Here is a story about a Little Rabbit. As she explores, she learns about patience, perseverance, discovery, listening, and personal discipline. She discovers there's much to learn about her world, and that joy comes from noticing and appreciating the small things she encounters on her trail. Lastly, she learns to listen to the Gardener and her own inner voice.
Little Rabbit's Adventure
by Kim Conolly
There once was a
Little Rabbit. Everywhere she looked her nose wanted to follow. Over
the hedge yonder, her
fellow kits played cotton ball. They were good friends, she loved
them and they loved her. They didn't always get along, but she
learned a lot when she was with them. Her mama said that was what
friends were for, to help you become the best you that you could
become. But some days, her best play mate was herself.
Not too far from her
home, over a forested hill, was a humongous garden belonging to a
Herculean human. It was beautiful! Tall turnips grew in fall, and in
winter, parsnips were succulent and sweet after the first frost. But
if she admitted it to herself, it was not her garden and she didn't
do good things when she went there. She knew in her heart that her
visits to the garden never left its neat paths and rows a better
place. She knew she was
upsetting the garden's owner with the messes she left behind,
and she didn't want anyone's heart to hurt because of her– not even
for one bite of sweet, tasty carrot. But sometimes, she was tempted.
She had her own
garden as well. In her tenth year, she was expected to garden often
and willingly. It was her community's “Work to Eat”
program. Long despised by the littles (they hadn't had to think of
such things before), she no longer had a choice. “It's time.”
her mother would say as she handed her a hoe. But she wasn't good at
growing things, at least not yet. She tended her patch sporadicly,
because everywhere she looked her
nose wanted to follow.
One day, she was
bounding down a favorite rabbit trail. It was not a bunny trail. Real
rabbits use rabbit trails, while baby kits use bunny trails. Bunny
trails are shorter, safer, and closer to home, but rabbit trails
range far and wide. As she headed down the trail, she was stopped
short by a purply, pointed plant.
She'd never seen
this plant before. She was still learning there was a lot she didn't
know and a lot she hadn't yet seen. Deep in her heart, she recognized
that the world was far bigger and wider than what she knew.
Sometimes, she was tempted to believe she knew all there was to know,
but of course Squirrel would remind her of reality. He saw things
from up high that she'd never ever see.
And her mother had
thoughts on knowing it all
as well. She could often be heard telling the family to watch out
for a pride that says you know it all, all the time. She
preferred a youthfulness which recognizes you know it all only
some of the time. “Be careful not to become a prideful youth,”
her mother would say.
Little Rabbit would nod and agree, for this was the easiest way with
adults. But now, the purply plant reminded her that Mother was right:
no one knew it all, and there were new things to discover if you were
willing to look and learn. Poking out of the earth, this small,
singularly beautiful, and deeply enchanting purply plant was a clear
reminder she'd not yet seen the whole world.
Settling down on her
haunches, she surveyed the perplexing purply plant. Should she eat
it? It looked good, really good, but it was small. She rarely stopped
for small things. In fact, there wasn't much that stopped her in her
tracks, but this plant was beautiful. She thought of Mr. M's garden.
She wasn't to snack there, even if the veggies were humongous and
amazing. Maybe like Mr M's garden, she should appreciate this plant
without eating it. She knew of course, that not everything was for
filling one's belly or one's pleasure alone, but her curiosity got
the best of her. She licked a soft petal. It had the texture of silky
young lettuce, but she didn't munch down. Stepping back, she pondered
the petals for a long time, and then heard her mother calling her
home. She reluctantly headed in that direction, sure a chore awaited
her.
Sure enough, her
mother needed help with the baby kits while she ran to the nearby
mulberry tree to deliver a basket of fresh greens to a sick neighbor.
As her mother prepared the basket of greens, Little Rabbit tried to
describe the plant, but her mother hadn't seen one before. “Mothers
don't know everything.” she said. “Sometimes, you have to
look and listen, and then you'll find your answer. But this takes
time,” she warned.
Time. Little Rabbit
never had enough. Somehow, she felt that a long time ago, she'd had a
lot of time. Maybe when she was younger, like the kits. Time had been
long and slow, absorbing her into it. “Does growing up mean
never having enough time?” she
wondered. At this age, her rabbit trails kept her busy, even
before chores.
“Slow down,”
her mother would say. “You're young, for Pete's sake. Be
patient.”
“Who's Pete?”
she'd ask.
“I'll tell you more
about him later,” Mother had said, “but slow down, and
stay away from human gardens. Got it?”
“Okay, I'll try.”
Little Rabbit said.
When her mother
returned home, she was free to head outdoors once more, and she found
herself back at the purply plant. She was shocked to discover it had
withered and died! Snail was sliding by and Little Rabbit asked him,
“What did you do to my purply plant?”
“Nothing, young
whipper snapper,” said Snail. “It always withers this time
of year. Maybe the wind made it wither.”
“But
I love it, and I want it to come back,” said Little
Rabbit.
“It will be back,”
said the Snail. “Give it time.”
“I will sit here
until it comes back,” thought Little Rabbit, but soon the
afternoon sun began to sink and she heard her mother calling. She'd
forgotten all about her chores. Disappointed at her lack of freedom,
she headed home.
She
thought silently about it all through the meal, and was now quite
sure of the flower's fate. “It's gone, mama.” she
said after her dinner and bath. She was tucked in bed, but she
couldn't sleep for all her fretting. “It's just plain gone.”
wailed Little Rabbit.
“Maybe it always
goes away at this time of year,” Mother said.
“That's what Snail
told me, but I don't believe him. He ate it.” Little
Rabbit pronounced.
“Now listen, you
have no reason to doubt him. Don't fret yourself into a bigger
problem with a dear friend, even if he is different from you. Snails
eat lettuce, not purple things. Besides, he moves very slowly and
he's a wonderful noticer. Give him the benefit of the doubt. He
doesn't miss a thing at his pace,” said Mother.
“Maybe, you're
right,” said Little Rabbit, doubtfully. And she stayed awake
thinking about the purply plant until she couldn't keep her eyes open
any longer.
The next day her
mother had loads of chores for her. Finally, just when she thought
she was free, Little Rabbit was instructed to take her mother's seed
list and see the Gardener at the seed exchange. “And don't get
lost on some rabbit trail today,” Mother informed her.
She didn't
understand the Gardener. He spoke slowly, and in language the
Little Rabbit didn't always understand, but she knew the Gardener
knew a lot about a lot. “If he knows so much, why is he
so quiet?” Little Rabbit muttered to herself, “When I have
something to say, I just say it.” She remembered Mother had
said,“Some people want you to learn on your own.” She
wondered if the Gardener would know about the mysterious
purply plant. As she hopped towards the Gardener's shed, she
wondered, “How do you ask something, when you're not sure what
the question is?”
Before she knew it,
she was at the door of the old rabbit's shed. The Gardener was working
silently, steadily sorting and saving seeds. On the table in front of
him, pouches of seeds were ready to be delivered by Benjamin. These
days, everyone knew where Benny was, at any time of the day, and it
sure wasn't a human garden. No, sir! He was busy delivering the
Gardener's seeds over the hills and through the vales. The Gardener
kept Benjamin busy helping grow new gardens, not eating his way
through them. Benny's mother and the Gardener made sure Benny was
constructively employed. “What an awful thing,” thought
Little Rabbit, but she silently conceded that mothers and Gardeners
make a hard team to beat.
Little Rabbit
surveyed the airy shed. She'd never noticed all the drawings on the
walls and book filled bins. Finally, she piped up,“I'm here to
pick up my mother's seed order Mr. Gardener. She's ready to get
planting and she doesn't want to wait for Benny to make it out to our
place.”
“Spring fever is in
the air.” said the Gardener.
The urge to plant hits a high note right about now in our little kingdom,”
he added.
“Some fresh carrots
would taste good right about now,” said Little Rabbit.
“As long as you
don't get it from Mr. M's place. Right?” the Gardener chimed
in.
“Right,”
Little Rabbit giggled. She sobered and then added, “It isn't
worth the headache...or the hind-ache!”
“Your mother's
packet is laying just there. In it, you'll find everything your
mother loves to plant, and I added something just for you,”
said the Gardener.
“Really? What?”
Little Rabbit asked.
“Snail mentioned
your purply plant. Tell me about it.” said
the Gardener.
Should
she tell the Gardener about licking the little plant? “Oh,
no!” she thought, “I'll
end up like Benjamin, running around on adult errands all day long!”
She would leave the licking part
out.
“Well, I found a
beautiful purply plant on my favorite rabbit trail,” she
said, “but I was not tempted to eat it, pick it, play
with it, or give it away. I just enjoyed looking at it, but it
withered and now I'm sad,” lamented Little Rabbit.
“You
weren't tempted to taste it, not even a little lick?” the
Gardener inquired.
“How
did you know?” said Little
Rabbit with a worried frown.
“Just
a hunch,” said
the Gardener with a smile. “Don't be sad. Your
plant is not dead, but its bloomed as long as it can in this season
of its life. It's time for it to become small once more, and gather
energy from the earth, that it might grow again next year.”
“Gardener, why does
it take so long to wait for something you really want to happen, but
it takes no time at all for chores and bedtime to arrive?”
“Ah, that is Earth
time for you, but Real Time is not like that,” remarked the
Gardener. “Real Time lives in the present, and is content with
what is happening here and now.”
“Well, I'll never be
patient, and therefore, never know Real Time,” thought Little
Rabbit sadly, but she said, “Mother says I should slow down, but
I don't know how.”
“Mothers are good
people, Little Rabbit, and now you best get home. I'm sure she's
wondering about her seeds, and you. It will soon be dark, and that's
not a time for Little Rabbit to be out and about. And don't worry,
you'll not be kept busy like Benjamin – sounds like you have
something you need to tend to already.” said
the Gardener with a wide grin.
Tucking the envelope
in her front pocket, Little Rabbit thanked him and headed home. She
wondered about his words. He said seeds need time, rest, and love to
grow beautiful. Did other things work that way too, she thought? And
how did he know she'd licked the plant? She thought about the
Gardener all the way home.
“Beauty
blossoms best in its own time,” the
Gardener had said. “Like the purply plant, there's a
right time to burst forth and shine. All life pokes its head up,
timidly at first. It's really quite hard, pushing through the hard
earth. But then the plant arrives and is beautifully present.
Radiant, her petals reflect the Creator's light. But her real life is
hidden deep inside, and every year, her energy stores need to be
replenished and renewed, and so she hides away to rest once more. You
think she's died because she's withered, but she hasn't. She's
soaking up energy deep under the earth. She'll be back next spring,
to brighten your rabbit trail once more.”
The next morning, as the sun rose, Little Rabbit ran down her
beloved rabbit trail. She felt wildly happy for she'd escaped her
chores – at least for a bit. With the seed from the Gardener
tucked in her pocket, she arrived at her favorite spot. Snail was not
in sight. She found the withered purply plant, and decided it was not
sad, nor should she be, pondering the Gardener's words once more. She
dug a little hole and poked the seed into the earth. The sun, rain,
and soil did their part. The seed grew and soaked up the spring rains
and warm sun, then burst its casing.
Little Rabbit
checked on her seed every day. Lots of other trails beckoned, but she
bounded down this trail with joy. She was sure something was
happening deep within the soil. The Gardener had told her, “Enjoy
the wait.” He had said,
“Enjoy it all,” And she did; she really did.
As she waited, she
noticed the forest she had missed before, the sound of the rocky
brook, and the charm of the Squirrel's tail as he bounded about the
meadow for sheer exhilaration. She enjoyed his company when he would
sit still. “Each new spring is like being born brand new to
him,” she thought, and she marveled with him at the wonders of
the fresh green valley. Spring was like a “first, everything”
all over again.
She noticed the
flushing of the forest evergreens, their tips hanging with a new pale
green growth, and she saw buds forming in the apple orchard. The
robin's breast, oh my, it was red. How had she not noticed him before
in the apple orchard as the weather warmed up? He was delightful
hopping about with his feathered friends. But, she saw only one bee.
“Was it a scout bee?” she wondered. She hoped the bees
would come soon and make a home near the orchard. She knew they were
important for flowers and fruit. Her mama had called it,
“poll-in-a-tion”. For the first time ever, she wondered
how she might help these small creatures. Was this growing up? Caring
for more than just yourself? Or was it about waiting and wanting and
not noticing the waiting and wanting? She really wanted her seed to
come up, but she also didn't want to rush it. She now knew it would
come in its own time. Racing and rushing around would not make it
come faster, nor would it make the wait longer or slower. Time just
was. Time took what it needed and only that, just what it needed.
And then it
happened. She and Squirrel were talking about the bees, when Snail
strolled by.
“There's a present
waiting for you,” said Snail.
“Oh, where? Why?
It's not my birthday yet,” exclaimed Little Rabbit.
“Not that kind of
present,” said Snail, “a present from the Gardener.”
“My seed!”
shouted Little Rabbit and she raced to the old oak and resting purply
crocus. Sure enough, a sprout was poking its way through the earth. A
green snippet of life. “Oh, what could it be!” she
wondered as she raced home. Bursting
through the warren, she exclaimed, “Mama! Mama! Come see!
I grew something beautiful!” And having finished her
pronouncement, she bounded out the door once more, and headed to
where the forest meets the meadow and good things grow.
Copyright 2014 Kim Conolly
