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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Adventure
- Published: 04/07/2022
Peacebunny Island
Born 1973, F, from CA, United StatesThe Tale of Peace Bunny Island
Once, there was a visionary man named Caleb, who founded Peace bunny Island, a kind of summer camp for companion rabbits. It’s an oasis where rabbits and their guardians live together to find harmony. A place to connect where all is gentle in the world.
One fine summers day two little bunny rabbits were sunning themselves in a bright green meadow, decorated with dandelions and violets. This meadow was home to a rabbit colony called Peace bunny cottage which resided some remarkable bunnies. One of these bunnies has sleek grey blue fur and it shimmered in the sun light, his name was Huckleberry. The other bunny who had an eye catching coat of fluffy black and white spots, was his best friend, Bandit. Huckleberry smiled excitedly at his dear companion. but today was no ordinary day.
“Let’s take a trip down the river, dear Bandit,” Huckleberry suggested. “We will have a very fine day, we can listen to the whispers of nature.”
Bandit shook her little furry tail with delight. “Oh yes Huckleberry, I would like that very much.”
So Huckleberry and Bandit went hippity-hopping all the way down to the bank of the great Mississippi River. Now The Mississippi river is the largest river in all of America. But here, in the northern back woods channel, where Huckleberry and Bandit lived, the water was calm and serene. When the two bunnies got down to the shore, there, floating in the river, was a fancy toy boat, moored to a dock. It was navy blue with white trim all around it. Quite large for a toy, but the perfect size for a few rabbits to float down the river together. So the two best friends jumped right aboard, nudging the boat from shore, into the gentle current.
Little did these bunnies know, they were about to embark on a voyage that would change their lives. To begin the journey, Huckleberry was pleased to show Bandit the many wild flowers and delicious treats that lined the shoreline. There was fresh alfalfa grass, crispy dandelion shoots, lacy ferns and even cone flowers, their very favorite snack.
“What a delightful picnic,” Bandit cheered. “Now let us listen very quietly, so we can hear what the river is saying.”
So the two little bunnies snuggled together against the bow of the boat, warmed by the sun, nearly falling asleep to the nature sounds around them. They heard a nearby turtle bubble and splash in the water, they heard butterflies flapping their wings against silky flower petals, buffing pollen into the warm air.
The two kinder bunny friends stuck their pastel pink noses in the air, and took in the sweet smell of purple lilacs and crab-apple trees along the shore. They sniffed the fresh soil, where the birds searched for bugs to eat, the salty smell of dragonflies sailed overhead, a family of wood ducks swam beside the boat, the littlest one trying to keep up, and comedic little chipmunks scurried to and fro, collecting savory pine nuts. The soft breeze stirred their soft fur, like a caring hand petting tenderly. It was a pleasant voyage indeed.
After floating along for awhile, Bandit asked her good buddy to do what he loved best.
“Won’t you please tell me a story, dear Huckleberry?” she requested. “A story about rabbit hero’s to pass the time?”
Well she didn’t have to ask her good buddy twice, because he fancied himself quite the story teller, especially about rabbit hero’s. Before he began, Bandit took a moment to clean her paws and snuggle a bit closer to Huckleberry, who cleared his throat and began his favorite story.
“I’ll tell you a very dear story, one from a long time ago, long before you and I were born. ’Tis the story of the greatest bunny king that ever lived. Paxton Peace-bunny. Legend has it,” Huckleberry continued, “Paxton was an American Blue Rabbit, soft grey fur that appeared almost blue, he had long pointed ears and the most powerful back paws anyone had ever seen. Yet, he was also known for having the kindest heart. Paxton was the alpha rabbit of Cottage colony, and as such, it was his job to keep watch over everything and every bunny.
At the Peace bunny cottage there were all types of rabbits. There were chubby bunnies and thin bunnies, white bunnies, black bunnies, there were fuzzy bunnies with very soft fur, silly bunnies that hopped and raced, and quiet and serious bunnies that preferred to take long naps in the tall grass, or read a good book. There were even bunnies that were known to make friends with goats, and it was Paxton’s job to watch over and maintain a safe loving burrow.
Well, as much as Paxton loved the cottage colony, he believed there was an even better place out there. A place beyond the edge of their pasture, beyond the dandelions and violets. He believed there was a place, so natural, safe and serene, even snails would come to relax. There he could train the young kinder bunnies in the art of hoppy-ness, the way of natural harmony. So, with the dew still damp on the grass, Paxton gathered a few of his bravest rabbit friends, and started a journey to follow the waterway. He went in search of a peaceful paradise where the kinder bunnies would be safe as they learned the ways of nature.
Summer turned to autumn and autumn to winter, Paxton Peace-bunny did not return to the colony at Peace-bunny cottage. The rabbits waited and waited for their fearless leaders to come home, but when spring arrived and then summer again, many considered him lost to the great white yonder. And lost he might be, but there are those who say he is not lost at all. Some say he found a land filled with all the grass and flowers rabbits love to eat, a land without any bothersome animals, a land where the ancient ways could be found.
Well, Bandit’s eye’s certainly gleamed at this glorious story, “I wonder where King Paxton and the others could be,” she pondered. “Something must have kept him and the other rabbits from returning to the colony, for they would never leave their home behind,” Huckleberry agreed, and the two friends wiggled their noses in the air wondering what adventure might have kept King Paxton from returning to the burrow. But with no way to know the answer, the two rabbits started a game of hide and seek. They floated along the beauty of the widening river. The boat being just a toy, was rather small even for these cottage bunnies. There was limited room to hop around, only taking a few hops to get from one side to the other. The rabbits couldn’t chase one another very far, nor did they dare jump very high. So, they began to wonder if there was another place to go, like a meadow or a grassy hill where they could hop around wherever they liked. A little while later they saw such a place emerging ahead of them, a quiet wooded island, with little purple flowers shaped like little purple stars that they could see through the tall green grass.
“That looks like a peaceful place” remarked Bandit, pointing her fluffy paw straight towards the land. “I wonder if we should stop there?”
Luckily, they encountered several woodland animals who lived both on the land and the water. So they asked for guidance about whether or not it was a good place to play. They asked the buck tooth beaver, who swam by with his big flat tail, in the middle of building his home in the river.
“Oh yes,” he replied, “this Island is a safe place with no unfriendly creatures to bother you.”
Then they interrupted a blue heron on a fishing expedition. This tall bird looked at these small creatures with his gleaming yellow eyes, posing with his long beak, slender body and long chopstick legs. The heron cawed “Awk, awk, oh yes there are many lovely things for you to eat here on the island, and plentiful too.” Then they inquired with a friendly old turtle, with its beautifully patterned shell, poking her head in and out as she pleased. She blew bubbles into the water, “Oh yes there are many soft places to lay here with warm burrows in which to rest, you will certainly enjoy your stay.” So it was agreed, Huckleberry and Bandit floated their little toy boat safely ashore, onto the sand bar.
When they disembarked they found out that the island was even better then they expected. It was a wooden oasis, a free and wild expression of nature, a true playground for animals, such as deer and songbirds, resting up on their migration along the Mississippi river. The two rabbits found tremendous joy in sniffing each leaf and every flower and taking tiny nibbles of each one. There were fallen maple sugar logs to roll across, fresh rich soil for digging holes, and pretty wild flowers to poke with their noses. They greeted the butterflies and dragonflies, and the bumble bees that perched in the lower patch, near the knoll. They scurried up the exposed roots of the shoreline trees, their puffy tails wiggling as they pranced along the sandy shore. The bunnies recovered from their journey, and laid amongst the purple flower marsh that grew along the shore. They stretched out their hind legs as far as they could, by arching their little backs.
Huckleberry groomed himself licking his paws, and passing them over his ears and whiskers, his grey nose twitching with satisfaction. Bandit’s nose twitched as well, inhaling the sweet fresh smell of all the fresh grass and flowers, many varieties that she’d never tasted before. She turned her long ears this way and that, to listen to the strange sounds of this new land. Bandit heard the distant song of a brown goose whose music seemed to invite the silver moon. She glanced into the river to see the goose’s reflection that mirrored along beside her. She heard the funny sound of an otter waddling along the sand bar, in search of shells for dinner.
Then Huckleberry poked Bandit with his nose, and the pair got to playing, hopping far across the graceful meadow, frolicking without a care in the world. Little by little, the kinder bunnies grew bored and went exploring more of the island. They happily hopped away into the dense grass, wandering deeper and deeper into the woodland. The lush velvet leaves reached high overhead in strong chunks, that could withstand any wind, and the fuzzy cottonwood seeds that were spread on the ground, crunched under foot.
Then the two bunnies noticed something they never expected. They smelled the soft, familiar scent of rabbits in the air, “Do u smell what I smell?” asked Bandit. They saw a great shape ahead of them, a great shadowy furry shape, with thin pointy ears, and a puffy cotton tail.
“Do u see what I see?” asked Huckleberry.
And the shadowy shape spoke.
“Ahoy my friends, welcome to Peace-bunny Island.” Its coat looked so similar, one might even think it was Huckleberry’s relative. His broad paws were strong and his bold whiskers twitched with every wiggle of his wide, wet nose, and he wore a shiny crown. Well, the two travelers looked very closely. What they saw before them was the most magnificent rabbit they ever encountered. A regal and robust rabbit, with large ears, strong hind legs, silky grey fur, so grey that it glowed with a sheen of blue. In fact, the braided twigs upon his head, encircled his remarkably long pointed ears.
“We mean you no harm, oh great rabbit,” Huckleberry explained.
“We are but friendly travelers from the mainland, seeking a safe place to stretch our paws. If we are a bother to you, we are happy to be on our way.” At that, the great Rabbit started a roar of hearty laughter, “I too, lived on the mainland,” he shared, as he leaned in to get a closer look at Huckleberry noting the resemblance. “But many sunsets ago, I left my home in search of a safer place to raise our young kinder bunnies. I made a home on this island and all the animals were so kind, that I named it Peace-bunny Island.”
Huckleberry could hardly believe his long pointed ears. “My word!” he exclaimed, “could you be the legendary Paxton Peace-bunny? I thought the stories were but a fairy tale!”
Now Paxton rose up on his haunches, showing his soft belly from his full stature. He looked like he must be a magic rabbit, or at least come from a royal pedigree.
Huckleberry and Bandit’s eyes grew wide at this splendid sight,
“I am one and the same,” he revealed. “I am Paxton Peace-bunny.”
With that, Paxton twitched his ears and several other rabbits emerged from the brush.
Each of them was more impressive than the last.
There was an British Angora named Whatchamacallit, a brave adventurer with a black face, black ears and long shaggy fur, the color of storm clouds. There was Leonardo the lion-bunny, a gentle and patient thinker with long tufts of caramel fur flowing from his head. There was Wyatt, a sweet and quiet angora with silky fur white as snow, which grew so long and luxuriously that it fell over his eyes. They thought the two visitors must be tired and thirsty, so they scurried over to a little pond, where they lapped up some refreshment. They dipped their tiny tongues into the cool fresh water. Bandit smacked her lips, savoring the flavor, she thought it was the best water she’d ever tasted, so crystal clear, sweet and invigorating. She glimpsed right beside her, a little rock shaded by small flowers, a metallic little snail with an oiled shell, lounging herself by the cool fragrant waters.
“Look,” Bandit exclaimed, “This is a place so serene even snails come to relax here.”
“You’re quite right, little Bandit,” agreed Paxton, “This land is pristine and untouched by the outside world. That’s why everything on it is so clean, happy and free. As kinder bunnies we are sworn to protect the harmony of nature and that is what we do on this island.”
Now that Huckleberry and Bandit were refreshed, they had many questions to ask Paxton Peace-bunny. Namely, how did he get to this island, and why did he never return to his loving cottage colony on the mainland?
Paxton now reclined under a lavender bush, which gave off a soothing sweet scent. He told his story with a deep vibrant voice of a king. “Long ago,” Paxton spoke, “I left my colony and lead an expedition, in search of a place so peaceful, even snails come to relax. I wanted to find a summer home, to find a place to train the young ones in the ancient art of nature. When I found this little island I was overjoyed, it had everything our kinder bunnies needed to be a sustainable home. There are fine sweet grasses for munching, wild ferns and flowers for napping under, and great cottonwood trees that provided shade. Best of all the only way to get to the island was by hopping across a beaver’s wide dam, so the island was protected from any large animals, who might be a bother to us little rabbits. This way we could all raise our young bunnies in safety.
Paxton Peace-bunny continued, “Well, it took several days to search the entire island, poking our noses into every nook and cranny, climbing to the highest knoll, and exploring the lowest gully, leaving no stone unturned. Knowing we were safe, we relaxed and played, digging holes in the soft earth, which to take naps, chasing multi-colored butterflies, flitting through the humid air and munching on many types of sweet leaves that grew throughout the wood.”
But alas by that evening, when we finished investigating the meadowlands, it began to rain. At first the rain was just a sprinkle, soon it started pouring down and it rained for many days.
All we could do was hide in the hallows of downed trees to keep dry. When the rain finally subsided, the beaver’s wild dam was connected to the mainland, it got swept away by the storm and with it our chance to go back home. So, day after day, month after month we waited for a new safe way across the channel, wishing that we could return to our colony and to our bunny families and we’ve been waiting till this day.
When he was finished, Bandit and Huckleberry expressed a long, “Woah.” They finally understood why Paxton never returned to his colony, and became nothing but a myth to the youngest bunnies.
These young kinder bunnies had been waiting here for the day they would find a way off the island so they could return to the colony and share this rare paradise. So, Bandit and Huckleberry being smart and friendly rabbits, gave this problem a long hard think, and they came up with a wonderful plan.
“King Paxton,” Huckleberry started, “We came to this island, your island, on a little boat, it’s not a very large boat, in fact it’s a child’s toy, navy blue, with white trim all around, but there’s plenty of space for a few bunnies to float around on the river. Maybe we could take a few bunnies at a time, and then we could get every bunny here to visit this magical place.“
Paxton Peace-bunny sat back on his haunches and thought.
——— to be continued———
Peacebunny Island(Lyrissa Paz)
The Tale of Peace Bunny Island
Once, there was a visionary man named Caleb, who founded Peace bunny Island, a kind of summer camp for companion rabbits. It’s an oasis where rabbits and their guardians live together to find harmony. A place to connect where all is gentle in the world.
One fine summers day two little bunny rabbits were sunning themselves in a bright green meadow, decorated with dandelions and violets. This meadow was home to a rabbit colony called Peace bunny cottage which resided some remarkable bunnies. One of these bunnies has sleek grey blue fur and it shimmered in the sun light, his name was Huckleberry. The other bunny who had an eye catching coat of fluffy black and white spots, was his best friend, Bandit. Huckleberry smiled excitedly at his dear companion. but today was no ordinary day.
“Let’s take a trip down the river, dear Bandit,” Huckleberry suggested. “We will have a very fine day, we can listen to the whispers of nature.”
Bandit shook her little furry tail with delight. “Oh yes Huckleberry, I would like that very much.”
So Huckleberry and Bandit went hippity-hopping all the way down to the bank of the great Mississippi River. Now The Mississippi river is the largest river in all of America. But here, in the northern back woods channel, where Huckleberry and Bandit lived, the water was calm and serene. When the two bunnies got down to the shore, there, floating in the river, was a fancy toy boat, moored to a dock. It was navy blue with white trim all around it. Quite large for a toy, but the perfect size for a few rabbits to float down the river together. So the two best friends jumped right aboard, nudging the boat from shore, into the gentle current.
Little did these bunnies know, they were about to embark on a voyage that would change their lives. To begin the journey, Huckleberry was pleased to show Bandit the many wild flowers and delicious treats that lined the shoreline. There was fresh alfalfa grass, crispy dandelion shoots, lacy ferns and even cone flowers, their very favorite snack.
“What a delightful picnic,” Bandit cheered. “Now let us listen very quietly, so we can hear what the river is saying.”
So the two little bunnies snuggled together against the bow of the boat, warmed by the sun, nearly falling asleep to the nature sounds around them. They heard a nearby turtle bubble and splash in the water, they heard butterflies flapping their wings against silky flower petals, buffing pollen into the warm air.
The two kinder bunny friends stuck their pastel pink noses in the air, and took in the sweet smell of purple lilacs and crab-apple trees along the shore. They sniffed the fresh soil, where the birds searched for bugs to eat, the salty smell of dragonflies sailed overhead, a family of wood ducks swam beside the boat, the littlest one trying to keep up, and comedic little chipmunks scurried to and fro, collecting savory pine nuts. The soft breeze stirred their soft fur, like a caring hand petting tenderly. It was a pleasant voyage indeed.
After floating along for awhile, Bandit asked her good buddy to do what he loved best.
“Won’t you please tell me a story, dear Huckleberry?” she requested. “A story about rabbit hero’s to pass the time?”
Well she didn’t have to ask her good buddy twice, because he fancied himself quite the story teller, especially about rabbit hero’s. Before he began, Bandit took a moment to clean her paws and snuggle a bit closer to Huckleberry, who cleared his throat and began his favorite story.
“I’ll tell you a very dear story, one from a long time ago, long before you and I were born. ’Tis the story of the greatest bunny king that ever lived. Paxton Peace-bunny. Legend has it,” Huckleberry continued, “Paxton was an American Blue Rabbit, soft grey fur that appeared almost blue, he had long pointed ears and the most powerful back paws anyone had ever seen. Yet, he was also known for having the kindest heart. Paxton was the alpha rabbit of Cottage colony, and as such, it was his job to keep watch over everything and every bunny.
At the Peace bunny cottage there were all types of rabbits. There were chubby bunnies and thin bunnies, white bunnies, black bunnies, there were fuzzy bunnies with very soft fur, silly bunnies that hopped and raced, and quiet and serious bunnies that preferred to take long naps in the tall grass, or read a good book. There were even bunnies that were known to make friends with goats, and it was Paxton’s job to watch over and maintain a safe loving burrow.
Well, as much as Paxton loved the cottage colony, he believed there was an even better place out there. A place beyond the edge of their pasture, beyond the dandelions and violets. He believed there was a place, so natural, safe and serene, even snails would come to relax. There he could train the young kinder bunnies in the art of hoppy-ness, the way of natural harmony. So, with the dew still damp on the grass, Paxton gathered a few of his bravest rabbit friends, and started a journey to follow the waterway. He went in search of a peaceful paradise where the kinder bunnies would be safe as they learned the ways of nature.
Summer turned to autumn and autumn to winter, Paxton Peace-bunny did not return to the colony at Peace-bunny cottage. The rabbits waited and waited for their fearless leaders to come home, but when spring arrived and then summer again, many considered him lost to the great white yonder. And lost he might be, but there are those who say he is not lost at all. Some say he found a land filled with all the grass and flowers rabbits love to eat, a land without any bothersome animals, a land where the ancient ways could be found.
Well, Bandit’s eye’s certainly gleamed at this glorious story, “I wonder where King Paxton and the others could be,” she pondered. “Something must have kept him and the other rabbits from returning to the colony, for they would never leave their home behind,” Huckleberry agreed, and the two friends wiggled their noses in the air wondering what adventure might have kept King Paxton from returning to the burrow. But with no way to know the answer, the two rabbits started a game of hide and seek. They floated along the beauty of the widening river. The boat being just a toy, was rather small even for these cottage bunnies. There was limited room to hop around, only taking a few hops to get from one side to the other. The rabbits couldn’t chase one another very far, nor did they dare jump very high. So, they began to wonder if there was another place to go, like a meadow or a grassy hill where they could hop around wherever they liked. A little while later they saw such a place emerging ahead of them, a quiet wooded island, with little purple flowers shaped like little purple stars that they could see through the tall green grass.
“That looks like a peaceful place” remarked Bandit, pointing her fluffy paw straight towards the land. “I wonder if we should stop there?”
Luckily, they encountered several woodland animals who lived both on the land and the water. So they asked for guidance about whether or not it was a good place to play. They asked the buck tooth beaver, who swam by with his big flat tail, in the middle of building his home in the river.
“Oh yes,” he replied, “this Island is a safe place with no unfriendly creatures to bother you.”
Then they interrupted a blue heron on a fishing expedition. This tall bird looked at these small creatures with his gleaming yellow eyes, posing with his long beak, slender body and long chopstick legs. The heron cawed “Awk, awk, oh yes there are many lovely things for you to eat here on the island, and plentiful too.” Then they inquired with a friendly old turtle, with its beautifully patterned shell, poking her head in and out as she pleased. She blew bubbles into the water, “Oh yes there are many soft places to lay here with warm burrows in which to rest, you will certainly enjoy your stay.” So it was agreed, Huckleberry and Bandit floated their little toy boat safely ashore, onto the sand bar.
When they disembarked they found out that the island was even better then they expected. It was a wooden oasis, a free and wild expression of nature, a true playground for animals, such as deer and songbirds, resting up on their migration along the Mississippi river. The two rabbits found tremendous joy in sniffing each leaf and every flower and taking tiny nibbles of each one. There were fallen maple sugar logs to roll across, fresh rich soil for digging holes, and pretty wild flowers to poke with their noses. They greeted the butterflies and dragonflies, and the bumble bees that perched in the lower patch, near the knoll. They scurried up the exposed roots of the shoreline trees, their puffy tails wiggling as they pranced along the sandy shore. The bunnies recovered from their journey, and laid amongst the purple flower marsh that grew along the shore. They stretched out their hind legs as far as they could, by arching their little backs.
Huckleberry groomed himself licking his paws, and passing them over his ears and whiskers, his grey nose twitching with satisfaction. Bandit’s nose twitched as well, inhaling the sweet fresh smell of all the fresh grass and flowers, many varieties that she’d never tasted before. She turned her long ears this way and that, to listen to the strange sounds of this new land. Bandit heard the distant song of a brown goose whose music seemed to invite the silver moon. She glanced into the river to see the goose’s reflection that mirrored along beside her. She heard the funny sound of an otter waddling along the sand bar, in search of shells for dinner.
Then Huckleberry poked Bandit with his nose, and the pair got to playing, hopping far across the graceful meadow, frolicking without a care in the world. Little by little, the kinder bunnies grew bored and went exploring more of the island. They happily hopped away into the dense grass, wandering deeper and deeper into the woodland. The lush velvet leaves reached high overhead in strong chunks, that could withstand any wind, and the fuzzy cottonwood seeds that were spread on the ground, crunched under foot.
Then the two bunnies noticed something they never expected. They smelled the soft, familiar scent of rabbits in the air, “Do u smell what I smell?” asked Bandit. They saw a great shape ahead of them, a great shadowy furry shape, with thin pointy ears, and a puffy cotton tail.
“Do u see what I see?” asked Huckleberry.
And the shadowy shape spoke.
“Ahoy my friends, welcome to Peace-bunny Island.” Its coat looked so similar, one might even think it was Huckleberry’s relative. His broad paws were strong and his bold whiskers twitched with every wiggle of his wide, wet nose, and he wore a shiny crown. Well, the two travelers looked very closely. What they saw before them was the most magnificent rabbit they ever encountered. A regal and robust rabbit, with large ears, strong hind legs, silky grey fur, so grey that it glowed with a sheen of blue. In fact, the braided twigs upon his head, encircled his remarkably long pointed ears.
“We mean you no harm, oh great rabbit,” Huckleberry explained.
“We are but friendly travelers from the mainland, seeking a safe place to stretch our paws. If we are a bother to you, we are happy to be on our way.” At that, the great Rabbit started a roar of hearty laughter, “I too, lived on the mainland,” he shared, as he leaned in to get a closer look at Huckleberry noting the resemblance. “But many sunsets ago, I left my home in search of a safer place to raise our young kinder bunnies. I made a home on this island and all the animals were so kind, that I named it Peace-bunny Island.”
Huckleberry could hardly believe his long pointed ears. “My word!” he exclaimed, “could you be the legendary Paxton Peace-bunny? I thought the stories were but a fairy tale!”
Now Paxton rose up on his haunches, showing his soft belly from his full stature. He looked like he must be a magic rabbit, or at least come from a royal pedigree.
Huckleberry and Bandit’s eyes grew wide at this splendid sight,
“I am one and the same,” he revealed. “I am Paxton Peace-bunny.”
With that, Paxton twitched his ears and several other rabbits emerged from the brush.
Each of them was more impressive than the last.
There was an British Angora named Whatchamacallit, a brave adventurer with a black face, black ears and long shaggy fur, the color of storm clouds. There was Leonardo the lion-bunny, a gentle and patient thinker with long tufts of caramel fur flowing from his head. There was Wyatt, a sweet and quiet angora with silky fur white as snow, which grew so long and luxuriously that it fell over his eyes. They thought the two visitors must be tired and thirsty, so they scurried over to a little pond, where they lapped up some refreshment. They dipped their tiny tongues into the cool fresh water. Bandit smacked her lips, savoring the flavor, she thought it was the best water she’d ever tasted, so crystal clear, sweet and invigorating. She glimpsed right beside her, a little rock shaded by small flowers, a metallic little snail with an oiled shell, lounging herself by the cool fragrant waters.
“Look,” Bandit exclaimed, “This is a place so serene even snails come to relax here.”
“You’re quite right, little Bandit,” agreed Paxton, “This land is pristine and untouched by the outside world. That’s why everything on it is so clean, happy and free. As kinder bunnies we are sworn to protect the harmony of nature and that is what we do on this island.”
Now that Huckleberry and Bandit were refreshed, they had many questions to ask Paxton Peace-bunny. Namely, how did he get to this island, and why did he never return to his loving cottage colony on the mainland?
Paxton now reclined under a lavender bush, which gave off a soothing sweet scent. He told his story with a deep vibrant voice of a king. “Long ago,” Paxton spoke, “I left my colony and lead an expedition, in search of a place so peaceful, even snails come to relax. I wanted to find a summer home, to find a place to train the young ones in the ancient art of nature. When I found this little island I was overjoyed, it had everything our kinder bunnies needed to be a sustainable home. There are fine sweet grasses for munching, wild ferns and flowers for napping under, and great cottonwood trees that provided shade. Best of all the only way to get to the island was by hopping across a beaver’s wide dam, so the island was protected from any large animals, who might be a bother to us little rabbits. This way we could all raise our young bunnies in safety.
Paxton Peace-bunny continued, “Well, it took several days to search the entire island, poking our noses into every nook and cranny, climbing to the highest knoll, and exploring the lowest gully, leaving no stone unturned. Knowing we were safe, we relaxed and played, digging holes in the soft earth, which to take naps, chasing multi-colored butterflies, flitting through the humid air and munching on many types of sweet leaves that grew throughout the wood.”
But alas by that evening, when we finished investigating the meadowlands, it began to rain. At first the rain was just a sprinkle, soon it started pouring down and it rained for many days.
All we could do was hide in the hallows of downed trees to keep dry. When the rain finally subsided, the beaver’s wild dam was connected to the mainland, it got swept away by the storm and with it our chance to go back home. So, day after day, month after month we waited for a new safe way across the channel, wishing that we could return to our colony and to our bunny families and we’ve been waiting till this day.
When he was finished, Bandit and Huckleberry expressed a long, “Woah.” They finally understood why Paxton never returned to his colony, and became nothing but a myth to the youngest bunnies.
These young kinder bunnies had been waiting here for the day they would find a way off the island so they could return to the colony and share this rare paradise. So, Bandit and Huckleberry being smart and friendly rabbits, gave this problem a long hard think, and they came up with a wonderful plan.
“King Paxton,” Huckleberry started, “We came to this island, your island, on a little boat, it’s not a very large boat, in fact it’s a child’s toy, navy blue, with white trim all around, but there’s plenty of space for a few bunnies to float around on the river. Maybe we could take a few bunnies at a time, and then we could get every bunny here to visit this magical place.“
Paxton Peace-bunny sat back on his haunches and thought.
——— to be continued———
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