From Mother’s Story Box
Blueberries and Bunnies
David and Nancy and Little Sister Joy had been picking blueberries with Mother. Now they were going home to dinner, with their berry baskets full. As they were crossing a field they saw ahead of them—right in their path—a funny little brown bunch. At first they thought it was a piece of velvety brown fungus. But no—the round little bunch had long brown ears and a tiny wad of cotton for a tail. I’m very glad Trixie did see it. He was off chasing a woodchuck at the moment. But if he had spied that wee brown bunch, he would surely have made a rush for it.
“It’s a bunny!” said David.
“A baby bunny!” cried Nancy and Little Sister Joy.
“Hush! Go softly, children,” Mother warned them. “Don’t scare it away.”
Softly, softly, they stole up to the wee bunny. It kept as still as a stone. Nancy put down her berry basket and bent over the wild brown baby. Gently she picked it up.
“Ah, isn’t he darling! Isn’t he sweet! Let’s take him home and keep him!”
“Of course we’ll keep him,” said David, stroking the little, brown, furry ball. But just then Trixie came running back, and David had to catch him quick and hold him tight, lest he scare poor bunny.
“I’m afraid,” said Mother, “Baby Bunny won’t be very happy, if we take him home—even if we teach Trixie not to disturb him. He’s a wild bunny, you see.”
“But he’s tame,” said Little Sister Joy. “Just see how tame he is!” She kissed the bunny.
“He didn’t even try to run away, when I picked him up,” said Nancy.
“Bunny kept still, hoping we would not notice him,” said Mother. “But his little heart was beating with fright when you caught him. Suppose you were out, all alone, and three big giants came along and picked you up and carried you off to be their pet. Would you like that?”
“N—no,” Nancy had to confess.
“Bunny won’t like it either, if you carry him home with you,” said Mother. “You children look like three big giants to him. And what will his poor little mummie do if she comes to look for her baby and can’t find him?”
So, though they were very sorry to say good-by to Baby Bunny, the children decided to send him back to his “mummie.” The funny little fellow was in such a hurry to get home he nearly turned a somersault, jumping out of Nancy’s arms. Hoppity-skip! Skippity-hop! Away he sped to his burrow.
But when they told Farmer Brown about the wild bunny, he said: “Well, now, if you like rabbits, I’ll take you where you can see plenty—tame ones, too. Come along with me, this afternoon. I’ve got to leave a load of hay up the road. We’ll visit the rabbits on the way.”
So after dinner David and Nancy and Little Sister Joy rode off in the wagon, with Farmer Brown and his load of hay. By and by they stopped at a little red house, with a big yard in front. Around the yard was a high fence. The children jumped down from the wagon and peeped through the fence. The yard was full of bunnies! Brown bunnies and gray bunnies and white bunnies were hopping over the grass, popping out of their rabbit holes in the ground, or sitting up, listening with their long ears and wobbling their funny little noses—“winking their noses,” as Little Sister Joy called it.
Then the Bunny Lady came out of the house. She wore a bright blue smock.
“Have you come to see my rabbits?” she called. “Come right in!” And she opened the gate.
Farmer Brown left the children with the Bunny Lady.
“This is my rabbit farm,” said she. “I’ve kept rabbits ever since I was a little girl. I raise them now to sell. Lots of boys and girls like to own rabbits.”
She brought a pan full of lettuce and allowed her guests to feed the bunnies. They were so tame that they came and nibbled the lettuce leaves right out of the children’s hands.
David and Nancy and Little Sister Joy told the Bunny Lady about the wild baby rabbit—how they had wanted to keep him, but were afraid he would be unhappy. They told her about picking blueberries too.
“Blueberries!” she cried. “My! Don’t I love them! But I never have time to go picking berries.”
“We’ll come and see you again, and bring you some blueberries,” Nancy promised.
“Will you?” said the Bunny Lady. “Well, now, if you’ll bring me blueberries, I’ll give you each a bunny! Bunnies for blueberries. It’s a bargain.”
But before they could keep bunnies, they had to make ready a rabbit hutch for them to live in. Farmer Brown’s son Joe built the hutch. It was a beauty! It had its own little yard with a strong wire fence around it, so the bunnies could not get out, and Trixie could not get in.
“And aren’t we glad we planted lettuce in our garden beds!” said David. He and Nancy and Little Sister Joy had their own little garden beds, and they were raising lettuce, radishes, carrots, and beets—good food for bunnies!
When all was ready, they visited the Bunny Lady again. They brought her three baskets full of blueberries. And she gave them each a fine young rabbit. David’s was brown.
“I’m going to call him Peter,” said he.
“I’m going to name mine Snowball,” said Nancy. “He looks just like one.”
Little Sister Joy had a white bunny too. “I’m going to name him Pinky-Winky,” she said, “’cause he has such bee-oo-tiful pink eyes, and he winks his nose all the time.”
What About You?
Did you like that story? What was your favorite part?
Who said they wanted to keep the baby bunny first? Was it a good idea?
What would have happened if the children kept the wild bunny?
Did the children obey Mother when she said to put the bunny down?
How did the children get something much better in the end?
What do tame rabbits need to keep them happy and safe?
How do wild rabbits live differently than tame rabbits?
What did Little Sister Joy name her pet?
In the story David, Nancy, and Little Sister Joy learned a lesson. Even though they thought their idea of keeping the wild bunny would be fun, they learned that it was better to listen to Mother. When they couldn’t have their own way, they didn’t complain, did they? They were happy that they had seen the baby rabbit and had gotten to pet it. And later they had something much better than what they had first wanted. God is like that. If He says that we can’t have something, we must remember that He has something better for us. Don’t you want to wait for what is best?
[In “Letter to a Little Princess” there are some paperdoll clothes for Joy with her tame bunny rabbit.]