Newman - National Geographic Kids Chapters: Rascally Rabbits!: And More True Stories of Animals Behaving Badly

Copyright 2016 National Geographic Society

All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

Staff for This Book

Shelby Alinsky, Project Editor

Callie Broaddus, Art Director

Ruth Ann Thompson, Designer

Bri Bertoia, Photo Editor

Marf Ferguson Delano, Editor

Paige Towler, Editorial Assistant

Rachel Kenny and Sanjida Rashid, Design Production Assistants

Tammi Colleary-Loach, Rights Clearance Manager

Michael Cassady and Mari Robinson, Rights Clearance Specialists

Grace Hill, Managing Editor

Joan Gossett, Senior Production Editor

Lewis R. Bassford, Production Manager

George Bounelis, Manager, Production Services

Susan Borke, Legal and Business Affairs

Published by the National Geographic Society

Gary E. Knell, President and CEO

John M. Fahey, Chairman of the Board

Melina Gerosa Bellows, Chief Education Officer

Declan Moore, Chief Media Officer

Hector Sierra, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Book Division

Senior Management Team, Kids Publishing and Media Nancy Laties Feresten, Senior Vice President; Erica Green, Vice President, Editorial Director, Kids Books; Amanda Larsen, Design Director, Kids Books; Julie Vosburgh Agnone, Vice President, Operations; Jennifer Emmett, Vice President, Content; Michelle Sullivan, Vice President, Video and Digital Initiatives; Eva Absher-Schantz, Vice President, Visual Identity; Rachel Buchholz, Editor and Vice President, NG Kids magazine; Jay Sumner, Photo Director; Amanda Larsen, Design Director, Kids Books; Hannah August, Marketing Director; R. Gary Colbert, Production Director

Digital Laura Goertzel, Manager; Sara Zeglin, Senior Producer; Bianca Bowman, Assistant Producer; Natalie Jones, Senior Product Manager

The National Geographic Society is one of the worlds largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge, the Societys mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 400 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; music; radio; films; books; DVDs; maps; exhibitions; live events; school publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise. National Geographic has funded more than 10,000 scientific research, conservation, and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geographic literacy.

For more information, please visit nationalgeographic.com, call 1-800-NGS LINE (647-5463), or write to the following address:

National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-4688 U.S.A.

Visit us online at nationalgeographic.com/books

For librarians and teachers: ngchildrensbooks.org

National Geographic supports K12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

More for kids from National Geographic: kids.nationalgeographic.com

For rights or permissions inquiries, please contact National Geographic Books Subsidiary Rights:

Trade paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2308-9
Reinforced library edition
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2309-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4263-2310-2

v3.1

When Babbity the rabbit moved in with Flopsy the goat, their owners wondered: Would this barnyard odd couple end up as friends or foes?

Sweet little Sniffles has soft fur, stiff ears, big eyes, and a supersize sneaky streak.

W ade Newman had no time to waste. Night was falling in Turin, New York, U.S.A. And his rabbit, Sniffles, was missing. The 14-year-old boy had to find the little bunny before the evening turned too dark to see.

Wade searched his yard. He peered under bushes and poked into weeds. He looked behind the garage and on top of the woodpile. But snuggly Sniffles was nowhere to be found.

Earlier that afternoon, Wade had let the rabbit out of its hutch. His dog, Boo Boo, was running loose in the yard. So was Sparky the cat. Sniffles needs to have his own adventure, Wade thought.

It seemed safe enough. Wade lived in dairy-farming country. His familys house sat far back from the road. A creek ran along one side and a large cornfield bordered the other. Out back stretched a rocky cow pasture.

The only trouble was Sniffles small size. He was a Netherland (sounds like NETH-er-land) dwarf rabbit and weighed just two pounds (0.9 kg). The little hopper could disappear in tall grass or hide inside a flower pot. So where is he now? Wade wondered. Ive always been able to find him before.

Did You Know?

The best way to pet a rabbit is to gently scratch its forehead and between its eyes.

Never once had he let Sniffles or Boo Boo stay outside all night. Sparky did sometimes stay out. Like all cats, Sparky had excellent night vision and enjoyed prowling in the dark. If only I could see that well, wished Wade. But he couldnt. When total darkness fell, he gave up looking for Sniffles.

Scary thoughts rushed through Wades mind when he tried to sleep. Was Sniffles lost? Had he been nabbed by an owl or coyote? If only the rabbit had stayed in sight.

From forests to deserts, rabbits live all over the world. People began taming them about 500 years ago. Today there are 48 breeds, or kinds, of tame rabbits. The breeds differ in color, looks, and type of fur.

But breed doesnt affect how friendly a bunny will be. So when choosing a pet, think about size. There are tiny, 3-pound (1.4 kg) pocket pets like the lionhead (shown here). And there are 20-pound (9.0 kg) checkered giants. Pick the bunny that you have room for, can afford to feed, and find easy to handle