Read Online Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath - Free Book Online Page B

detective, Madeline,” said Mr. Bunny. “If we could just find some way to disguise your gigantic bottom.”
    â€œDo you think you could show Mr. Bunny how to start the car?” interrupted Mrs. Bunny hastily. “And also how to drive it?”
    â€œDidn’t he have to learn before he got his license?” asked Madeline.
    â€œBunnies don’t need licenses,” said Mr. Bunny. “They areborn with a certain innate knowledge of all things worth knowing. Hand me the keys, please.”
    Mr. Bunny had to sit on six telephone books in order to see out the windshield because the Smart car was a normal human-sized car. Unfortunately, this meant his foot did not reach the gas pedal.
    â€œI have an idea,” said Mrs. Bunny, and she hopped back into the house. When she returned she had a pair of twelve-inch purple sequined platform shoes.
    â€œAh, Mrs. Bunny,” said Mr. Bunny, getting out of the car and strapping them on. “A relic of your disco-dancing phase. I knew someday one of your short-lived enthusiasms would come in handy.”
    Everyone got back in the car. When Mr. Bunny reached down with his newly shod foot, he had no trouble reaching the gas pedal.
    Madeline sat in the front passenger seat and politely offered her lap to Mrs. Bunny.
    â€œI could sit happily on the floor,” said Mrs. Bunny. “Believe me, the less I see, the better.”
    â€œBut then you wouldn’t fit in the seat belt, and I feel we should definitely wear seat belts,” said Madeline.
    Mrs. Bunny agreed to sit on Madeline’s lap because of the seat belt, but she rode with her paws pressed firmly over her eyes the whole way. Madeline found it comforting to have Mrs. Bunny’s warm furry weight on her lap. It reminded her of her younger days with stuffed animals.
    Mr. Bunny did not seem to care that he flooded the engine twice; he was clearly having a marvelous time. He braked when he should have applied gas only eleven times and bragged that it must be some kind of record for a beginner. There was no real whiplash, he insisted, that was just Mrs. Bunny exaggerating. By the time they arrived at the driveway to the manor house, Mr. Bunny declared he had things completely under control. Then he ran into the gate. But that could happen to anybody, he pointed out.
    Madeline asked Mr. Bunny to let her out there so the butler wouldn’t see her.
    â€œWhy are you hiding from the butler?” asked Mr. Bunny.
    â€œIt’s for Uncle’s sake,” explained Madeline. “Uncle would be thrilled to observe rabbits pulling up in a Smart car. He is going to make it his life work to study your, um, driving habits.”
    â€œTo each his own,” said Mr. Bunny loftily. He felt surethere was an implied insult in anyone’s studying him in any way at all.
    â€œBut Jeeves is apparently not to be disturbed with, any, um, disturbing concepts, such as some people might find, um, driving rabbits or kidnapping foxes,” finished Madeline awkwardly.
    â€œDon’t worry, dear,” said Mrs. Bunny, patting Madeline’s shoulder, which she could do easily from her position on Madeline’s lap. “Good help is so hard to find. In fact, don’t worry about a thing. Mr. Bunny and I have everything under control.”
    Mrs. Bunny, having thus reassured twelve children of her own in days gone by, had quite the knack for it, and Madeline found herself feeling greatly comforted. Nobody had ever reassured her about anything, and it was a wonderful novel sensation. She went inside, had dinner and went happily to sleep.
    But after Madeline had gone, Mrs. Bunny turned to Mr. Bunny and said, “I have no idea what we’re doing, have you? I mean, usually I don’t mind having no idea what we are doing, but now I feel we really must. We’re going to have to step it up, Mr. Bunny.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” said Mr. Bunny resolutely. “Already I