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Andrew thinks it’s about time he gets a rabbit for his birthday!
“I’m not too little!” he shouts angrily. “I’m almost four!” And that’s definitely old enough to have a rabbit, he believes.
“Rasmus has a guinea pig. I’m the only one without a pet. That’s not fair!”
“That’s out of the question,” say Mom and Dad at the same time.
“You don’t even know how to clean a rabbit hutch,” says Dad.
“The whole apartment will end up smelling like a wild animal cage.”
“I do know how to clean a rabbit hutch!” Andrew yells.
And Andrew really does know a lot about rabbits. Every afternoon, he and his very best friend Paula go to the pet store to look at the dwarf rabbits in the window.
Their favorite is the little black one. They call him Zorro. Andrew wishes Zorro were his.
“But Dad’s afraid the apartment will smell like a wild animal cage,” Andrew sighs.
Paula has an idea. “I know how you can convince your parents. You just need some cardboard and a few carrots.”
Andrew thinks Paula’s idea is brilliant. That same afternoon, they make a pair of bunny ears from cardboard.
“Stop being silly!” says Mom when Andrew only wants to eat carrots, apples, and salad. Andrew hops like a rabbit straight into his brother’s toy castle.
“Just give him the rabbit already,” says Rasmus.
The day before Andrew’s birthday, Zorro is gone from the pet store window!
Andrew feels sick to his stomach and asks the lady at the shop what happened to him.
“The little black rabbit? I sold him this morning,” she says.
Tears well up in Andrew’s eyes. This can’t be happening!
The next morning, Mom comes into Andrew’s room to wake up the birthday boy. But Andrew hides under the covers. He doesn’t want to get up.
“Don’t you want to see your birthday present?” Mom asks.
Andrew shakes his head.
“Well then, I guess you won’t get to meet them,” she says with a smile.
“Meet who…? I better see what they’re up to,” Andrew thinks.
“Zorro!!” he shouts when he sees the rabbit hutch.
He really wants to pick up his bunny—but he’s not allowed yet.
“Zorro needs time to get used to his new home,” says Dad.
Zorro is the best rabbit in the world. And Andrew quickly becomes great at taking care of him.
In the morning, he fills Zorro’s bowl with food and gives him fresh water. In the evening, Zorro gets a carrot and a few apple slices.
Andrew always makes sure there’s plenty of fresh hay to nibble on.
Once a week, Andrew cleans the hutch.
He throws out the old wood shavings and hay, washes the bottom with warm water, then fills it with clean shavings and puts Zorro’s little house back in.
Andrew picks dandelions for Zorro from the lawn.
Now Zorro even eats from his hand. And soon, he likes to be petted too.
A couple of weeks later, Andrew can finally hold Zorro.
The little rabbit twitches his nose happily. Soon, Zorro gets a new friend: it’s Sven, Rasmus’ guinea pig.
Zorro sniffs Sven, and they play hide and seek under the cupboard or inside the toy castle.
Zorro truly is the best bunny in the world.
And since Andrew always remembers to clean the hutch, the apartment doesn’t smell like a wild animal cage after all.
Even Dad has to admit that.
