I’ve never claimed to be the smartest guy in my town but I have met a lot of my fellow citizens over my lifetime and I am pretty sure I am not the dumbest one either. Just a little slow on the uptake, now and then.
The other night, I looked out my kitchen window to see two of the three rabbits that inhabit our backyard, gathered around their feeding station. One of them, a touch on the smaller side, is the one that has befriended me over the winter. I don’t know if it’s possible to be sexist while discussing rabbits, but because my buddy is the smallest of the three, I think of it as female.
I am a creative writer of longstanding so, after much creative thought, I gave my furry little pal a unique name – Bunny. I think it suits her.
Bunny comes when I call her now, and one night, I bent down and held out the dish of food I was carrying. She came within two inches of my hand. Had I put some seed in my hand, I think she might have eaten out of it. Instead I reached out to pet her and she was off like a rocket.
It is so gratifying to see this wild little creature hopping around impatiently a couple of feet from me while I put down her feed and then dash in to eat almost before I can get out of the way.
So, I have become sort of protective of her. That is why I was shocked and upset while looking out the window to see Bunny and another rabbit engaging in what seemed to be a pretty nasty fight. First, they stood straight up on their hind legs and I was shocked at how tall they were. Then, back on all fours, they took turns hopping straight into the air and landing back in the same spot, all the time facing each other. Also something I had never seen.
And then, to my horror, the bigger rabbit jumped on poor Bunny’s back and I couldn’t stand any more. I ran outside to break things up but they were gone.
I was watching a nature show tonight.
I’m pretty sure Bunny’s gonna be a mommy this spring. I know she’ll be busy, but I hope she can still spare a little time for me.
And if her kids are as friendly as she is, I will be busy thinking up unique names for them like Jumpy, Hoppy, Leapy, Frank and Bunny Jr.
The End.
©2021 Jim Hagarty
