Tour Troubles Read online

  Seconds later, I was racing across the floor, zipping through legs and hopping over the piles of suitcases. The revolving door spun as I shot out the other side. Then I was on the red carpet, but I could see the doors of the bus starting to close. With another giant final leap, I twisted sideways with my paws outstretched, closing my eyes and hoping I’d make it through the narrowing gap.

  ‘Harriet!’ cried Susie as the door hissed shut and I landed on the top step next to the driver. ‘Why aren’t you in your special car?’

  She rushed to the front of the bus and gathered me up. Miranda and Doodle swapped disappointed glances as Susie fussed over me. Somehow, I knew they’d been behind my attempted bunny-napping, but they were no match for a Stunt Bunny.

  EE grumbled about having to buy a new travel basket to replace the one I’d escaped from, but he didn’t have much choice, although he did make sure he bought a practically escape-proof basket this time. The rest of the tour went in a blur. Up and down Britain we went, amazing the audience in Manchester, flabbergasting the fans in Birmingham and crazing the crowds in Cardiff. Our final show was London, and Gloria warned us to expect our biggest audience ever.

  ‘Pull out all the stops, gang!’ she urged at our pre-show pep talk. ‘Doodle, hit those high notes. Lulu, spin it like you’ve never spun before. And Harriet—’ she paused and beamed at me. ‘You don’t need to change a thing.’

  It was a proud moment. Susie tickled my cheek fondly and even EE seemed to be glad he was sitting next to me. Doodle, on the other hand, looked like someone had done a poo under her nose.

  ‘Don’t forget Mum and Lily are coming to see the show tonight, Harriet,’ Susie whispered. ‘Make sure you give them a wave.’

  As if she needed to remind me. I’d give the performance of my life that night or my name wasn’t Harriet Houdini!

  There was a crowd waiting when we arrived at the stadium. They cheered as we got off the bus and cameras flashed all around us. Then a sudden shriek split the air. ‘Harriet! Harriet Houdini!’ Rushing towards us was a girl around Susie’s age, wearing pink and white flashing bunny ears and an ‘I ♥ Stunt Bunny!’ T-shirt. Behind her was a harassed looking security guard. The girl skidded to a halt in front of us, ears wobbling. ‘Is it really you?’

  ‘Who else would it be?’ Miranda drawled, as she waved her hand in a big fake yawn.

  Susie smiled at the girl. ‘That’s right. Would you like an autograph?’

  Wide-eyed, the girl nodded. ‘I’m Stunt Bunny’s number one fan!’

  I busied myself putting my paw print on to a photograph as the girl chattered away. I barely noticed Miranda disappear back on to the bus. By the time I’d finished with my super-fan and the guard had taken her back to her mother, EE had decided I’d be safer in my basket and he climbed aboard the bus to get it.

  ‘Where’s Harriet’s water bottle gone?’ Susie exclaimed when he placed it on the floor beside us. ‘It was attached to her basket when we set off.’

  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of VIP who demands white roses from Paris or the hottest hairdresser, but a girl gets used to having her own things around and my water bottle was one of them. Apart from anything else, I’d nibbled the nozzle into just the right shape for drinking from.

  ‘Perhaps it fell off during the journey,’ EE said doubtfully.

  ‘Looking for something?’ Miranda popped up next to us. She was smiling.

  ‘Harriet’s water bottle has gone missing,’ EE said.

  ‘Is this it?’ Miranda asked, holding something towards us. ‘I found it rolling around the floor of the bus.’

  ‘That’s it!’ Susie exclaimed. ‘Look, Harriet, it’s your water bottle.’

  As pleased as I was to see it, I couldn’t shake my feeling of distrust. Miranda was never helpful unless there was something in it for her. I stared at Doodle, trying to work out what the two of them were planning. Doodle stared back, her teeth bared in a friendly grin.

  Susie took the bottle. ‘If it’s been on the floor I’d better give it a wash.’

  ‘No need!’ trilled Miranda, quick as a flash. ‘I already did that for you.’

  Now I was definitely suspicious. Something was up. But Susie and EE didn’t seem to have noticed.

  ‘Thanks, Miranda,’ EE said with a grateful smile. ‘I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t found it.’

  Susie clipped the bottle back on to my basket and carried me through the entrance to the hotel. Peering over my shoulder, I saw Miranda and Doodle high five behind us. I didn’t know what they were up to, but I was ready. If they thought I was even sniffing that bottle, they had another thing coming.

  The dress rehearsal was a disaster. Spike-tacular fell in a heap, Lulu dropped her hula hoop and there were problems with the stage lights, which caused Gloria to rush around with a stressed look on her face, shouting a lot. By the time we’d finished everyone was feeling frazzled.

  ‘I don’t know about you, Harriet, but I’ll be glad when the show is over tonight,’ the make-up lady said, as she put the finishing touches to my hair and whiskers. ‘What with all the problems today and that awful singing, I’m looking forward to a nice rest.’

  A pained look crossed her face and I knew she meant Doodle, who we could hear warming up somewhere backstage. For an opera-singing poodle, some of those notes sounded a bit wobbly. But, now I came to think about it, I was looking forward to going home after the show too. My hutch was cosy’, but at least I didn’t have to listen to EE snoring all night.

  Susie and EE had gone to collect Mrs Wilson and Lily from the train station, so once I’d finished in make-up I had nothing to do but wait for them to get back. Most of the other pets were in their dressing rooms, so it was all quiet in the area behind the stage. As I sat there, snacking on some hay, I heard a sharp whisper behind the dark backstage curtains. I stopped chewing to listen.

  ‘Pssst! Are you ’ere?’

  I frowned. That funny accent was familiar. Where had I heard it before?

  A snooty female voice whispered back, ‘Of course I am. Did you bring the lookalike?’

  My frown got deeper. I’d know that toffee-nosed tone anywhere. But who earth was Miranda whispering to?

  ‘I ’ave,’ the other voice replied. ‘’Ave you given Arriet ze sleeping potion?’

  Eyes wide, I shuffled to the front of my basket and peered out, but there was no one to be seen.

  ‘It’s in the water bottle. Her stupid owners didn’t suspect a thing.’

  I stared at the bottle, hanging from my door. So that was why it had gone missing – Miranda must have taken it!

  ‘Good. Once she is asleeps, I will swap er for ze – ’ow you say – look-ze-samey.’

  ‘It’s called a lookalike, you idiot,’ Miranda said. ‘Just make sure you take the right rabbit away. When Gloria sees her precious Stunt Bunny has forgotten how to backflip, she’ll kick her off Superpets and beg Doodle to take her place!’

  So that was it! Miranda wanted Doodle to be the star of Superpets and she didn’t care what it took. But who was her partner in crime?

  Wriggling to the back of my basket, I considered my options. What I needed was a way out of the basket so I could get help, but the basket that EE had bought made sure I had little chance of escaping. I could only hope that Susie and EE came back before Miranda and the mystery man could put their dastardly plan into practice.

  The backstage curtains twitched and a dark figure came towards me. Quick as a flash, I lay flat on the floor of the basket and narrowed my eyes to slits. If the man thought I was asleep I might be able to catch him by surprise and hop away to safety when he opened the door. But the mystery man didn’t open the basket. Instead, he bent down to look inside.

  ‘Allo ’Arriet,’ he said. ‘We meet again.’ I peered out and was shocked to find myself face to face with the only person that could possibly spell more trouble for me than Doodle’s owner…

  ‘Don’t worry, Miranda.’ He
called, ‘Zis time, I, ze Great Maldini, will not fail. I must ’ave zis rabbit!’

  I don’t mind telling you that my heart was pounding. The last time I’d seen the Great Maldini, he’d tried to steal me away to star in his magic show. Only a super bunny backflip had saved me and now it looked as though he was trying again. But how had he got past the security guards and into the stadium?

  As I looked more closely at Maldini, suddenly it became clear how he had managed to get backstage. Gone was the dark hair he’d had when I’d last seen him. Instead, on his head was a red wig, covered by a familiar lime-green baseball cap. The Great Maldini and the kidnapping roadie were the same person!

  He lifted his hand and I saw he held a travel basket identical to mine. Sitting in the middle was a grey rabbit. It looked exactly like me!

  ‘’Arriet ’Oudini, meet ’Arriet ’Oudini,’ the Great Maldini said and started to giggle. ‘By ze time everyone works out what as ’appened, we will be far away.’

  Still laughing, he raised my basket up in the air and swung the other basket into its place. Then, with a flourish, he shook out a black cloth and draped it over my basket. Everything went dark.

  My main worry was that he would whisk me away immediately, but I could still hear Doodle’s awful singing when he put me down again, so I knew we hadn’t gone far.

  ‘Wait ’ere, my little Stunt Bunny,’ he said, whipping away the cloth and grinning evilly. ‘When I return, we escapes!’

  He tugged something over the front of my basket and I was in the dark again. Gnashing my teeth together, I thought hard. From the sounds of things, he’d hidden me away somewhere backstage. But when Susie and EE came back, they would see the lookalike rabbit and think it was me!

  By the time they realised their mistake The Great Maldini would be long gone, taking me with him. I needed to hatch a getaway plan, and fast. But what could I do? The basket was escape-proof. Or was it?

  I nibbled at the plastic wall beside me, but it was tough and hurt my teeth. The door of the basket was no better. It looked like plastic, until I clamped my trusty teeth on it and discovered it was made of metal coated with plastic.

  Then I heard something which made me want to cry. Susie had come back and she’d gone straight to the lookalike bunny’s basket.

  ‘Sorry we were gone so long, Harriet,’ I heard her say. ‘Dad got lost.’

  ‘I did not,’ EE sounded snappy. ‘Your mother gave me the wrong directions.’

  The backstage speaker crackled and a voice said, ‘Ten minutes to curtain up. All pets to the stage.’

  ‘You’d better get Harriet dressed,’ EE said. ‘She’s on in a minute.’

  I peered frantically around my dark prison, searching for a way out. There wasn’t one and with all the noise from the other pets heading towards the stage, no-one could hear my squeaking.

  ‘Has Harriet lost weight?’ Susie said slowly. ‘Only this sparkly suit fitted her yesterday and now it’s too big.’

  I froze, hoping Susie would realise that the rabbit she held wasn’t me, but EE growled impatiently, ‘Just put it on and let’s get on stage. The curtain will go up in a minute and Gloria won’t be pleased if we’re not there.’

  Seconds later, they were gone. In desperation, I kicked out at the wall of the basket, but it was designed to stand up to bigger bunnies than me and didn’t budge. Defeated, I stared up at the roof. And then it hit me. There was a hatch in the roof big enough for Susie to slide her hand through. It had a latch to hold it closed, but maybe if I could hit it with my back feet I could get it open! The question was, how was I going to reach the roof?

  Applause and cheering floated through from the stage, meaning the show had started. I guessed it wouldn’t be long before the Great Maldini came back. If I didn’t act fast, I’d never see Susie again! Waggling my whiskers, I thought hard. The roof was too low for a backflip and I didn’t fancy bumping my head if I jumped. But, if I balanced on my front paws, maybe I could kick upwards and break-out.

  Taking a deep breath, I planted my paws in front of me and did a handstand. Then, with one powerful thump, I hit out at the roof of the cage and caught the hatch with a terrific thrust. The latch snapped and I felt the hatch fly upwards. Quickly, I stood on all fours and nudged at the broken roof. The gap was just big enough for me to jump through. I slid to the floor. Now to get to the stage and show them who the real Stunt Bunny was around here!

  ‘Not so fast, ’Arriet!’ cried a voice above me.

  I looked up to see the Great Maldini coming towards me, an evil sneer on his face. ‘So you zeenk you can escape, no? I ’ave news for you – no one escapes ze Great Maldini!’

  Except me, of course. As his hands reached out to grab me, I set off along the ground at top speed. I’d been right when I’d guessed he hadn’t taken me far. In fact, he’d hidden my basket under the make-up lady’s table. With a howl, Maldini lunged after me, his hands grabbing and missing as I zig-zagged across the floor. In the background, I could hear Doodle’s warbling yowls, which meant it was almost time for my act. I had to hurry if I wanted to save the show.

  The Great Maldini was puffing and panting as he chased me. I stopped zig-zagging from side to side and began circling around him. His fingers snatched at my fur as he spun, missing me by inches each time. He turned round faster and faster and let out a dizzy-sounding groan. Then he lurched off to one side, clutching his head.

  ‘I spin like ze fairground tea-cups,’ he moaned. ‘Make eet stop!’

  I didn’t have time feel sorry for him – the applause for Doodle’s performance was fading and a hush had settled over the crowd. I needed to get to the stage before the lookalike rabbit ruined my reputation forever.

  With a giant leap, I cleared the steps to the stage and bounded into the bright lights, where everyone was staring at the pretend me cowering on one of trampolines.

  ‘Go on, Harriet,’ Susie whispered uncertainly, from the side of the stage. ‘People are waiting. Do a backflip or something.’

  You could have heard a pin drop in the silence. The other rabbit gazed back at Susie with big eyes, her ears twitching nervously. Slowly, I hopped into the centre of the stage. The audience gasped when they saw me and Susie’s mouth dropped open in shock. ‘Harriet?’

  On the other side of the stage, I noticed Miranda go a peculiar colour. She began to tug Doodle backwards.

  Gloria pushed to the front of the stage. ‘Surely the rabbit on the trampoline is the real Harriet?’ she said, glancing between the lookalike bunny and me in confusion.

  Suddenly, everyone was talking at once and the crowd was joining in too.

  ‘I suppose there’s only one way to be sure,’ Susie said, lifting me on to a trampoline. ‘Go on, Harriet.’ She looked at the other rabbit. ‘Or . .. erm . .. Harriet.’ The lookalike squeaked and leaped sideways, but I didn’t need to be told twice. Pushing off against the trampoline, I was soon soaring high above the stage. Cheers broke out around the stadium as I spun through the hoops and bouncing between the trampolines. The crowd went wild when I finally pulled off a perfect triple flip and landed beside Susie.

  Gloria lifted the microphone to her mouth and smiled. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt about who the real Harriet Houdini is, do you?’ she said over the cheers. ‘There’s only one Stunt Bunny!’

  By the time the audience had finished applauding and we got off the stage, there was no sign of Maldini, apart from his baseball cap and wig.

  ‘Didn’t these belong to that roadie?’ EE said, picking them up from the floor and frowning at them. ‘You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something to do with all this.’

  Gloria looked confused. ‘But we don’t have a roadie with red hair.’

  Everyone stared at the wig in EE’s hands.

  ‘Is that the time?’ Miranda burst out in a bright voice. ‘Gosh, we really must be going. Come along, Doodle!’

  And tugging on the poodle’s lead, the two of them disappeared out of the door b
efore anyone could stop them. I decided it was best to let them go. Miranda had failed in her attempt to get me thrown off Superpets and there was no way I could prove she’d even tried.

  ‘There’s something very strange about those two,’ EE said, staring after them.

  At that moment the door flew open again and Mrs Wilson and Lily burst through. Mrs Wilson gave Susie a big hug and Lily gave me a sticky hug.

  ‘What on earth was all that about?’ she asked curiously. ‘Where did that other rabbit come from?’

  ‘No idea,’ EE said. ‘But it definitely isn’t ours.’

  That raised another question. What was going to happen to the lookalike rabbit now that The Great Maldini had fled?

  ‘You can be my bunny,’ Lily said, putting me down to pick up the grey rabbit and rubbing her face against its soft fur. ‘I will call you Flopsy.’

  ‘No!’ chorused Susie, EE and Mrs Wilson all at the same time.

  ‘That’s what we called Harriet when we first got her,’ EE went on with a shudder. ‘And we can’t keep this rabbit, Lily. One bunny is quite enough.’

  ‘I’ve always wanted a pet of my own,’ Gloria said thoughtfully, reaching across to lift the rabbit out of Lily’s arms. ‘Maybe I can give Flopsy a home.’ She stroked Flopsy under her chin and the bunny closed her eyes happily. She didn’t even seem to mind her new name. What can I say? It takes all sorts.

  ‘G-g-great idea,’ EE stuttered, looking a bit like he wanted Gloria to tickle him under the chin.

  Mrs Wilson threw him a frosty look. ‘I see you’re still ga-ga.’ EE went red. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’