Читать The Button Witch

"Two cats in a day! I can't believe my eyes. Now I feel that fortune is on our side!" Ron exclaimed. "The witch is known to hate cats. She turns them into ice sculptures. Surviving here is a challenge! What's the lucky cat's name?"

"I'm Sunny," said the cat, in a sing-song manner. "I've been through worse. The most dangerous thing about this town is falling asleep at night."

"Why?" asked Olivia, furrowing her brows.

"Oh, that's a long story."

"It will be great to hear it. We have very little survival experience in this town or in the woods." Dean barked and gave Fargo a warning look. "This place is full of troublemakers. The more we learn, the better off we are."

"All right. Listen." Sunny blinked and exhaled sharply. A slight grimace crossed his features like a shadow. His voice lowered as he began to speak.

"The witch's nightly prey is her sleeping victims. The main thing in this place is to stay awake at night and not be seen by the witch during the day, especially if you're a cat. I'm lucky, I suffer from insomnia.

I sleep during the day and I can't get a wink of sleep at night. Once I went out when it was getting dark.

There was a rabbit crawling around in the snowdrift, bleeding. He told me his name was Hopper. He had been playing hockey and stepped on a rusty nail. I made a sled out of twigs and took the rabbit to the abandoned witch's hut. I knew she had left it many years ago. It was the perfect place to hide from her. I took care of Hopper, fed him carrots, and bandaged his paw. Within a week, he had completely recovered and left. One day, he came back and brought me a strange hat. It had big, fluffy rabbit ears attached to it. There was no doubt that the ears were fake, but they were so masterfully made! From a distance and in the dusk, I could pass for a rabbit."

CHAPTER FIVE

Hopper the Rabbit

Outside, they could hear the engine revving, tires scraping against the ice, a car sliding in the snow. Dean and the cats ran out of the hut. Olivia and Ron rushed out after them.

"Hopper, we were just thinking about you!" Sunny said.

Hopper cried out, "Pulling the car out of the snow was a great workout. I needed to get my blood pumping." He followed Dean’s amazed gaze, proudly straightened his back and said, "This car is the fastest one in the woods! Do you like it?"

"It’s gorgeous!" Dean exclaimed as he leaned forward with interest. "I love this car! Is snow drifting dangerous?"

"I think it's dangerous for beginners." Hopper replied, rubbing his neck. "To tell you the truth, it's rather unpredictable. There are rules I always follow to be safe."

"What rules?" Dean the dog barked.

The rabbit said, "I avoid moving in a hurry." Then he looked at Sunny and added, "I've come to invite you to Molly's carrot pie. Introduce me to your friends. And have them join in, too."

Soon they drove up to a big, beautiful house with a roof that looked like rabbit ears. Dean wagged his tail in delight.

Fargo smiled and said, "I see you have bunny ears everywhere. On your hats and on your house. How did you manage to build a roof like that?"

"It wasn't hard. I'm an artist and a builder at heart."

"Who is it?" Olivia heard the curious voices of the cats. "We've already set the table. Come in!"