Suddenly little Grace woke up after this nightmare in tears and looked over at "Mrs Rabbit" asleep on her arm.

    "Please wake up Mrs Rabbit!" Grace cried. But it was no use as her ears had disappeared. But how could this happen whilst she was held in Grace's arms during the night? Where had they gone?

    "It was a great fancy dress party but we mustn't wake Grace," said Mother to the baby sitter as she stood outside the bedroom.

    Grace closed her eyes hoping that this was all still a dream, as the death of her favourite toy would be a disaster.

    "Please help me to wrestle Mrs Rabbit from Grace," Mother said in anguish.

    The babysitter entered the room and eased the toy rabbit from under Grace's arms.

    "You are a better sewer than I am so could you please replace these ears before anyone knows?" Mother said as she stood there with a smile on her face, dressed as the Easter Bunny.

by Rachel Owens, Roma, Italy

    Dillion's young assistant, Malcolm, shrugged. "There's nothing anywhere near the body except for this half-eaten marshmallow."

    "There's no way a marshmallow could have caused this mess."

    "Guess not," Malcolm said, tossing the marshmallow over his shoulder.

    The sky suddenly grew dark, the sun blotted out, and a giant reached over the nearby mountain and slammed a clenched fist down on Malcolm's head, driving him into the ground up to his knees.

    "Like I told that other chap," the giant roared, "get rid of those marshmallows! I'm terribly allergic to them. Is it going to take me breaking out into hives before you people listen?"

    "Hey, Malcolm!" Dillion shouted, pointing. "I think I've discovered what caused the…"

    "Oh, shut up," Malcolm managed to say before falling flat on his back, unconscious.

by Philip Lynne, Knoxville, TN

    "Cut!" yelled the director.

    "Lie down again and keep still, Alan! You¹re supposed to be dead!"

    "Yeah?" Alan said, "You try it! You lie cheek down in this gooey mud. You keep your eyes fixed open for a close-up, your body rigid! You wouldn't be able to do it for even ten seconds, DETECTIVE Dilly! I quit!"

    Alan took a step, then another. His feet skidded in different directions and, as he landed, everyone in the crew heard the crack of his head on the rock. He lay still, not an eyelid fluttered, not a muscle twitched.

    "Right! That's even a better position! Get in there, Detective! Camera! Action! Take number ten! SHOOT!" yelled the director, then whispered to his assistant, "when we've finished, call emergency."

by Carolyn Ann Aish, New Zealand

    "Anger," Doctor Jones repeated doubtfully. "But why does she show symptoms of a heart attack?"

    "Doctor, you are very perceptive, but heart problems did not kill Mrs. Taylor. For you see, as she prepared pasta, she suffered a slight heart attack. The attack forced her to lose control and accidentally move too close to the stove fire."

    "I see, detective. So that's why she is covered entirely with first degree burns. Then her death was due to the flames."

    "No, doctor. The flames must have been extremely painful, but that was not the cause of death. Mrs. Taylor was quite fortunate to have prepared a full tub of water in preparation for a bubble bath. She ran quickly to the tub, only she accidentally slipped on the tile and banged her head, forcing her unconscious and submerged underwater."

    "Unconscious? Underwater?", the doctor asked. "Poor old girl must have drowned then."

    "Not quite", replied the detective. "The impact of her head on the wall caused the blow dryer, which was nearby and plugged in, to fall into the tub. The electric shock shot her up and she landed ten feet away in the living room. As she stood up, she suffered from uncontrollable muscle spasms that made her fall over the balcony."

    "That explains the broken bones, detective. Surely falling twenty-four floors would be the end of you."

    The detective replied calmly. "Oh, it would be the end of me, but not Mrs. Taylor. For as she fell down she saw her husband kissing another woman down on the street. The anger that overwhelmed her was too much for her body to handle and she died in mid-air."

by Jorge Lopez