The Three Jemimas

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It was just another weekday at the Periwinkle household,

 

...but it didn't feel like a normal day to Jemima. Something was different. For one thing Mommy was baking donuts. Mommy never baked donuts on a weekday.

Also, she had placed cups and saucers on the living room table and a pot full of hot coffee. The kittens Molly and Pip were awoken by the smell.

Jemima was in her room. It was a mess. Mommy had asked her to tidy it up this morning, but she didn't like tidying up. Neither did Quackie, who was pretending to be asleep on the little blue chair. Reluctantly, Jemima started to pick up her toys. 

In the kitchen Julie had just taken out the fresh baked donuts from the oven. They looked delicious.

She started to prepare the icing.

Pip and Molly had tossed the cups onto the carpet, just in case they contained any sweet, delicious milk... Unfortunately, they didn't.

Back in Jemima's bedroom the little rabbit had just finished tidying up. Quackie was still pretending to sleep, as Jemima told her pink My Little Pony to behave. "Be a goood pwincess today... Stay inside da stable. My auntie is coming for a visit an' Mommy want evewyting to be clean an' tidy."

So far, the day wasn't getting any better for Jemima, as Julie decided to clean Jemima's ears and face with a sponge. Quackie was hiding inside the sleeve of Jemima's yellow dress; she did not like to be washed either.

Finally, everyone was ready. Julie and Jemima had just come down the stairs when there was a knock on the front door. Julie opened it.

Jemima couldn't believe her eyes. The rabbit that came in and was supposed to be her aunty looked just like her Mommy! 

"Oh Jemima! How you've grown since you and your parents moved to Riverside! It's so good to see you, love!" 

Then, as her auntie hugged and kissed her Mommy, two more guests hopped over the threshold. The cats walked off, because they felt annoyed by so many visitors. Jemima forgot to close her mouth. And Quackie fainted, because there were suddenly three Jemimas. 

Jemima tugged on her mother's dress questioningly. "Mommy?"

"Darling, these are your two cousins, Jillie and Billie. They are twins."

Jemima didn't understand why the twins didn't look like each other and instead looked like her. Just a little smaller. It was spooky.

After a while, the moms settled down on the sofas and had coffee and donuts.

"Thanks for the lovely gifts, Janey," Julie said to her sister. She was referring to the basket next to her filled with stinky cheese for James, daisies for her and a bar of chocolate for Jemima.

The children were having their snack in the kitchen. Even though they were allowed to have chocolate bars and milk, there was a very strange atmosphere. 

Jemima was staring at the girls who were doing everything in a synchronized manner. They even chewed and swallowed at the same time. Quackie was looking at them in a way that made Jemima jealous and lose her appetite. Jemima didn't even taste her chocolate. Instead, she took careful little sips from her cup of milk.

Before she could come up with any smart ideas, the twins had finished their chocolate and were huddled underneath the table conspiring. Jemima couldn't make out any words, she just heard them whisper to one another. In the meantime, Quackie had discovered Jemima's chocolate and decided to help herself to it. No one noticed her take a huge bite.

All of a sudden, the girls raced out of the kitchen. Jemima watched them suspiciously. What could they be up to?

As they passed by Julie, she said, "It looks like the children have decided to go and play." 

"Have fun, you three!" aunt Janey shouted after them. Jemima didn't say a word as she pursued her cousins up the stairs. 

What could they be up to??

When she arrived at the top of the staircase the girls had disappeared. Oh no, Jemima thought. So she had two evil doppelganger cousins AND they could do magic. Okay, stay calm, she told herself.

But Jillie and Billie weren't evil nor could they do magic. They were simply very, very good at playing hide-and-seek. Can you spot them?

The two of them came out of their hiding places in no time and were again busy with the whispering. Jemima was getting more and more annoyed.

They crossed the oriental carpet and pattered into Jemima's room faster than you can say bunny rabbit.

Now Jemima was really mad. They should have asked her for permission to enter her room... She looked at Molly and Pip who were relaxing inside their cat bed and said, "Be good watchkitties an' go get 'em!"

But Molly and Pip weren't interested in chasing after anyone at that moment.

 

Jemima entered her bedroom and was just about to give them such a telling-off, when she heard Jillie, who was staring at the My Little Ponies, squeak, "Look, she has pooonies! Sooo beautiful!" 

And then Billie, turning her head in awe, whispered, "...the BEST room in the world!!"

This changed Jemima's mind about her cousins. They didn't seem like bad rabbits at all. They were admiring her room and they had complimented her ponies. So she decided to show them everything. She started with the magical night light on her crib. "Oooooh!" they said.

Then, she helped Jillie climb onto her rocking horse.

And when it was Billie's turn and she won first prize at the "super duper rocking horse race", Jillie, Jemima and Hans the bear all clapped in unison.

After that, Jemima showed them her My Little Pony collection.

Their ponies made a trip to Ponyland, to win back the princess' throne from the evil teddy.

The next game the children played was "Red Riding Hood visits her grandmother in the woods with a basket full of marzipan ponies". 

Billie, who was seated on Jemima's rocking chair, was the grandmother.

 

After so many games the little rabbits couldn't find the strength to get back up from the carpet, so Jemima fetched the cushion and blanket from her cot and tucked them in.

As her cousins were relaxing, Jemima pretended to read to them from her picture book, just like a mother would. 

This made her become sleepy too.

Julie and Janey had decided to check on the children. It was practically a miracle that Quackie (who had finished the entire chocolate bar) was able to accompany them up the stairs. 

What the sisters saw in Jemima's bedroom made them very happy. Their girls had all laid down together for a nap.

When Quackie saw that Jemima was friends with the Jemima-clones, she fainted. 

"What's wrong with Quackie?" Janey asked. 

"Maybe too much chocolate," Julie guessed.

Half and hour later, the children were back downstairs and it was time to say goodbye. "Oh Janey, please come back soon!" Julie told her sister. 

"I will," Janey promised. "I am so pleased the children got on well. Jillie and Billie have been so in love with Jemima ever since I showed them the photos you sent and read them your letters about her. They couldn't wait to meet her and were so fond of her, they begged me to make them matching yellow dresses. I do hope you don't mind!"

"Don't be silly!" Julie said.

Now that Quackie and Jemima knew the twins' story, they felt they understood them better and were sad to see them go. Not only had Jemima had a great time playing with her cousins, they even turned out to be her biggest fans. 

"Come back soon," Jemima told Jillie and Billie. 

"We will, Jemima. Thank you for playing with us, Jemima," they squeaked.

 

🐥  THE END  🐥