The Tale of Two New Friends

 J. Scott Hartley’s famous marble entitled “Boy and Rabbit"

A little boy, who had moved into a house near the Valley and met a talkative rabbit, went out exploring to try to find the rabbit again. The boy’s dad had told him many stories of the times he had explored the woods and fields, and the boy was really excited to find his own animal friends.

And the rabbit, a youngster, was also eagerly looking forward to finding the boy again. He had run home and told Grandpa Rabbit of the meeting, and Grandpa said “Why, that man was the boy my great granddaddy talked to. I bet Tortoise still remembers him. Be careful around the boy until you are sure he is not just hunting us.”

And so young Rabbit went out every day looking near the mounds that the humans lived in. And sure enough! One day, there was the boy, just sitting at the edge of the meadow leaning against a tree trunk. Rabbit crept up behind the tree (creeping quietly was a skill many animals had, but Rabbit was the best at it) and whispered “Boy? Can you hear me?”

The boy jumped up and cried “YES!! Where are you?”

Rabbit hopped out from behind the tree and surprised the boy, who scooped him up in a big hug and said “Bunny! I want to be your FRIEND. Can we be Friends? Please?” Rabbit was quite frightened (a trait of many animals as well as rabbits) and in a quivering voice said “Yes, we can be friends, but you must put me down. I am very frightened of humans and have never been held by one. Please?”

Of course the boy put “Bunny” down at once and sat next to him. “Oh, Bunny!” Exclaimed the boy. “We shall have such fun together. We will play hide and seek, chase things, puddle with sticks in the stream. And we will tell each other all about our families.”

Rabbit said “Well, to start with, my name isn’t “Bunny”. “Bunny” is a girl rabbit’s name, and I am a boy. And yes, we can play and tell tales, but we must also learn from each other, and pledge to protect each other. We must be more than friends. We must be BROTHERS!”

The boy was beyond excited. An animal had actually asked him to become a brother. He thought that he would have to talk to his father about this before saying “Yes”. He desperately wanted to have a new brother.

“I am sorry I frightened you, umm, what is your name?” Rabbit thought a minute and said “Well, most animals don’t have names the way humans do. We mostly call each other by what we are, and maybe by our age. I am called Rabbit by my friends and I call them Snake, Hawk, Possum, like that. We always know who we mean. So, you can call me “Rabbit”. What shall I call you? Not “Human” I think, or “Boy” “

The boy immediately said “Oh, my dad calls me “Little A”. The “A” is for Allen, and he is Big A. You can call me Little A. And, I would love to be your brother, but I must talk to my dad first before we can agree on that. It’s getting late, and I must go home soon. I will ask Dad when he comes home from work. “

Rabbit said “Okay, Little A. I like that name. But, we must get on with the friendship, because your kind of animal forgets how to talk when they get older, and I don’t know how long you will have before you will forget how to talk to other animals. Your Dad may know, so please ask him when you see him? Before you go, would you please pick me up gently and let me give you a hug? I don’t think I am frightened of you anymore, and I have never hugged a human.”

Little A picked up Rabbit gently and got a warm and furry hug. As he put him down he said “Rabbit, I will be back in the meadow soon. Don’t forget me.” And Rabbit said, as he turned and hopped away, “I will never forget you Little A. Please come back soon.”

And so, the two new friends went on their separate ways, back to their homes and families, with a new and wondrous tale to tell.

Image: http://photoseed.com/uploads/2012/08/02/single-boy-and-rabbit-william-j-mozart-medium-600-600.jpg