The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either

  products of the authors’ imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2016 by Shannon and Dean Hale

  Illustrations copyright © 2016 by LeUyen Pham

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted,

  or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means,

  graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and

  recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  First electronic edition 2017

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2015937113

  ISBN 978-0-7636-6513-5 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-9089-2 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-0-7636-9615-3 (electronic)

  This book was typeset in LTC Kennerley Pro.

  The illustrations were done in watercolor and ink.

  Candlewick Press

  99 Dover Street

  Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

  visit us at www.candlewick.com

  For Princess Ivy and Princess Cora,

  who are more dangerous than they look

  S. H. and D. H.

  For Princess Ysee, Princess Madeleine,

  and Princess Peyton

  L. P.

  Princess Magnolia and her unicorn,

  Frimplepants, rode toward the village.

  Princess Sneezewort had invited

  them to brunch. In anticipation,

  Frimplepants had skipped breakfast.

  2

  Brunch with Princess Sneezewort

  meant soft rolls with butter.

  Brunch with Princess Sneezewort

  meant cheesy omelets. Brunch with

  Princess Sneezewort meant heaping

  platters of sugar-dusted doughnuts.

  3

  Frimplepants preferred brunch

  with Princess Sneezewort to any-

  thing in the world.

  The café was so close now. The

  smell of hot bread rode the breeze.

  Frimplepants began to prance.

  4

  And then Princess Magnolia’s

  glitter-stone ring rang. The monster

  alarm!

  Frimplepants whimpered. He did

  not want to fight monsters right now.

  He wanted to eat doughnuts.

  5

  “No time to go back to the castle,

  Frimplepants,” Princess Magnolia

  whispered. “To the secret cave!”

  His tummy grumbled. Frimplepants

  hoped it would be a quick battle.

  Princess Magnolia and

  Frimplepants rode into

  the secret cave. When

  they came out the other

  side, they were the Princess

  in Black and her pony, Blacky.

  Blacky reared up on his hind legs.

  Look out, monsters! Never get between

  a hungry pony and an especially good

  brunch.

  The Princess in Black felt a pit in her

  stomach. Perhaps she was about to

  meet her greatest foe yet. Or perhaps

  she was just hungry. In anticipation

  of brunch, she had skipped breakfast.

  9

  Duff the goat boy was running

  toward them.

  “Help!” he yelled. “There are hun-

  dreds of them! It’s the worst monster

  invasion ever!”

  10

  “Fly, Blacky, fly!” said the Princess

  in Black.

  Blacky did not fly. But he did run

  very fast.

  11

  They galloped into the goat pasture.

  The Princess in Black backflipped

  off the saddle. The Princess in Black

  raised her fists in Battle Pose.

  But then the Princess in Black

  grinned.

  Duff the Goat Boy hurried back to

  the goat pasture. He liked to secretly

  study the Princess in Black’s ninja

  moves. He needed more practice

  before he could become the Goat

  Avenger.

  15

  But when he caught up, the

  Princess in Black was not battling

  beasts. The Princess in Black was

  making kissy faces.

  16

  That was not right. The Princess

  in Black fought the monsters that

  threatened his goats. Never had she

  petted the monsters. Never had she

  made kissy faces at them.

  “Where are the monsters?” asked

  the Princess in Black.

  Duff was out of breath from run-

  ning. He pointed at the ground.

  “Where?” asked the Princess in

  Black.

  Duff pointed some more. There

  were a lot of bunnies to point at.

  18

  “I don’t see anything besides these

  bunnies,” she said.

  “The bunnies . . . are . . . the

  monsters,” said Duff.

  The Princess in Black laughed.

  “Bunnies aren’t monsters.”

  “But they came . . . from Monster

  Land,” said Duff. “They hopped out

  of that hole. And they’re eating my

  goats’ grass!”

  19

  “Oh, Duff,” said the Princess in

  Black. “They’re cute little bunnies!

  What harm could they do?”

  Down in Monster Land, the bunnies

  had been bored. Bored and hungry.

  With a hundred mouths, they had

  tasted everything. They had enjoyed

  monster fur. They had snacked on

  rock chips. They had dined on toe-

  nail clippings and lizard scales. And

  still they were hungry.

  There was a hole in the ceiling of

  Monster Land. An interesting smell

  trickled down.

  One brave bunny had poked its

  head through the hole.

  25

  Grass! An ocean of green grass!

  “I must taste it,” said the bunny.

  The bunny munched some grass.

  “This is yum,” it said. “I should

  tell the others.”

  It told the others.

  And soon, a horde of hungry

  bunnies had hopped up to the goat

  pasture.

  Blacky’s stomach squeaked with

  hunger. Those bunnies sure seemed

  to relish the grass. Blacky wondered

  if it was especially delicious.

  27

  Blacky sniffed a deep green patch.

  It didn’t smell like soft rolls with

  butter. It didn’t smell like cheesy

  omelets or sugar-dusted doughnuts.

  28

  Blacky closed his eyes. He imagined

  the grass tasting as delicious as brunch.

  He opened his mouth wide and took

  a bite.

  29

  He sputtered and coughed. It

  hadn’t tasted like doughnuts. It

  hadn’t even tasted like grass.

  Blacky’s mouth was full of dirt.

  The bunnies had devoured the entire

  patch of grass.

  31
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  And it looked like one was nibbling

  on the end of his tail.

  Yes, one bunny was most definitely

  nibbling on Blacky’s tail.

  Blacky swished his tail. The bunny

  did not let go.

  Blacky pranced about. The bunny

  did not let go.

  Blacky sat down. On his tail.

  The bunny let go. The bunny

  crawled away.

  Princess in Black, you have to stop

  these monsters!” said Duff.

  He pulled at his hair. He paced this

  way and that.

  “Are you sure they came from

  Monster Land?” she asked.

  “Yes!” said Duff. “I saw them hop

  out of that hole.”

  33

  “The poor things,” said the Princess

  in Black. “They probably came here

  to escape the monsters. We must keep

  them safe.”

  Just then, a clawed paw reached

  out of the hole.

  The first paw was followed by

  eight more. A massive, drooling, nine-

  pawed monster emerged.

  34

  It stood on its many hind legs. It

  opened its jaws.

  It said, “ROAAARRRR!”

  35

  The bunnies stopped eating. They

  looked at the monster.

  The monster started to say

  “ROAAARRRR!” again. But it

  only got as far as “ROAA—” It had

  noticed the bunnies.

  The bunnies’ noses wiggled.

  36

  The nine-pawed monster dived

  back into the hole.

  The bunnies resumed eating.

  “Did you see?” said Duff. “That

  massive, drooling, nine-pawed mon-

  ster was scared of the bunnies!”

  37

  “That’s impossible,” said the Princess

  in Black. “Bunnies aren’t scary.”

  She petted the bunny on her lap.

  But instead of one bunny, now there

  were three.

  “Um, are there more bunnies than

  before?”

  The pasture was no longer green.

  The bunnies had devoured nearly

  every blade of grass.

  A few bunnies stuck like tree

  frogs to the big oak.

  “Are they eating that tree?”

  asked Duff.

  39

  “Of course not,” said the Princess

  in Black. “Bunnies don’t eat trees.”

  More bunnies hopped onto the tree

  trunk. Others took to the branches.

  Seconds later, the tree was gone.

  The bunnies smacked their lips.

  “They ate the tree!” said Duff.

  “They ate the entire tree!”

  42

  The Princess in Black didn’t notice.

  She was petting the bunnies on her

  lap. Now there were six.

  Bunnies began hopping onto goat

  backs. They nibbled goat hairs.

  43

  “They are eating my goats! They

  are eating my goats!” Duff yelled.

  “But . . . but they’re cute little

  bunnies?” said the Princess in Black.

  44

  A cute little bunny jumped onto a

  goat’s head. It opened its tiny mouth

  wide. It clamped down on a goat horn.

  There was a sound like CHOMP.

  45

  The goat now had half a horn.

  “AAH!” said Duff.

  The Princess in Black looked

  down. A bunny was gnawing on her

  scepter.

  The Princess in Black stood up. Ten

  bunnies rolled off her lap. One was

  chewing a piece of her cape.

  “You really are monsters, aren’t

  you?” she said.

  47

  The bunnies wriggled their velvet

  noses. The bunnies waggled their

  fluffy tails. A tall one munched the

  bell off a goat’s neck.

  48

  “Okay, monster bunnies, that is

  it!” said the Princess in Black. “You

  may not eat the goats. Go back in the

  hole.”

  The bunnies shuffled closer. One

  sniffed her shoe.

  49

  The Princess in Black pressed a

  switch on her scepter. It turned into

  a staff. She swung it at the bunnies.

  52

  The bunnies dodged her attacks.

  The bunnies blinked at her. The bun-

  nies began to snack on a boulder.

  “Duff, I don’t know what to do,”

  said the Princess in Black. “There

  are so many. And I can’t even touch

  them.”

  “Try the Fearsome Flutter Clang,”

  said Duff. “That scared away the big-

  eared monster last spring.”

  The Princess in Black extended her

  fan-shield. She hit it with her staff.

  A loud CLANG! echoed across the

  pasture.

  54

  The bunnies twitched their ears.

  They ate more rocks. They crowded

  around the goats. The goats bleated

  nervously. Especially the one who

  was missing half a horn.

  55

  “Back, bunnies! Back!” the Princess

  in Black shouted.

  The bunnies didn’t move. Except

  for the one taking dainty bites of her

  shoe.

  The bunnies watched the Princess

  in Black shout.

  “The dark one sings for us,” said

  one bunny.

  The bunnies watched the Princess

  in Black swing her staff.

  “It dances for us,” said another

  bunny.

  58

  “We should ask it if it is food,” said

  a bunny in the back.

  “Are you food?” asked a bunny

  near her foot.

  “If it wasn’t food, it would tell

  us,” said a bunny on a goat’s head. “It

  would say, ‘I’m not food.’ ”

  59

  “If it is food, we should eat it,” said

  a bunny no one had noticed before.

  “Perhaps it does not hear well,”

  said the tiniest bunny. “Its ears are

  very small.”

  “Let us ask one more time,” said

  the largest bunny. “All at once.”

  61

  Hundreds of eyes looked at the

  Princess in Black. Hundreds of eyes

  blinked cutely at the same time.

  “ARE YOU FOOD?” the bunnies

  were asking.

  But the Princess in Black didn’t hear

  any question. She just saw the bunnies

  blink cutely. She saw them sniff cutely

  and waggle their ears cutely.

  “No answer,” said a bunny in the

  middle. “It must be food.”

  Then all the bunnies said “EAT

  IT!” at the exact same time.

  The Princess in Black did not know

  the bunnies were speaking.

  Duff did not know.

  The goats did not know.

  63

  The hungry bunny horde spoke

  the language of Cuteness.

  Cute sniffles. Cute waggles.

  Cute hops. Only other cute animals

  could understand.

  64

  And that was why Blacky under-

  stood.

  Because Blacky was no
t just Blacky

  the pony.

  65

  He was also Frimplepants.

  Frimplepants the unicorn.

  And Frimplepants the unicorn was

  as cute as they come.

  Blacky’s tummy grumbled.

  It growled. It roared. Blacky had

  a hard time thinking about anything

  besides brunch. The brunch he was

  missing.

  Then he noticed the bunnies were

  saying something. About eating.

  67

  Did they want brunch? Were they

  wishing for rolls and omelets and

  doughnuts?

  No. They were going to eat the

  Princess in Black!

  68

  The bunnies formed into one

  purple mass. Their mouths were

  open. Their teeth were shiny. Their

  black eyes stared at the Princess in

  Black.

  Blacky leaped in front of his friend.

  “Stop!” Blacky said with a soft

  neigh.

  All the bunnies looked at Blacky.

  “You may not eat her,” Blacky said

  with a flutter of his eyelashes.

  “It does not speak,” the bunny

  with a mouthful of princess shoe told

  Blacky. “It is food.”

  70

  “She is not yum,” Blacky said with

  a frisky step. “She is yuck-tasting. All

  the good food is gone.”

  71

  The bunnies looked around at the