The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

Rosalind repairs Batty’s wings, and all the sisters tell their father that Batty became stuck in a pricker bush. Jeffrey overhears Batty telling Hound about his heroic triumph over the bull. Batty tells Jeffrey that Rosalind looks after her since her mother died. Batty doesn’t remember her mother, but Rosalind often cries herself to sleep at night. Jeffrey tells Batty that he was secretly scared of the bull but asks her not to tell anyone. Rosalind arrives to take Batty to meet Cagney’s rabbits. Earlier, when Cagney came to water the transplanted rosebush, Rosalind apologized for the chaos of the previous day. Cagney told Rosalind he wasn’t shocked because he and his brother used to get into all sorts of trouble. Looking at Cagney, Rosalind thinks that “she had never before realized how much she liked baseball caps on boys” (69). Batty changes her mind just as they’re about to enter Cagney’s apartment, but Rosalind convinces her to go inside. Rosalind is pleasantly surprised at how tidy the apartment is since her friend Anna says boys are messy. Cagney loves the Civil War and has an extensive collection of books on the subject. Cagney uses parsley to lure the bunnies, Yaz and Carla, from their hiding place under the couch.