Saving Easter
Reading Comprehension Activity

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” muttered Finnegan J. Burrows, looking at his pocket-watch. “I’m going to be so late this year!” He drummed his large foot repeatedly in frustration.

The handsome white rabbit didn’t know what to do. Every year he worked very hard to keep Easter on schedule, and he took great pride in delivering wonderful treats and surprises to all the boys and girls. He had never missed an Easter deadline before, but he was worried that it might happen now.

He was way behind on production. Because of climate change, everything had gone topsy-turvy. The temperature had been so hot that the chocolate delivered from Switzerland had melted, and he had to wait for a later shipment. The crazy tornado weather in the Midwest prairies had ruffled the feathers of the chickens that always laid his Easter eggs on schedule. They were so upset that they had only produced half the usual number so far. The jelly bean plants had been frozen by a sudden snowstorm in the middle of the jungle. And to top it off, the candy that was mined in Sugar Mountain hadn’t arrived yet because recent earthquakes made the mountain too unstable for the miners to work safely.

His wife, Angora, knew he was worried. She patted his furry shoulder. “It will all work out, Honey Bunny,” she said. “I think our friends would be happy to come and help us if you asked them.”

He fixed his pink polka-dot bow tie and straightened his tall ears. He could do this. He was the Easter Bunny, after all! He didn’t need help … did he? Sometimes his wife and their many children would help out, sorting the candies and painting the eggs in beautiful colors and patterns. But this year, too much had gone wrong for his family to fix by themselves.

Maybe his wife was right, and he should call up his friends for help. He swallowed his pride and sent out texts, emails, and phone calls.

His friends all responded quickly. They all knew how important it was to bring magic and joy to the world’s children, so they offered to do whatever they could to help.

Jack Frost arrived first. “I have a solution for all that melted chocolate! I will use my icy breath to cool it down! Then your children can shape it into chocolate bunnies, and it will be perfect again!” Jack called to Finnegan’s dozens of children, and they all followed him, hopping out the door.

Several mermaids in the Pacific Ocean called Finnegan on their shellphone. “Don’t worry,” they said in their soft, sweet voices. “We promise to send recordings of our most beautiful songs to the farms where the chickens live.” The Bunny’s ears twitched with delight as he listened. “That way,” the mermaids crooned, “the chickens will totally relax and start laying eggs even faster than before!”

When he got the Bunny’s message, one of Finnegan’s favorite dragons left his forest cave and flew far away to the jungle where the jelly bean plants had been frozen by the sudden storm. With a fiery blast or two, Elliot easily melted the ice and snow and warmed the plants back to life. He sent a text to the Bunny. “All done! The plants are green again, and the beans are turning such delicious colors!” Elliot added that he’d talked with the jungle elves who picked the beans, and they were happy to get back to work.

Finnegan had not been sure of what to do about the candy that needed to be collected from Sugar Mountain. His wife assured him one of his friends would know what to do. She was right. When the Tooth Fairy Team heard the problem, they put their little heads together and came up with a plan. “So the earthquakes have made the mountain too dangerous for big human miners and their heavy drills, right? That is no problem for us! We hardly weigh anything at all! We will fly into the mountain and use our tiny toothpicks to dig out the candy and fly it back to you!” They fluttered their wings in excitement. “How fun it will be to collect candy instead of teeth for one day!” They told the Easter Bunny they would start that night and see him in the morning.

The Bunny shared the news with Angora, and they both smiled. “Finnegan J. Burrows,” she said, scratching him behind his ear and making his foot thump, “aren’t you glad now that you asked for help?”

“It’s amazing how happy they were to come to the rescue and save Easter!” he said.

“They love you,” Angora replied. “Wouldn’t you do everything you could to help the ones you love? Everybody needs a little support now and then.”

And Finnegan had to admit that once again, his clever wife was right.