Bunnicula Strikes Again! Read Online Free PDF

had fallen asleep.
    Chester had roused himself from his night’s slumber and was in the middle of doing that stretch cats do where they extend their front paws out on the floor in front of them as if they’re praying andraise their rear ends up high like they’re waiting for the whole world to notice and say, “Hey, that’s some nice tush you got there.”

    I explained that as I was singing the lullaby to Bunnicula—the same one, I pointed out, that I’d sung him many times before—tears were rolling down his fuzzy little cheeks.
    â€œRabbits don’t have a sentimental bone in their bodies,” Chester said, dismissing the whole thing categorically. “Especially vampire rabbits.”
    And with that he marched into the kitchen for breakfast. End of discussion.
    I glanced out the window. The sky was gray, and a misty rain was beginning to fall. The perfect sort of day for serious napping, I thought, and that was exactly how I intended to spend it.
    And that was exactly how I
was
spending it until some time later when I heard Chester’s voice buzzing in my ear like a gnat.
    â€œHarold, Harold,” he buzzed. “I know you’re in there, Harold!”
    What next? I thought. We’ve got you surrounded?
    â€œOkay, fine,” he went on, “it takes you time to open your eyes, I know that. I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself, have a heart attack or something, from the effort of pushing up your eyelids too quickly, so just listen.”
    Do I bite him now or later?
    â€œI’ve got it all figured out, Harold.”
    â€œHe does, Uncle Harold, he really does.”
    Oh, joy. The junior detective is also on the scene.
    â€œHowie, let me handle this, will you?” Chester said.
    â€œSure, Pop.”
    I began to snore.
    â€œStop trying to pretend you’re asleep, Harold,” Chester pressed on relentlessly. “Okay, here’s my theory. First, when was it that Bunnicula started acting frisky and playful and when, not so coincidentally,did he start his most recent assault on vegetables? Right after Mr. and Mrs. Monroe received calls from their mothers, that’s when. Now, when did everything change? Two weeks later, on Mother’s Day, Harold! When he heard the other mothers were coming, he must have gotten it into his little hare brain that
his
long-lost mother might be coming on Mother’s Day, too, and when she didn’t .. . it was down-in-the-dumps for our little furry friend.”
    â€œI’ll bet he thinks she doesn’t love him anymore,” Howie chimed in. “And you know what they say—you’re no bunny till some bunny loves you.”
    Fascinating. I could actually
hear
Chester gritting his teeth. “What more evidence do you need, Harold? Think about it. He
cried
when you sang him that silly lullaby. He cried, Harold. He misses his mother! But that’s not the half of it. He has plans, Harold, I’m sure of it. Some of those tears were because his plans were not fulfilled. Come on, let’s go. I know that you know that I know what must be done!”
    Slowly, I raised my eyelids. “Do you talk thatway just to drive me crazy?” I asked. “Or do you actually
think
in sentences like that?”
    â€œIf there’s any chance Bunnicula’s mother has returned, we’ve got to find her before he does,” Chester said.
    â€œBefore he does,” Howie echoed.
    â€œIt can’t all be coincidence, Harold. Just think about it. Mother’s Day . . . and what movie was playing at the theater?
Dracula,
Harold,
Dracula!”
    I looked at the two of them. I looked out the window. I thought back to Chester’s description of Bunnicula’s half-finished attacks on the vegetables, as if it were a sport. Maybe he was celebrating in his own way the possibility of being reunited with his mother. There was some logic to that.
    â€œBut it’s raining,” I