Leonie’s Puppet Rescue

Leonie and Hazel prepare a puppet show for their class. Their story is about a rabbit looking for a lost carrot. Leonie has made a small paper carrot. It must appear beside a cardboard tree at the end.

During their practice, Hazel moves the rabbit behind the blue curtain. When Leonie reaches for the carrot, it is missing from the little tray. Without it, the rabbit cannot find the surprise that finishes their story.

Leonie wants to make another carrot straight away, but Hazel remembers seeing it after lunch. They ask their teacher for time to search, keeping the rabbit, tray and cardboard tree where they are for the moment.

First they check beneath the stage table. They find a pencil and a piece of ribbon, but no carrot. Next Hazel looks inside the tray again while Leonie gently lifts the cloth covering the back of the stage.

A flash of orange shows inside a fold of the blue curtain. The paper carrot slipped into the fold when they moved the rabbit. Leonie carefully opens the fabric and lifts it out without tearing its green paper leaves.

They place the carrot in a small envelope clipped behind the cardboard tree. Hazel can reach it from behind the stage. It will not slide into the curtain when the rabbit moves past during the show.

They practise the ending twice before their classmates arrive. The rabbit searches behind the tree, and Hazel brings out the carrot at just the right moment. This time both girls know where every prop belongs.

The class laughs when the rabbit celebrates its discovery with a happy hop. After the show, Leonie puts the carrot back into its envelope. “Our rescue worked twice,” she says. “We found it, then gave it a safer home.”