn’t in the right spirit,” said Manu, pointing to the comments on the entry card. “What does that mean? Graveyards are full of spirits.”

“And she said it wasn’t a garden,” said Ben. “But my grandad’s in a graveyard and it’s called a Garden of Rest. That’s its actual name. So that judge doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Just because ours wasn’t like everyone else’s,” said Manu. “You’d think they’d like something a bit different.”

“It’s a shame,” said Tom. “Yours is definitely the most original.”

Tom was being so nice, as usual, Jasmine thought. But she just felt angry with Manu. Why had he gone and made a stupid graveyard? As if that would ever have won the competition! Why hadn’t he made a proper garden instead of spending all his time practising for the three-legged race? And there wasn’t even any prize money for that.

An announcement came over the loudspeakers. “Will the entrants for the children’s races please make their way to the track.”

“Come on, Manu,” said Ben, and the boys ran off.

“Come and watch us, Jasmine!” Manu called.

With a heavy heart, Jasmine picked up Dandelion’s carrier.

“Hey, you’ve got my rabbit!”

Jasmine looked round, startled. A teenage girl with spiky bleached hair, dramatic eye make-up and several piercings was hurrying towards her, smiling at Dandelion.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said to the rabbit. Then she looked at the children. “I guess you’re Jasmine and Tom?”

“Yes,” said Jasmine, trying to reconcile her mental image of a sweet little four-year-old with this spiky-haired teenager. “Are you Grace?”

“Yes. Thanks so much for finding them. Where’s Bonnie though?”

“Bonnie?” said Jasmine.

“Grandma said you found both of them.”

Jasmine’s eyes filled with tears. This was a disaster. She had completely let Grace down, and now poor Clover was gone forever.

Grace looked panicked. “What’s happened? Where is she?”

Jasmine looked despairingly at Tom. There was nothing to do but tell the truth.

“I’m so sorry,” she began. “I—”

“There’s Mr Hobson!” said Tom.

Jasmine looked up to see their friend heading towards them in his motorised wheelchair, a big smile on his face.

Oh, no. She was going to have to tell him about Percy. She couldn’t bear it.

“Jasmine?” said Grace. “Tom? What have you done with my rabbit?”

Chapter Fourteen

Welcome Back

“Hello, you two,” said Mr Hobson. “I see you found young Dandelion.”

“Yes,” said Jasmine. “He was in your garden. This is Grace. They’re her rabbits.”

Mr Hobson reached into the basket on the front of his wheelchair and started to untie the string around a cardboard box.

“Where’s Bonnie?” asked Grace, sounding angry now as well as panicked. “Why aren’t you telling me?”

“Grace, I’m so sorry,” said Jasmine. “I’ve completely –”

She stopped, unable to believe her eyes. From between the flaps of the cardboard box, up popped the head and ears of a little fawn-and-white bunny.

“Bonnie!” said Grace.

“Clover!” Jasmine exclaimed, as Grace scooped the bunny out of the box and held her close. “Oh, Clover, you’re safe!”

Mr Hobson chuckled. “Extraordinary, isn’t it? I looked out of the window at lunchtime and there was this little rascal of a rabbit. Bold as brass, nibbling all the flowers in the pots again.”

“I can’t believe you found her!” said Jasmine, gazing at the beautiful bunny as Grace put her into the carrier with her brother. She felt a huge weight lifting from her shoulders. “That’s incredible!”

“How did you catch her?” asked Tom.

“The carers used that trick with the fences made from towels that you told me about,” said Mr Hobson. “I would have come earlier, but young Percy turned up just as I was leaving, so I had to feed him.”

Jasmine stared at him. “Percy turned up? Oh, thank goodness! I saw a fox with a dead pheasant in your garden this morning, and I thought it was him.”

“Oh, what a shame,” he said. “Blasted foxes. But Percy’s alive and well, I’m glad to say.”

“So you didn’t catch Bonnie?” Grace said to Jasmine. “Grandma said you’d caught both of them.”

“We did,” said Jasmine. “But they escaped again last night. We spent the whole morning looking for them, and then we saw them in Mr Hobson’s garden. Tom caught Dandelion, but I let Clover escape again. I’ve been useless. I didn’t even get to enter the competition, and we really needed the prize money for our business.”

Grace looked confused. “What business?”

“We look after people’s animals while they’re on holiday, to make money to feed our rescue animals. But we can’t board rabbits and guinea pigs at the moment because we don’t have housing for them. If we’d won the competition, we could have bought a hutch, but now it’s too late. It’s probably for the best though. I’m not fit to look after animals. I couldn’t even keep your rabbits safe for one night. I’m a failure.”

“No, you’re not,” said Grace. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I should have asked Grandma to warn you when you offered to keep them for the night. They’re incredible escape artists; that’s why I called them Bonnie and Clyde.”

Jasmine looked blank.

“A pair of gangsters, always on the run,” Mr Hobson explained.

“You’ve been brilliant,” Grace said. “You’ve worked so hard to find them and care for them. You’ll run an amazing boarding business.”

Jasmine shook her head. It was kind of Grace to try to comfort her, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

“Listen,” said Grace, taking an envelope out of her pocket. “I won first prizes for Battenberg cake and chocolate truffles. I was going to put the money towards an amp for my band, but I want you to have it.”

Jasmine stared at her. “No, that’s your prize money.”

“But it’s Bonnie and Clyde’s fault that you didn’t get to enter your competition. And you deserve the money more than me. If it wasn’t for you and Tom, my rabbits wouldn’t be here right now, and they’re worth way more to me than an amp. Take it.”

She thrust the envelope towards Jasmine, looking so fierce that Jasmine didn’t dare protest.

“Thank you so much!” she said, giving Tom a delighted smile. “We’ll have enough to buy the hutch now!”

“Thank you, Grace,” said Tom. “That’s amazing.”

Grace smiled. “Good luck with your business,” she said.

Jasmine’s reply was drowned out by a deafening blow on a whistle and a chorus of cheering, as the three-legged race began. They all hurried to the finish line to get a good view.

“Come on, Manu and Ben!” Jasmine shouted. “Come on!”

The boys had obviously worked out a system since their chaotic practice attempts yesterday. They marched along the track in perfect rhythm, as Manu barked, “One, two, one, two!” like an army captain.

Unfortunately, a pair of much taller girls had also clearly trained hard, and their longer stride gave them a distinct advantage. Manu and Ben were doing their determined best, but the girls had a strong lead and excellent teamwork.

“Come on, Ben and Manu!” shouted Tom. “You can do it!”

By the halfway point, all the other pairs had fallen by the wayside, collapsing two by two in tangled heaps, leaving only Manu and Ben and the pair of girls heading towards the finish line. Manu and Ben’s friends were yelling their support from the sidelines, and the girls’ friends were yelling theirs even louder.

“Come on, Manu and Ben!” Jasmine bellowed. “Come on!”

The boys kept on at their solid marching pace, but the girls sped up. And that was their undoing. The girl on the left sped up faster than her friend, who stumbled and fell. And Manu and Ben marched triumphantly over the finish line.

Jasmine, Tom and all the boys’ friends cheered and whooped. Ben and Manu laughed and jumped in the air with joy, forgetting they were three-legged, and almost fell into Mr Hobson’s lap. They scrambled to their feet, still tied together, and started a clumsy victory dance, surrounded by their friends.

“Grace, darling!”

Jasmine turned to see Leonora weaving through the crowds.

“Oh, you brought the rabbits here!” she said to Jasmine and Tom. “What wonderful children you are. Aren’t we lucky, Grace, that your bunnies fell into such good hands? I knew they wouldn’t come to any harm in your care.”

Grace and Jasmine exchanged glances, but to Jasmine’s gratitude, the other girl said nothing.

“Let me buy you all a cream tea,” Leonora said. “It’s the least I can do.”

They were in the marquee finishing off a delicious cream tea when Nadia arrived. Jasmine saw her glance in amazement at the two rabbits in the carrier. She caught her mother’s eye and tried to warn her with a look not to give the game away to Leonora. Luckily, at that moment Manu and Ben appeared.

“We won, Mum, we won!” shouted Manu, as the boys marched across to the tea table.

“You’re allowed to untie yourselves now, you know,” said Jasmine, when Nadia had congratulated them.

Manu shook his head. “We’re going to stay like this forever, aren’t we, Ben?”

Ben nodded. “We’re going to get the world record for being a three-legged person.”

“Come on, Granny,” said Grace. “Let’s take the rabbits home.”

Jasmine crouched in front of the carrier, where the two bunnies were snuggled up together in the hay. She lifted the lid and gently stroked their heads.

“Goodbye, Dandelion,” she said. “Goodbye, Clover. It’s been amazing knowing you, and I’ve learned so much about looking after rabbits. What incredible adventures you’ve had. I’m so, so happy that we found you again.”

Also by Helen Peters

Also by
HELEN PETERS

A Piglet Called Truffle

A Duckling Called Button

A Sheepdog Called Sky

A Kitten Called Holly

A Lamb Called Lucky

A Goat Called Willow

An Otter Called Pebble

An Owl Called Star

A Deer Called Dotty

A Donkey Called Mistletoe

A Foal Called Storm

A Puppy Called Sparkle

A Seal Pup Called Pearl

FOR OLDER READERS:

The Secret Hen House Theatre

The Farm Beneath the Water

Evie’s Ghost

Anna at War

Copyright

First published in the UK in 2023 by Nosy Crow Ltd
Wheat Wharf, 27a Shad Thames,
London, SE1 2XZ, UK

Nosy Crow Eireann Ltd
44 Orchard Grove, Kenmare,
Co Kerry, V93 FY22, Ireland

Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd

Text copyright © Helen Peters, 2023
Cover and illustrations copyright © Ellie Snowdon, 2023

The right of Helen Peters and Ellie Snowdon to be identified as the author and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978 1 83994 198 6
eISBN: 978 1 83994 199 3

A CIP catalogue record for this book will be available from the British Library.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.

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