6. The Wabbit back in the Neighbourhood.

Dawn broke, the sun came up and they found themselves on steps that were in their very own neighbourhood. The Wabbit still had the wand. He waved it. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. "It doesn't work any more." Lapinette was relieved. "It's for the best. I think you need to find a new hobby." The Wabbit half smiled. "I could have transformed the neighbourhood." Lapinette burst out laughing. "Leave that to the mayor." For a second the Wabbit saw massive buildings rising to the sky with heliports on top and moving walkways suspended in the air. People thronged back and forth. Now he made a wide grin. "I could be a property developer." Lapinette shuddered. "I'd call my company, Wabbitude," he continued. "Everything has a silly name now. I'll speak to Wabsworth." "You'll do nothing of the sort!" yelled Lapinette, "You're totally unsuitable to be a property developer." "What qualifications do I need?" asked the Wabbit. "Some money and a brass neck." Lapinette had her paws of her hips. "I can get you these," said the Magic Wand. "Goodbye, Wand!" retorted Lapinette. Nothing happened because she hadn't said the password. "Brat draoidheachd," Wabbit did it for her. "Make yourself scarce." The wand popped out of existence.
 

5. The Wabbit and the Nine Moons

The Wabbit landed first. He was by a church on a hill under a large number of moons. He counted them. Seven - with two more hiding he reckoned. Then he saw Lapinette come tumbling from the sky. He was still attached to the wand, and he lifted it. They became two and so did Lapinette. "Help!" cried the Lapinettes. He put all the effort he could into the wands and it worked. Stars flashed and they waved. One Lapinette came floating in to land. The other faded away. He was left with one wand and one Lapinette. She touched down on the steps and breathed a sigh of relief. "What are all these moons?" The Wabbit tapped his wand. "Something that this conjured up."  "I don't like them," yelled Lapinette. "Get rid of them." The Wabbit waved his wand and the moons vanished. Except for the two hidden behind the church. They emerged, flashed like beacons - and began to circle. The Wabbit looked at the sky. "The sun is coming up. We only have to wait." The Wabbit and Lapinette sat on the steps with the magic wand. "Try the wand again," suggested Lapinette. The Wabbit waved the wand. A wind sprang up. Leaves rustled. Lapinette gripped her frock. The wind passed. The Church was gone. Moons were gone. All that remained were the magic wand, the dawn and two rabbits ...

4. The Wabbit and the Desert Sands

The magic wand waved and bent in half. There was a flash. The Wabbit and Lapinette found themselves in scary, arid landscape. Trees were dried up hulks. Desert sands stretched for kilometres. An artificial sun beat down. And it was hot. Really hot. "Eeek," yelled Lapinette, "We're back to front." The Wabbit looked down. All the writing on his fur was reversed. He looked up and smiled a grim smile. "There's something familiar about that sun." He looked behind him. "And there's the tree they hung Tom Sawyer." Lapinette growled, "Tom Dooley." The Wabbit paid little attention. "This all the fault of that wand." Lapinette didn't like the landscape. "I'm hot and bothered and I'm not keen on this place." The Wabbit shrugged. He was curious and looked at the wand. Lapinette said the magic passwords. Nothing happened. "You haven't got the accent," said the Wabbit. He said the magic phrase, Brat draoidheachd. The wand stiffened to attention. It was straight as a die. "Wand. Get us out of this place." A wind sprung up. Wood snapped. Sand and twigs blew into every crevice. Lapinette gripped the Wabbit's fur and held on tight as they were swept into the air. She shrieked at the Wabbit. "You didn't tell it where you wanted to go." But her words were snatched by the wind and lost in the sand. Wand and all, they disappeared. 

Background by Art Tower . Sun by Open Clip Art Vectors

3. The Wabbit and the Wayward Wand

The Wabbit headed down Via Gregorio VII with his magic wand under his arm. He looked around. "Maybe I could conjure up a bus?" he thought. A young woman flew up the road, clutching a phone. He looked at his wand. "Maybe I magicked her, but I didn't use my password," he murmured. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned. "What exactly are you doing, Wabbit?" It was Lapinette and she looked annoyed. "Did you do something with that wand? Some magic trick on that young woman." The Wabbit was shamefaced. "I did not," he said. "I wanted a bus." Lapinette regarded him with disbelief. "It looked like a trick. Anyway, you should hop. It's good exercise for you." The Wabbit tapped the phone. "This is a new hobby." They hopped down the road together. "Shouldn't you do something with playing cards?" The Wabbit knew Lapinette was trying to be helpful, but he just wasn't interested in cards. "I'd thought about cutting people in half." Lapinette's fur stood on end. "I forbid it," she exclaimed, "Bad things would happen." They continued past the furniture shop. "The stars at the toy shop said the wand would be fine," said the Wabbit. "I've even got a password. I'm only allowed to use it for magic." Lapinette smiled. "What's the password?" Just before she spoke, Lapinette had a premonition that this wasn't something she should ask. "Brat draoidheachd." The Wabbit said the magic words without thinking. The wand sprang into action. It flew from the Wabbit's grasp and waved itself over their heads ...

2. The Wabbit and the Magic Wand

The Wabbit stood outside a toy shop he knew. In his paw he held a magic wand he'd purchased inside. The assistant had told him he needed no instructions, he was just to wave it. It was self-explanatory she told him. The Wabbit was sceptical but he shrugged. He went outside and waved it at the window. A shot rang out. The window shattered. Planetary devices of various kinds appeared in great number. The Wabbit grew exasperated, but a star with a smiley face appeared and spoke. "I am the instructions for the Mk 2 Magic Wanderiser. Thank you for your purchase. How may I help you today?" The Wabbit felt a bit irritated but he bore with it. "I want to learn magic." There was a long pause. "Please tap the window twice and say your magic word." The Wabbit wanted to comply but he'd never been given his magic word. The stars began to whirl. "Please say your magic word or phrase!" The smiley star was insistent. The Wabbit shrugged. "Sim sala bim." It was the best he could do at short notice. But the smiley star continued. "That magic phrase has been taken." The Wabbit thought. "Brat draoidheachd," he uttered. There was another pause. "I am registering your magic phrase. Only use it for magic." The stars dimmed and faded away. Clutching his wand, the Wabbit hopped towards the metro. "I need a drink," he thought. He remembered his magic phrase and repeated it. A bar appeared in front of him. "It works," he murmured.

1.The Wabbit and his Magic Day Off

The Wabbit was having a day off. It was a Tuesday, and it was quiet. He sauntered down the road and stopped at a local bar. Having quenched his thirst with a Prosseco and munched a salad sandwich, he proceeded on his way. The day was fine. It was a mite chilly but there was plenty of light. So he smiled and started thinking. His friends all said he was far too serious. They told him he needed a hobby. The Wabbit grinned to himself. His work was his hobby. Who needed anything else? He considered further. He would require kit - a wand for example. He saw himself waving it around and saying magic words. He practiced. "Hocus pocus, let's get some focus." He shook his head. Not quite right, but he had started. Sawing people in half was an option, but supposing they wouldn't go back together. People might complain about being severed in half. He sniggered. Then he thought about joining a club, but clubs weren't for him. Full of geeks. What about cards? That one was easy. He'd speak to Wabsworth. He knew lots of card tricks. On the other paw, Wabsworth's tricks were real and had a way of biting you back. He could remember every number ever invented and then some more of his own. Nope. He'd do it on his own or not at all. Then the Wabbit thought of something. He'd buy a book and study it. No-one would know he had a hobby. Concealment - that was his first trick. 

The Wabbit at the Adventure Caffè

The team arranged to meet at Palombini's famous Caffè in EUR. As the Wabbit looked around, he noticed Lapinette approaching from his left. Wabsworth crept up behind her and touched her shoulder with his paw. She shot in the air. "Wabsworth!" she yelled, "Don't do that, you might have got shot." Wabsworth smiled and shrugged. Being an android it was not a matter of signicicant importance. His fur repelled bullets, but he knew what she meant. "Never mind all this," said the Wabbit. "What was that for a sort of adventure we just had?" Skratch arrived from the tables to the Wabbit's right. "That is more properly my line," he said. "Answer!" yelled Lapinette. Skratch leaned back. "It is a cut above the usual story where carnivorous plants aim to rip us stem to stern." Wabsworth also leaned back. "It was amusing enough." Lapinette giggled. "Shall we talk of the Anthropocene?" "No," replied the Wabbit, "I'm fed up with it." Lapinette continued anyway. "This period is marked by increasing environmental change. So we move from technological to ecological concerns." Skratch laughed. "That's very goody-goody". "Not at all," said Lapinette, "We lend aesthetic consideration to objects that pervade our renewed experience of the Anthropocene. That is the future." The Wabbit grinned. "What's the future in standing outside the caffe? It's dwarfing our timescale." "I'm buying the drinks," said Skratch. "Now that's a change of timescale!" laughed the Wabbit.