“Nonsense, Harold,” Chester replied snappishly. “Of course he’s a vampire.”
“Then why are you no longer trying to do him in?”
Chester yawned elaborately, letting me know that the topic of conversation was barely worth the bother. “Really, Harold,” he said, “it’s so obvious. Vampires are indestructible. Don’t you see? When Bunnicula wasn’t killed in that pile of rubble at the movie theater, I suddenly came to understand that he had powers beyond defeat. How would I ever overcome such powers and save an unsuspecting world?”
“How, indeed?” I asked, bemused.
“No, no, I figured it was best to return Bunnicula to where he rightfully belongs. Who knows him like I do, Harold? Who better to use that knowledge in a different way than I have used it in the past to keep a close eye on him and make sure he does no harm?”
“So you’ve become his guardian, is that it, Chester? His protector?”
“In a way. Though I think of myself more as protecting him from himself.”
I smiled and said nothing. I think I understood then that Chester had never really meant to destroy Bunnicula. He may have wanted to destroy the evil he thought Bunnicula represented, but Bunnicula himself? He was just a bunny. More than that, he was one of the family.
Now Chester has taken to napping next to Bunnicula’s cage. The two of them sometimes sleep so that their backs touch and, although I would never embarrass him by pointing it out, I’ve noticed that Chester purrs loudest at those times. And Bunnicula? The sparkle is back is in his eyes and the bounce is back in his step.
If there was any doubt that a new relationship had been forged between Chester and his Moriarty however, it was answered one morning when I crept downstairs to sing Bunnicula to sleep. Imagine my surprise when I heard a familiar voice singing those familiar words in my stead. I stopped and listened. It was surprising enough that Chester knew the lullaby but my astonishment was even greater when at the song’s end, I heard hard-hearted old Chester utter the words: “Sweet dreams, Bunnicula, old pal.”
As for Chester and me, we’re back to being the best of friends. Chester understood that I was only trying to do what I thought was best for Bunnicula. And I understood that Chester was just being himself.
Howie, having lived through his own scary adventure, no longer reads FleshCrawlers. He says they’re not realistic enough for him. But they did inspire him to begin writing stories of his own. He asked me to look at them, which I did, and I’ve told him he’s pretty good—for a puppy. He still has a lot to learn, of course.
“Will you teach me, Uncle Harold?” he asked me the last time I read one of his stories. I told him I would. Who knows? Maybe he’ll write books one day just as I have. Anything is possible.
Front Flap
“Let’s just say the matter is under control,” Chester slyly tells his pals Harold and Howie. But what on earth does he mean?
It seems that Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit, is back to his old ways—or so Chester thinks, having found pale vegetables drained of their juices scattered about the Monroe family kitchen. And now, once and for all, Chester is determined to save the world from this threat.
But why has Bunnicula—so frisky just a short time ago—been so listless and tired of late? Is this part of Chester’s scheme? Can Harold let Chester get away with hurting an innocent bunny, no matter what his harebrained suspicions are?
It is not long before the Monroes notice Bunnicula’s condition and rush him to the vet, and then the chase is on, ending up with a dramatic confrontation in a most unusual (and dangerous!) location.
Rear Flap
JAMES HOWE is the author of many novels for young readers, including six books about Bunnicula and his pals, the Sebastian Barth mystery series, the Pinky and Rex series, and such highly acclaimed picture books as Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores and There’s a Monster Under My Bed. He has also written four interactive Bunnicula books: Bunnicula’s Wickedly Wacky Word Games, Bunnicula’s Pleasantly Perplexing Puzzlers, Bunnicula’s Long-Lasting Laugh-Alouds, and Bunnicula’s Frightfully Fabulous Factoids. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
ALAN DANIEL is an award-winning author and illustrator who has illustrated several books by Jim Howe, including the original Bunnicula, Return to Howliday Inn, Rabbit-Cadabra!, Bunnicula Escapes!, and a series of Bunnicula activity books. Alan lives with his wife, Lea, in Kitchener. Ontario.
Jacket illustration copyright © 1999 by Alan Daniel
Jacket design by Ann Bobco
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster • New York
Publication Info
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020
Text copyright © 1999 by James Howe
Illustrations copyright © 1999 by Alan Daniel
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Book design by Ann Bobco
The text of this book is set in Berkeley
The illustrations are rendered in pencil
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Howe, James.
Bunnicula Strikes Again! / by James Howe.
p. cm.
Summary: When Bunnicula the rabbit starts acting strangely, the Monroe dogs and cat renew
their suspicions that he is a vampire.
ISBN 0-689-81463-1
[1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Cats—Fiction. 3. Rabbits—Fiction. 4. Vampires—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H83727But 1999
[Fic]—dc21
99-20419
Version Info
v 1.0 HTML
Scanned and proofed 2009-07-15
Inconsistent spelling
good-bye / goodbye