Lucky Bunny

Lydia Hawkins couldn't take her eyes off the huge glass jar filled to the brim with brightly colored gumballs. There must be thousands of them! There was a little card taped to the jar that read "guess the number of gumballs and win the whole jar"! But then, at the bottom, it said each guess cost one dollar.

With strawberry blonde pigtails flapping in the wind, Lydia raced home as fast as her pink and white bike would allow her. Her five-year-old legs pumped the pedals furiously. When she got to the driveway to her house, she turned in and hopped off the bike before it had fully come to a stop. Carelessly, she let it fall with a clatter as she barged into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her.

Her Nike-clad feet raced up the stairs and she flew into her Holly Hobby bedroom. There it was. The cheerful white bunny rabbit with the pink ribbon that held a bright orange carrot in its paws. For as long as she could remember, she had been pushing her coins through the slot between the bunny's ears. With hands slightly trembling from excitement, she lifted the heavy bunny off its perch on her dresser and shook it.

The loud rattle of coins against the ceramic enclosure made her smile. There just had to be enough! She flipped the bunny over and searched for a way to get the coins out. She frowned thoughtfully when she found nothing. Her heart pounded as she realized the only way to get the money was to break open the bunny. She troubled her lower lip with her teeth.

Lydia loved her bunny. For as long as she could remember, it had sat on her dresser and held her change. Mommy had told her several times that her Nanny had given her the bunny on the very day she was born. Could she really bring herself to break her bunny to get her coins out?

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as a brilliant idea took root in her mind. She carefully set her bunny back in its spot and opened her bedroom door. Her jade eyes darted up and down the narrow hall, insuring no one was around. Quick as a blink, she made her way two doors down and lightly tapped the door. She smiled when no one answered. As quietly as she could, she pulled the door open and slipped into the room she knew was off-limits. She scanned the red, white and blue baseball-themed room where her twin brother displayed his grimy baseball collection.

It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. On his bookcase sat a familiar-looking bunny, only his had a green bow instead of pink. When she picked it up and shook it, there was an anemic rattle. She grinned. She was well aware that Logan preferred putting his coins in a wooden lock box he kept hidden under his bed. Her parents didn't know he'd stopped using the bunny bank for many months now. He would never miss his bunny!

Grabbing the bunny, she raced back to her room and with decisive action, she threw the bunny as hard as she could on the hardwood floor. Ceramic shattered and scattered everywhere. Heedless of the sharp shards, Lydia quickly gathered up all the coins and put them on her bed. Her brother had just a little over three dollars! Stuffing the change into the pocket of her jeans, she raced fast as she could back to the dime store.

One week later, her Mom left a box on the pillow of her bed. It had her very own name on it. Excitedly she ripped open the box and was surprised to find the huge jar of gumballs along with a little note saying "thank you for participating in the dime store promotion". She grabbed the jar and headed to her brother's room. Who else would she share her good luck with?

669 words