Story Break
Bunny Cottontail's Gift.
T oday was the day. Bunny Cottontail got up early, before even the sky was awake. Everywhere he looked was dark.
Bunny Cottontail sniffed. The air was cool and clean. Bunny Cottontail did not smell danger. He did not hear danger. He did not see danger. "This is good," he thought, "Today will be the day."
Then Bunny Cottontail waited and thought some more. "Mother Cottontail is good to me. She brings me food, many good things to eat, but she has nothing to carry those things in. Today is the day that I will help her. I will show her I am good. I will bring her a gift to help her."
While Bunny Cottontail waited he sniffed the air. The air, still cool and clean, carried no scent of danger. Then Bunny Cottontail looked again and still saw only darkness, and nothing moved. All was quiet.
It was time.
Long before the sun had opened its one bright eye Bunny Cottontail hopped from his nest and into the world. He was all alone. Bunny Cottontail was not afraid but he was cautious. Bunny Cottontail often got into trouble, but today he would make up for that. All by himself.
He hopped away from his nest, into the darkness.
He hopped a long time, stopping now and then to check for danger. Strange things come sometimes, to Cottontails, and take them away. And when they go away they never come home again. They never come back to share their stories or play with their friends. They go and never return.
Bunny Cottontail did not know where those friends went, but he was sure that he did not want to go there too, so he stopped to sniff the air and listen, and he watched.
Then he hopped some more. He hopped and hopped, and by and by he came to a place.
This was a strange place, but he had seen it before.
The place was flat, and nothing at all grew there but old trees, and only a few of them. The ground was bare and hard.
Strange creatures came here and stayed, one night, two nights, and then they left again. This happened over and over.
Different creatures came and went, but they were all of the same family. That was clear. A strange family. They were very strange, and they looked dangerous.
They came and made a thing, and went inside the thing when the sun shut its eye, and when the sky became bright again they came outside again and then they went away. Bunny Cottontail had seen this from the safety of the forest.
Mother Cottontail had told Bunny Cottontail never to go there. "Never, never, never go here," she told him, "or they will take you away and you will never come back to the nest."
Bunny Cottontail knew that Mother Cottontail was right but he was not afraid. Bunny Cottontail was almost grown. He could run very fast. Bunny Cottontail thought he would be safe. He hoped he would be safe because he could run so fast. He was going to find a gift for Mother Cottontail.
Bunny Cottontail crept out of the forest. He came close to the strange thing in the clearing. The strange and possibly dangerous creatures were inside it. He could smell them. And hear them breathing with his big ears.
Bunny Cottontail did not know what they were but he was sure they were not friendly to Cottontails. Not at all. Not ever, even for one second.
They were enormous, these creatures, like trees that moved, but not so big as trees, and they had two trunks not one, and those trunks moved underneath them somehow. Trees waved at the sky every now and then, but they did not walk around, so Bunny Cottontail was not sure just what these creatures were, but they did not smell good. Not like trees, not at all. And they made noises. Loud unfriendly noises.
But not in the dark, when the world was quiet — when the world was dark and quiet they were too, so Bunny Cottontail had an advantage. Bunny Cottontail was as quiet as air and he was quick as thought, and he felt safe in the dark, so he crept closer.
There it was, waiting for him. He could see it, even in the dark.
"This is it!" thought Bunny Cottontail, "Still here! I have found Mother Cottontail's gift! She will be pleased with me. Now she will know that I love her and am grateful to her for the good things she does for me."
And Bunny Cottontail crept closer.
Bunny Cottontail came so close that he could put his nose right on the big thing that the loud creatures were in. It was huge. It was like a rock. A big rock, right there, but it was not a rock.
Bunny Cottontail put his nose right on the big thing and it moved a little. It was strange and confusing but it was soft too, a little, and it moved when his nose pressed on it. The big thing went way up and curved over and came down on the other side, and the big dangerous creatures were inside.
Bunny Cottontail could hear them. Bunny Cottontail could smell them and hear them breathing.
This was very dangerous. Very dangerous. Very, very dangerous indeed. Indeed, but this thing had to be done.
Bunny Cottontail moved slowly. So very, very slowly. Right up to the gift. The thing he would give Mother Cottontail. It was right in front of him, on the hard, bare ground.
So quietly that even he did not hear it himself, Bunny Cottontail picked up this thing and put it on his back. It was like wrestling with Big Brother Cottontail, when Big Brother Cottontail climbed on Bunny Cottontail's back while playing, but much lighter than Big Brother Cottontail.
The gift did not have the weight that Big Brother Cottontail had, and the gift did not wiggle around either.
Bunny Cottontail put his front legs through the things hanging from the gift and fastened the other thing around his middle and carefully secured it. It fit perfectly.
Mother Cottontail would be so happy.
Bunny Cottontail had the thing on his back and it stayed there by itself. It fit perfectly, and it held tight, and it felt good. It was strange to have this thing on his back but it felt good too, just as he had hoped.
Just as he had planned.
Bunny Cottontail was almost as large now as Mother Cottontail, and he knew that his gift would fit her too. This would be fine, this gift, a fine gift for her.
Very quietly now, so quietly that Bunny Cottontail could barely hear himself, so stealthily that Bunny Cottontail hardly felt himself move, so cautiously that even the night itself did not know that he moved, Bunny Cottontail crept away.
Bunny Cottontail crept out of that flat place where the earth was pounded hard, and into the forest.
Bunny Cottontail moved away from that place where the big loud things were, where they stayed inside their big strange thing that was like a rock but not a rock, and he went into the forest where he felt safer.
But not quite completely safe. No, not entirely, completely safe. Because before he could move far, far away to safety there was a sound.
It was not a good sound.
It was a dangerous sound, and Bunny Cottontail heard it with his big ears.
Bunny Cottontail had learned this sound from Mother Cottontail, and she had taught him about it. Now was a time to be afraid, and Bunny Cottontail was afraid.
He became very quiet and waited. He barely breathed at all. He became fear itself, and sill as ice.
Bunny Cottontail listened. He did not move at all, not even a single one of his soft whiskers twitched. The sound he heard was very faint and soft, but he heard it. He heard that sound, and he knew it. It was the sound of Coyote.
Coyote was here.
Coyote was near. Very near. Too near.
Bunny Cottontail heard a sound that could almost not be heard, but there it was. There was no mistaking it. Coyote was awake, and looking, and would take Bunny Cottontail away, never to return, if Coyote found him. Bunny Cottontail heard the faint sound of Coyote's soft fur rubbing against the air. It is a sound that cannot be heard except by the Cottontails, and only if they are paying attention, and Bunny Cottontail was nothing but attention.
Bunny Cottontail heard that sound now. The sound was truly faint, yet so close that Bunny Cottontail could feel it moving through the air.
Bunny Cottontail waited.
Bunny Cottontail knew about Coyote, more than he wished to know. Bunny Cottontail stayed quiet and did not move. Bunny Cottontail waited. He did not breathe.
Lucky for him he was a very smart Cottontail, and his ears were young and sharp, and he knew what to do. So Bunny Cottontail waited, and Coyote passed on without discovering him, and then Bunny Cottontail did not hear Coyote anymore, and there was no more sound of fur rubbing against the still air.
Coyote was going to that strange place too. Coyote seemed familiar with it, and through the brush Bunny Cottontail saw Coyote there sniffing, and sniffing some more, and saw him go up to the large rock that was not a rock.
"Surely he will find my scent," thought Bunny Cottontail, "and then he will come for me, and Mother Cottontail will never know what became of me. And Mother Cottontail will never receive her gift. I must go." And Bunny Cottontail went, silently, deeper into the forest.
But as he went he made no sound at all. Even the grass did not know he was there, he was so careful. Even the soft earth did not feel his footfall. He moved like darkness within darkness, like silence within silence. Like the memory of a forgotten memory.
And he went away. Then he did go far, far away.
It was a long way home to his nest, and Bunny Cottontail went that way, but carefully, and finally he came to his nest, where he felt safe again. And he had Mother Cottontail's gift! He had brought it home!
At first Bunny Cottontail wanted to rush in, giggling with joy, and wake Mother Cottontail and see how happy she would be, but then he thought. "I must be a good Cottontail. I am almost grown up now, and I should be more careful of how I act. I do not want to startle Mother Cottontail from her sleep and frighten her, so I will wait."
And while he was waiting Bunny Cottontail had an idea. "I should make sure that Mother Cottontail's gift is clean and presentable, and decorate it with flowers to bring her joy and show her how much I love her."
And that is what he did.
He took the thing off his back and brushed it and brushed it and made it clean. Perfectly clean.
And then Bunny Cottontail gathered many, many small flowers and attached them to his gift. It was still dark but he could find flowers by smell, so he knew which ones to pick.
Bunny Cottontail put some here and put some there until he was done, and then the thing looked fine, covered with flowers of many kinds, all braided together. He did not know what to call this thing but it did not matter. He knew that Mother Cottontail would be pleased.
This thing would help her. It was a thing to carry things in, and Mother Cottontail would be glad. It would help her to carry food and good things to eat back to the nest, and it would make her happy.
And finally it looked like a proper gift, all clean, and covered with the flowers that Bunny Cottontail had put on it.
By now the sky was almost awake. Bunny Cottontail was tired, for he had been up half the night, and had gone far, and returned, and had come near danger, but he was excited too.
Lightly, gently, the air stirred. The eye of the sun began to open and a new day was born. Bunny Cottontail heard Mother Cottontail stirring inside the nest. Soon she would see her gift.
"Is everything all right?" wondered Bunny Cottontail. "Did I do everything right?"
He thought. Then he thought some more.
"Oh, no! I forgot to look inside! I cleaned the outside of the thing and brought flowers to weave beauty into it but I forgot to look inside! What if it is not clean?" he thought. "What if there is something unfortunate inside?"
Quick like a bunny, for he was one, Bunny Cottontail went over to the thing. The top had a part that opened and closed. This part was held shut by things like flat vines, but they were loose, so Bunny Cottontail pulled at them and pulled some more, and opened the thing and peered inside.
"Ah," he thought, "yes. I missed something. There is something inside," and he pulled it out.
"Ah, something odd," he thought, "Mother Cottontail cannot use this. I will put it here under this bush for now, and see to it later." And so he did that and then he was done.
Then Bunny Cottontail returned to the nest and there was Mother Cottontail, sniffing the fresh morning air, the clean sunlight sparkling in her alert eyes. She looked right at Bunny Cottontail. She looked into his eyes with her eyes as only Mother Cottontail could do.
"And what have you been up to, Bunny Cottontail?" she said. "You left the nest. You left before the day began, and now you are back. No doubt you have been at some mischief. You must tell your mother what you have been doing."
"No, Mother Cottontail," said Bunny Cottontail, "No mischief. Do not worry. I have found you a gift, to make your life more pleasant. I see you go off and then bring us back food and good things to eat and I see that it is hard for you, so I have brought you a gift to make your life easier. Perhaps next year, when I am older and wiser I can find a better gift, but this is the gift I have now, and I have brought it here for you."
Mother Cottontail looked at Bunny Cottontail, and then she looked at the thing. The thing was dark but not too dark, and soft but not too soft, and covered in flowers. But it was a strange thing. She was not quite sure what it was. What was Bunny Cottontail up to now?
Bunny Cottontail helped her to put it on. It fit her perfectly, for it was small enough, and yet big enough too, just as he had thought.
Then Bunny Cottontail explained.
When Mother Cottontail went to find food and good things to eat, and brought them back, it was hard for her. But Bunny Cottontail was a good observer. He had thought to himself, "How can I help Mother Cottontail?" Bunny Cottontail had seen other creatures in the forest. Bunny Cottontail had seen Bushytailed Wood-Rat come and go.
Bushytailed Wood-Rat was a good neighbor and knew how to provide for his family too. Bushytailed Wood-Rat came and went, and brought back many good things for his family, and that is how Bunny Cottontail got his idea.
Bunny Cottontail watched the big creature-things in the strange place with the pounded soil down by the water. He saw them come and go. He saw them carry some things inside other things that they put on their backs. Bunny Cottontail also saw Bushytailed Wood-Rat come and go, carrying things.
Bushytailed Wood-Rat was good at this. Bushytailed Wood-Rat was so good at gathering and carrying things that his kind were called Pack Rats, and Bunny Cottontail saw his chance to do good. So he took the thing from the big loud creature-things who looked like moving trees and slept on the hard ground inside the strange rock, and brought it home to Mother Cottontail, to make her life easier.
When Mother Cottontail heard Bunny Cottontail's story she was pleased. Mother Cottontail was pleased that her son was so clever, and had thought of her.
She thought they should call this thing "Pack", in honor of Bushytailed Wood-Rat and his kind, the Pack Rats, since Bushytailed Wood-Rat was a good neighbor, and always had a kind word for them, and provided for his family. When they used the word Pack they would always think of how Bushytailed Wood-Rat provided for his family, and of doing good things for one another.
So Mother Cottontail accepted Bunny Cottontail's gift. Together they celebrated in the bright warm morning sunlight by breakfasting on the blossoms that Bunny Cottontail had used to decorate Pack. Then Mother Cottontail put Pack on her back and hopped off to find a tasty lunch for them all.
Bunny Cottontail was tired then, and went to the nest to take a nap, but before he got to the nest he remembered that other thing that he had found inside Pack, and went to the bush where he had hidden it. It was still there.
It was shiny all over. So shiny. So smooth.
So odd.
It had small stones on it, or things like stones. Shiny stones, like tiny stars, but stars that sparkled in the sunlight of day, not in the dark stillness of night.
Bunny Cottontail played with the thing and it unfolded, the way an old spider might unfold its legs, but it was not a spider, and had only two legs. It was very odd, this thing.
Bunny Cottontail looked at this thing. He looked and looked. He did not know what to do.
He turned it over then, in his clever paws, and then he saw something strange. He could look through part of this thing, but the things he saw on the other side of it were very dim, as though night had come to them again. And when he looked away the day returned again. This was an interesting thing to have.
Bunny Cottontail found that if he was careful he could put this thing on his head. Part of it rested gently on his sensitive nose and the parts that looked like legs rested on his ears, and the parts that turned day into night covered his eyes. The tiny stones sparkled happily.
"This is fine," he thought, "Now I can keep the sun out of my eyes while I have a good nap."
And Bunny Cottontail hopped back to the nest, and lay down, and had a fine, restful nap.
And that is exactly how it happened that Bob and Jane's daughter Sarah mysteriously lost her little toy backpack one night while camping, and how Bunny Cottontail gave his mother a fine gift full of love and also became the first of his kind ever to have his own pair of rhinestone-covered sunglasses with heart-shaped lenses.