Medal Mayhem Read Free

aimed for the sandpit. I landed squarely in the middle of the squishy yellow sand, ears pointing straight upwards and whiskers quivering like I was a gold-medal-winning gymnast.
    There was a stunned silence, then Calvin turned to the film crew. “Tell me you got all that.”
    The cameraman checked his tiny screen and nodded.
    Calvin clapped his hands, beaming. “Bravo, Harriet, that was a real show-stopping performance!” He leaned towards EE. “Do you think she meant to do that?”
    EE picked up the limp remains of the space hopper, a strange look on his face. “It’s hard to say for sure, but with Harriet, anything is possible.”
    “Dad!” Susie said, hitting EE on the leg. “Of course she meant to do it. She is a Stunt Bunny, after all.”
    “Well, whether she meant it or not, I don’t need to see any more,” Calvin said, as I hopped out of the sandpit and shook myself off. “I think Harriet is going to be a terrific triple-jumper!”
    It was exactly what I wanted to hear. The space hopper shenanigans might not have worked out quite the way I’d planned but they certainly seemed to have impressed Calvin, and the viewers of the Team Superpets TV show would love them. Now the real work could begin – turning me from a Stunt Bunny into an Animalympian. And I was ready. I’d bring home a triple-jump medal or my name wasn’t Harriet Houdini!

 

    Normally, I missed filming Superpets when we were on our summer break but my busy schedule with Calvin meant I didn’t have time to think about anything other than hopping, skipping and jumping. He came round almost every day to work with Susie and me, much to Mrs Wilson’s delight. Honestly, she fussed non-stop over Calvin and always seemed to be interrupting our training to offer him a cup of tea or slice of cake.
    “Mum, you’re in the way again!” Susie exclaimed, when Mrs Wilson tottered into down to the sandpit for the fifth time that day in a silky dress and an impossibly high-heeled pair of shoes. “Harriet was just about to do a jump.”
    “I thought you might be peckish,” Mrs Wilson said, waving a plate of chocolate biscuits around and wobbling wildly as her heels sank into the grass.
    The cameraman reached out took a biscuit. “Don’t mind if I do.”
    “Thanks very much, Mrs Wilson,” the sound man said and snatched one from the plate just as Mrs Wilson started to lose her balance. The biscuits flew up into the air, landing on the grass.
    She clung onto Calvin for support. “Oops, clumsy me!” she giggled. “I hope you didn’t want a biscuit . . .”
    “Mum!” groaned Susie, her cheeks turning rosy.
    I knew exactly how she felt and covered my eyes with my paws.
    Calvin shook his head. “No, thank you. We athletes have to keep trim.”
    Was it my imagination or did Calvin sound a bit regretful that he’d said no to the biscuits? Maybe he had something in common with EE after all!
    Mrs Wilson straightened up and smoothed her dress down. “Well, do let me know if there’s anything you need.”
    She wobbled her way back up the garden and into the house, leaving the chocolate biscuits behind her. They smelled delicious and I might have been tempted to have a sneaky nibble if Calvin hadn’t been watching me sternly. That didn’t bother Smudge, the Wilsons’ cat, and he stuck out a claw to snag himself a snack. Purring, he settled down on the grass with his treasure but Susie had spotted him.

    “Oh no you don’t,” she said in a firm voice as she took the biscuit off him. “Chocolate is very bad for cats.”
    Swishing his tail, Smudge let out a disappointed-sounding miaow and swiped a paw at Susie. Then he turned his back on her and stalked over to the fence. Before you could say moody moggy, he had vanished into next-door’s garden.
    “There are – ah – too many distractions out here,” Calvin said, looking at the biscuit in Susie’s hand as though he was trying not to lick his lips. “Why don’t we go and watch some