The sun shone brightly on the green grass. It had just been cut by a lawnmower, and Neon could still remember the sound. It was loud. She had used her paws to cover up her floppy ears. But now it smelled wonderful. She couldn’t stop sniffing the grass. Her whiskers were wiggling.
“Neon, what are you doing?” Storm hopped up to her twin sister. The two bunnies looked exactly alike, with white and gold fur, big brown eyes, and long floppy ears.
“I’m smelling the fresh cut grass,” Neon said with a big sniff.
“Oh you must stop!” Storm said. “Your nose will turn green!”
“Eek!” Neon gasped. “I didn’t think of that. Is it green? Oh dear, I hope not!” she wiggled her nose at Storm.
“It’s fine,” Storm laughed. “But you shouldn’t get too dirty. Today is a big day for both of us.”
“I know,” Neon nodded. “I guess I’m a little scared.”
“Scared of what?” Storm asked. “I think it will be lots of fun.”
“What if we don’t win?” Neon frowned. “I don’t want to disappoint Aurora, she’s such a good mother to us.”
“Don’t worry, Neon. Aurora will love us no matter what. She just wants us to have fun, that’s all. Let’s get ready for the contest.” Storm hopped back toward the big house they both lived in. They lived with the woman who had adopted them, Aurora. She was a kind and generous person who always made sure they were well taken care of. Before Neon had met Aurora, she was afraid she would never have a home of her own.
“There you are, bunnies,” Aurora said when they hopped through the door. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Neon and Storm nuzzled their cheeks and whiskers against Aurora’s ankles. “We were just out for a hop,” Neon said with a laugh.
“Well I have your outfits for today,” Aurora said. She proudly showed them two pink bunny-sized dresses. One had a blue tu-tu. The other had a purple tu-tu.
“Oh they’re so beautiful!” Neon said happily. “I can’t wait to wear them!”
“We’ll look just like princesses,” Storm declared happily.
“Let’s get you dressed,” Aurora said. “It’s almost time to go!”
Getting two wiggling bunnies into tu-tus was not as easy as Aurora had thought. Every time she had Neon in her costume, Storm would wiggle right out.
“Bunnies, keep still!” Aurora laughed. “I can’t keep these on you if you’re bouncing all around.”
“Sorry,” Neon said.
“We’re just excited,” Storm said.
“So am I,” Aurora smiled.
Once Neon and Storm were dressed they piled into the car. Aurora had made them a special pillow for the ride. The bunnies nestled together, and Aurora chatted with them as they drove.
“The contest will be so much fun,” she said. “There will be lots of other animals there. Everyone will have a chance to show off their best tricks.”
“I can’t wait!” Storm said cheerfully.
But Neon snuggled down into the pillow shyly. She was still very nervous. Her whiskers were trembling.
The park was bright and filled with flowers. There were lots of animals roaming around. There were dogs, cats, and even some birds. Neon and Storm were the only two bunnies there. When it was Neon and Storm’s turn to show their stuff, Storm hopped right out. She showed the crowd how high she could hop. She showed the crowd how well she could dance. She showed the crowd how fast she could spin. Everyone cheered. Neon cheered the loudest. Storm took a bow and hopped proudly back over to Neon.
“Your turn,” she said happily.
Neon was scared. She took a slight hop forward, and then a big hop back.
“What’s wrong?” Storm asked. “Do you want me to come out there with you?”
“No,” Neon said quietly. “I just don’t think I can do it.”
“I know you can,” Storm said firmly. “Just one hop after the other. You can show them how good you are at your tricks!”
“I don’t think I can,” Neon sniffled. Her whiskers twitched.
“Neon, it’s your turn,” Aurora said and reached down to stroke her long ears.
Neon looked up at Aurora. She didn’t want to disappoint Aurora. She wanted to be brave for her. She wanted to be able to overcome her fear.
“I can’t do it,” Neon wept. “I’m not going out there.”
“Oh, poor Neon,” Aurora said softly. She picked the bunny up into her arms. “You should be proud of yourself. You’re a talented bunny.”
“What if I make a mistake?” Neon sniffled.
“We all make mistakes, Neon,” Aurora said lovingly. “It’s okay to make a mistake. It’s only important to try your best.”
Neon took a deep breath. He looked up at Aurora who smiled and patted the top of her head.
“You can do it Neon,” she said happily. “Just try your best.”
Neon felt better with her sister and Aurora cheering her along. She hopped out on to the green grass. Aurora tossed her a small ball. Neon caught it. Then she brought it right back to Aurora.
“A bunny that plays catch?” some people in the audience gasped. “How wonderful!”
Neon felt much better. She caught the ball a few more times. Then she did the biggest hop she could. The crowd clapped. Neon wiggled her whispers. She took a little bow. Then she wiggled her ears.
“How cute,” one of the judges cooed. Neon felt very proud as she walked back over to Aurora and Storm.
“You did a very good job,” Aurora said and patted her head again.
“You were great, Sis!” Storm said happily.
Then they watched the other animals perform their tricks. Neon thought all of the animals did a very good job. The judges did not take long to make their decision.
“For the best in show, the award goes to Max the Labrador,” one of the judges said.
Neon was a little disappointed. Storm was too. But Aurora just smiled and clapped for the dog. Neon and Storm hopped up and down so that their feet made a clapping sound on the ground. The judge gave out more awards. But none of them were for Neon, or for Storm. Neon was feeling very sad. She hung her head. Storm sniffled. Her whiskers wiggled.
Aurora saw their sad looks. “What’s wrong my lovely bunnies?” she asked them.
“I wanted to win something,” Neon said.
“Me too,” Storm said.
“Don’t worry, little bunnies,” Aurora said. “You did win something, you won my heart!”
Neon and Storm brightened up. They knew that Aurora was right. Even if they didn’t win any awards, Aurora would still love them just the same. It made Neon feel much better.
“Now this is the last award,” the judge said as he looked out at the crowd. “It’s a very special award. Usually it’s only given out to one animal each year.”
Neon and Storm looked at each other.
“I hope that you win,” Neon whispered to Storm.
“I hope that you win,” Storm whispered back. They crossed their paws. Their whiskers were wiggling.
“This award goes to the animal with the most creative and inventive tricks,” the judge said. “This year, we have two winners!”
Neon held her breath. She hoped. She couldn’t help but hop.
Storm started hopping too.
Aurora grinned and tried to keep them from hopping away.
“The winners are, Neon and Storm!” the judge announced with a smile.
Neon and Storm hopped with happiness. They were so busy hopping that they almost forgot to get their award.
“Little bunnies, you need to hop over there,” Aurora giggled as she pointed to the judge. Neon and Storm hopped over to the judge. The judge smiled as he hung a ribbon with a gold medal around each bunny’s neck.
“Good job, Neon,” he said. “Good job, Storm.”
“Yay!” Aurora clapped loudly for them both. So did the rest of the crowd. Neon felt very proud. She hopped back over to Aurora, with Storm hopping right behind her.
“You did it!” Aurora said with a smile. “I knew you would. Did you have fun?” she asked.
“Yes, I did,” Neon said and wiggled her whiskers. She remembered how worried she had been. It seemed silly to her now, that she was so scared. Everyone had been nice. The contest had been very fun. Neon was looking forward to doing it again.
“Did you have fun?” Neon asked as she looked over at Storm.
“I did,” Storm flopped her ears.”But, I have much more fun just playing with you.”
“Me too,” Neon said.
“There’s plenty of sunshine, and plenty of time,” Aurora said. “What do you say we go home and have some fun?”
“Yes please!” Neon said.
“I can’t wait!” Storm said.
They hopped back to the car, and Aurora drove them home.
“Let’s get you out of those costumes,” she said when they were all inside.
“Oh please, can I wear it?” Neon pleaded.
“Me too?” Storm asked.
“Of course you can,” Aurora laughed. “I guess you really like them.”
“Aurora, you win the award for the best costume maker!” Neon said.
“Why thank you,” Aurora giggled. She gave a little bow.
The bunnies hopped out into the backyard. Their medals were flopping right along with their ears.
“Let’s practice for next year,” Neon said.
“You mean you want to do it again?” Storm asked with surprise. “I thought you were too afraid.”
“I’m not afraid anymore,” Neon said. “You were right. I just needed to have fun!”
“Maybe we could do a trick together next year,” Storm said.
“I like that idea!” Neon said happily.
They played together in the yard. They practiced some new tricks and played catch with each other. They were so busy having fun, they didn’t know how tired they were getting.
“Neon, Storm, it’s time to come inside,” Aurora called out. “The sun is starting to set.”
Neon looked up at the sky with surprise. “Oh it is,” she said.
“Don’t worry, we can play again tomorrow,” Aurora said warmly.
The bunnies hopped into the house. Aurora gave them their dinner. It was very tasty. Then, the very best part of the night began. Neon and Storm hopped up into Aurora’s bed. They snuggled close. Aurora began reading to them from their favorite book.
“Once, there was a little bunny, who got lost,” she said. “That little bunny thought she would never find her way home.”
“Oh, oh, but she did!” Neon said happily.
“Sh, Neon, let her read it,” Storm said.
“Yes, that little bunny did find her way home. To a new home. With a Momma that loved her very much.”
“And don’t forget about her sister!” Storm said. She wiggled up along the bed so she could see the book.
“We could never forget you, Storm,” Aurora said. She patted Storm’s head.
“When the little bunny found her new home, she missed her sister very much,” Aurora read.
“But she didn’t have to miss her for long!” Neon said happily.
“No, not for long at all,” Aurora said. “Because that little bunny helped her new Momma find her sister. A lost little bunny found a new home, and that new home found a lost little sister.”
“Then we all became a family!” Storm said with a sigh.
“A lovely family,” Neon said and nuzzled Aurora’s cheek.
“A happy family,” Aurora smiled. She kissed Neon on the top of the head. Then she kissed Storm on the top of the head. “No matter how many awards you win, you’ll always be my greatest reward,” Aurora said.
As the two little bunnies snuggled close, Aurora closed her eyes. They all fell asleep together on the big bed. Neon dreamed about doing her new trick. Storm dreamed about hopping through the grass. Aurora dreamed about two little bunnies, who had filled her home with love.