( A BUNNY TALE )
NORMAN V. KELLY
When my granddaughter Brooke was in
the first grade she convinced her teacher that her pawpaw was a famous writer
and wanted me to come and talk to them. With reluctance I accepted, after all,
I was a true crime and mystery writer, what on earth could I talk to first
graders about? See what I mean? I thought long and hard but the truth is I
never really came up with any great plan, I can tell you that. So the day came
and there I stood in front of twenty-eight beautiful, eager little kids looking
at me like they were expecting to be entertained. I gulped, smiled at Brooke, wishing I could
change places with her.
‘Has everyone seen a magic show?’ I might warn you that when you ask kids
questions they yell out the answers.
They did this during my talk so I found myself holding up my hands an
awful lot to curb their enthusiasm. ‘ Sorry kids, but I don’t have any tricks
or magic but I bet I can do magic with words…want me to show you what I
mean?’ Again with the hands, but all of
them agreed that they would like to see me fashion some kind of magic. You
know, do something to entertain them.
Stealing from a classic line, I
began: ‘It was a dark and stormy night,
the wind roared around the barns and pushed against the old farmhouse. The lighting cracked and the thunder rumbled
scaring little Lynne and her tiny dog half to death. Lynne was so scared that
she was unable to jump out of bed to run to her grandparents’ room down the
hall. Tiny, her dog stayed under the
covers shaking as Lynne tried to calm the little fellow. ‘It’s only thunder, Tiny, we’ll be okay. Grandpa said we needed the rain so let’s just
lie here and be brave.’ A huge clap of
thunder tore Lynne from her bed as she ran over to turn on the lights. Nothing!
“Oh, Tiny, the storm knocked out the lights, oh, my.’ The little dog slipped under the big fluffy pillow
and shook. Lynne gathered him up into her arms and pulled the covers over
them. She stroked his little head and
began to hum a sweet song to him. ‘What
was that?’ Lynne flipped the covers back
and stared at the large bedroom window as lighting struck somewhere out in the
farm yard. She leaned forward and looked
at a strange shape there in the window.
Tiny let out a low growl as he too stared at the strange object. ‘What is that, Tiny?’ Tiny yipped, Lynne had squeezed the little
dog so tightly that she was hurting him. Lynne pulled the covers up around her
neck. ‘There! See that? What is that,
Tiny?’
My frightened first grade audience
leaned forward, each pair of eyes were glued on me as I changed my voice,
rising, falling, whispering, then suddenly I clicked on the overhead lights as all
of the kids reacted. When they quieted down I looked at them and said, ‘See…see
what the magic of words can do?’
I refused to answer all their
questions about the story as I glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘I would like for us to weave some magic of
our own and with everyone’s help I would like us to make up our own story right
now. We have enough time, would you like
to do that? Just by using our own imagination, you know, those little pictures
that pop into our heads just like we have our own TV set inside our
brains? I thought you would like that
so let’s begin.
Just think, kids, of all the stories
your parents read to you, and the adventures your teacher reads to you here in
class. All these stories were written by people we call writers or authors. An
idea popped into their heads and as their imagination grew so did their stories.
From Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer to Bambi writers imagination sparked so
many wonderful stories that have stayed with us for many years. The magic of words is within all of us,
because we all have imaginations. Let’s use our imagination to write our own
story.
I stood at the blackboard and asked
for the names of our characters, the animal we would write about and the kids responded
with a flurry of words. Once I wrote
them down, we picked the characters and I erased the other names. ‘Okay, the boy’s name is Sam and the girl’s
name is Amber. The story takes place on a large farm and is located in a
beautiful place out in the country. We agreed that a tornado is coming and Sam
and Amber, along with their three dogs are helping their parents round up all
the farm animals into the several barns and sheds. Once the animals are bedded
down everyone runs inside the house. Now we have to imagine what they talked
about. Eagerly the kids had a lot of
suggestions we added to the story we were writing together.
Sam and Amber’s father instructed his
children. ‘Our neighbor Ben told us that the clouds were really black over at
his farm, so it’s time to get to the basement.’
The kid’s parents shooed them toward the basement door. ‘We’ll put the dogs in the furnace room, and
you kids carry the cats.’ The mother said as she untied her apron. Safely downstairs, father turned on the radio
to listen to the weather channel. They
were cozy sitting around the radio talking and being reassured by the
parents. In a short time the storm blew
over and father drove the family over to Ben, the neighbor to see if he was
okay.
RABBITS…RABBITS
EVERYWHERE
Ben the farmer waved to the family as
father parked the car. “I got a lot of rabbits lose, but the dogs are rounding
them up. The big critters are pretty
tame, so if you and the kids pitch in, we’ll get them safely inside.” The kids
had a wonderful time catching the critters and after all the excitement
everyone was sitting around the large kitchen table drinking hot chocolate and listening
to Ben talk about the rabbits.
‘Well, thanks to you folks we got every
last one of them that stayed in the yard. We are missing ten of them, but they are out
in the fields, maybe some of them will come back home.’
That evening Sam and Amber talked
about how worried they were about the missing rabbits. Sam looked over at Amber.
‘There are a lot of coyotes, a few wild dogs, and a mean cat or two out there,
Amber, I wish we could find those bunnies and bring ‘em home.’ Amber sighed…’me too. ‘Let’s go over there tomorrow and look for
them…you want to Sam?’
THE
SUMMER OF RABBITS
Sam and Amber spent a lot of lazy
summer days camping up on the small hill that overlooked the new home for the
ten very long eared rabbits. They had
their father’s field glasses, their little back packs and Rusty their big
Collie dog with them. They watched the
young bunnies play and the older rabbits standing guard. The kids thought about telling Farmer Ben
about the rabbits, but decided not to. The rabbits were so happy and so very
free that they just could not even think about them living in the rabbit pens
on the farm, so they kept it a secret between themselves. Once school started,
their visits were at lot less, but they never forgot about them, bringing
carrots and old apples out to the large holes in the ground. They scurried off to the hill to enjoy the
plump and happy bunnies as they sat munching on the treats.
‘Amber, you notice that there are a
lot more bunnies than there used to be, but don’t forget the hunting season is
coming, and I am worried about them. ‘Me
too, Sam, Farmer Ben has a lot of ‘No Hunting’ signs up, but how will they get
to the corn and the soy beans fields after the harvest without getting
shot?’ Sam shook his head and stood,
pointing toward the fields. ‘Remember
even our paw hunts those fields, so unless we think of something, a lot of
those little critters will probably get shot.
Got any ideas?’ Amber thought for
a moment. ‘Nope.’
HUNTING SEASON
Down beneath the ground, within the
rabbit warren, the adult rabbits gathered to discuss the dangers of the
up-coming hunting season. The wise old
black rabbit with the extremely long, pointed ears sat talking to the other
male leaders. ‘We must have very alert look-outs up there on the hill watching
for hunters if we are to survive this season.
Most of our winter and fall food is out there in the corn and crop
fields. We are all safe until we try to cross the open field. The hunters will be able to see us and I am
afraid that many of us will be killed. So, pick the guards with care, and good
luck to us all.’
Sam and Amber did their morning
chores, packed their backpacks and called to Rusty. As they walked to the rabbits Amber told Sam
what she had learned about the rabbits that had escaped from Farmer Ben. ‘They are called Flemish Giants Sam. They are
really big bunnies and have the longest ears in the rabbit world. They can stick them up very high and as we
have seen they look like they are over two feet high’. Sam laughed, ‘well there is one out there
that we call Stubby, remember him? Why
that poor bunny doesn’t have any ears at all except a couple of stubs.’ ‘I remember him,’ Amber said with a chuckle, ‘I
wish we could take him home. I bet some animal chewed them off when he was
little.’ ‘Maybe’, agreed Sam, ‘but maybe
he was born that way…you think?’ ‘Could be’…agreed Amber
Poor Stubby, he was not a happy bunny. The other rabbits called him names, laughed
at him, and even called him a prairie dog of all things. He could not see himself and wondered why
they laughed at him and ignored him everyday refusing to play with him. One
rainy day he saw his reflection in a water puddle and he was saddened by what
he saw. How could he be a rabbit without ears?
He spent a lot of time looking around at all of his fellow rabbits,
admiring the magnificent ears they had. He agreed he looked more like a gofer
or a prairie dog than he did a rabbit.
He stayed to himself after that, and he grew up a very sad bunny indeed.
UNDER
THE GUN
The very first day of hunting season
was costly for three of the rabbits and the old leaders gathered to talk about
the desperate plight they were in. ‘Our
lookouts are doing all they can,’ the old rabbit said, ‘but the hunters seem to
know when we are coming down the hill.
We must cut back on our trips to the fields, but I fear we are in danger
more than we ever were. Perhaps we
should make out way back to the farm.
Let us take a vote.’ Not one
rabbit raised their mighty ears to vote for return to the farm. “It is settled then…we must risk the trips to
the fields.’
Sam and Amber talked to their father
about the hunters, but found that he could do nothing about it. He told them that he did not own that land,
and that the men had a right to hunt.
They were sad to hear what their father had to say, but they accepted
it. They made a real effort to bring peelings,
old vegetables and stale bread out to their furry friends, hoping that they
were helping. The rabbits certainly
thought it was a good idea because every day the kids returned every bit of the
food was gone. The kids laughed as they
yelled down into the holes. ‘Hold on,
bunnies, hunting season won’t last forever.’ Amber giggled, ‘Now how silly does
it look, us talking to a hole in the ground?’
Meanwhile, Stubby was as big as some
of the adult rabbits and he even looked sillier without the handsome ears the
others proudly showed off. He had tried
to get close enough to hear the older rabbits talking and understood why the
hunters knew why the rabbits were seen going to the fields. He tried to tell a few of the other bunnies
his thoughts, but as usual they hopped away from him before he could get a word
out. Determined, Stubby tried to get up enough courage to hop over and demand
to be heard. Twice he started over but
lost his courage. Tonight he would speak no matter how he was treated. If he
failed he was determined to leave the warren and return to the farm. With his future in the balance he waited
until the older rabbits gathered. He
crept close and suddenly forced his way into the inner circle. One rabbit nipped at him but the leader
stopped him. ‘Do you have something to
say to us Stubby?’
‘Yes, master rabbit. I have been
watching the hunters and our lookouts. I know why they know when we are going
to the fields.’
The older rabbits laughed, a few of
them demanded that he leave the gathering, but Stubby held his ground. The master rabbit told Stubby to tell them
what he had witnessed. ‘It’s the long rabbit ears. The hunters are watching the
hills with their binoculars and they can see the long ears of the lookouts. They know when they signal and then the
hunters get in position to shoot at us.
I have seen it several times.’
The master rabbit told the gathered
rabbits to be quiet. “And…so Stubby…what is your solution. Do you have one?”
‘Maybe you have noticed that I do not
have long, beautiful ears?’
Every rabbit laughed. The old master rabbit smiled, “I think that we
have noticed that Stubby, so you have no ears…so?’
‘So, I will be the lookout…I will be
the guard. I will not leave my post ever.
Some of the younger rabbits can bring me food. The hunters will not be able to see me
because they will be looking for long ears. I will crouch down very still and
when I know it is safe, I will give you a signal. If I see the hunters coming
back I will run over and tell you to leave the fields. That’s all I have to say.’ The rabbits parted as Stubby hopped out of
the circle.
There was an outburst of talking
among the rabbits until the master rabbit shushed them. “I think Stubby is absolutely correct. I
think we should make him our permanent guard and do exactly what he says. Those in favor of that wiggle your ears. Not one of the rabbits voted against the
plan.
A
HERO IS BORN
When the master rabbit ordered the
rabbits to leave for the fields he called Stubby out to announce that the new
guard and look-out was none other than Stubby himself. With pride, Stubby took the lead and hopped
up the hill and took his position. He
scanned the fields below and once he was certain it was safe he thumped his
mighty back feet on the hard ground. All
day Stubby watched and when it was time for the rabbits to come home, Stubby
made certain it was safe before he signaled to the master rabbit. That evening the younger rabbits all gathered
around Stubby, talking and praising him.
He loved his new position but accepted their praise with dignity. They all promised to bring him food during
his watch, and he promised that he would signal them only when it was safe to
do so. ‘You can trust me,’ he said, ‘I won’t let you down.’
The next day brought several hunters
out to the fields and Stubby was busy all day watching them and passing along
his signals as the hunters disappeared. He could hear the hunters talking as
they scanned the hills looking for the long-eared look-outs.
A tall hunter using field glasses
scanned the area as the other hunters waited. ‘Nope. I don’t see any long ears,
you reckon those rabbits have left the area?’ A man standing nearby shook his
head. ‘Naw. They’re out there
alright. We have to sneak up here
tomorrow and be a lot more quiet. Don’t worry we’ll get ‘em. Let’s go find some quail.’
Stubby stayed hunkered down, he could
see and hear them as plain as day. Once
they moved off, Stubby hopped over and led the rabbits back home safely. He told the master rabbit what he had heard,
and vowed that he would watch them even more closely the next day.
All fall and winter Stubby stood
guard, watching, listening and warning the rabbits when to move and when to
hide. He grew stronger and more alert
and the pride he felt in himself reflected in his eyes and the way he carried
himself. All the rabbits called him a hero and bragged about him. One little
girl rabbit especially liked Stubby and finally Stubby let her go with him to
his look-out.
‘Remember Molly, stay behind me and
you must keep your ears down, okay?’
Molly snuggled up against her hero. ‘Of
course Stubby, whatever you say.’
And so the rabbits stayed put in
their underground warren and lived happy, long lives. Sam and Amber visited a few times that winter
and when they went back out in the summer, they saw a huge rabbit with no ears
sitting in the middle of a large group of Rabbits.
Sam pointed, ‘Amber…it looks like
Stubby is the boss now, huh, look how all the rabbits are looking at him.’ Amber smiled, ‘It sure does, guess the fact
he had no ears didn’t stop him from being their hero, huh?’ The kids sat munching sandwiches and as they
got ready to go, Amber screamed. ‘Look! Look Sam, Stubby has a lot of little bunnies
with him.’
Sam adjusted his binoculars as a big
grin came to his lips. ‘One, two…wow he has five kids Amber.’
‘Now how do you know they are his,
Sam?’
“Oh, that’s easy just count the
bunnies with no ears.’
‘Duh.’ Amber said, laughing.
Time was running short as I finished
the story. Brooke stood and began to clap, arousing the other kids to do the
same. “Thank you, but you did all the work, kids. You did it with your
imagination, and of course with the magic of words. Remember…be careful with
your words, and be kind to each other.
Thank you for asking me, Miss Wyatt, I will bring back a booklet for
each child with all of their names on the cover as authors. Good bye kids, and pay attention to your
teacher and your mom and dad.
Norman V. Kelly
norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net 3,187 words of magic.
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