Little Bunny Surrou

She nibbled the tips of her toes until red washed over her white fur; on the piece of bark, she drew him, as faithfully as she could.

To the bird, who lighted on a low-hanging branch, Surrou held up her poster and she asked: “Please Mr. Robin, can you help me find my love?”

Without even a moment’s thought, the bird chortled: “I’m sorry, but I don't have the right assets to find such a small creature lost in the undergrowth. Though I do hope you find him."

And with that, he left for the skies.

To the mouse, scurrying through tree roots and beneath leafy boughs, Surrou showed her poster. “Little mouse, could you help me find my love?”

A puft of air left her mouth. “I have my own problems to deal with; you see, my brood is hungry and we have not eaten today."

“What if I help you find food? Then will you help me?”

The mouse’s nose twitched, wriggled, and scrunched. “Afterwards, I must clean my home, tend to my brood, bathe myself and my brood, and get them all to bed. Would you help me with those as well?”

Surrou’s ears drooped. “But it will be dark by then... I cannot look for him in the dark.”

With an indifferent huff, the mouse said: “Then here we part ways. I hope you find him safe and well.”

She squirmed through the leaves and long grasses, disappearing in the foliage.

Beside the short and stiff row of trees, Surrou found a dog tied to a post. She squeezed through a gap near the bottom, and showed the dog her poster. “Please, would you help me find…?”

“If you don’t leave now, little rabbit, I’ll eat you for lunch!” The dog snarled. It leapt across the grass, bounding after her.

Surrou screamed and fled.

She ran and ran, protecting the one link she had to her love, until she could run no more.

Tired, she laid beside a sycamore tree and cried over her poster. Her tears washed over the bloodied drawing, smearing what she had created in memory. “No… No…” She tried to dry her poster, but only smeared the drawing more. “If someone would just offer their help, it would make losing you easier.”

From below came a small voice. “…I could help you, Lady Rabbit…”

Surrou sat up straight and looked around her; she saw no one.

“Hello? Sir, where are you?”

“I am below you.”

With a startled leap, Surrou found near her feet a small mole, freshly burrowed from the earth. “Oh… Sir Mole… But how could you help me? You have no eyes and you burrow beneath the earth where only the worms keep you company. My love wouldn’t be there.”

“True, I have no sight, nor do I visit the surface often.” Said the mole. “But I can offer you any help you may need. If nothing else, I can offer my companionship.” He reached up his hand, though it was in the wrong direction.

Surrou laughed through her tears; she set aside the poster and took the mole’s little hand. “Okay. Let’s look for him together.”

They looked for days but found nothing.

On the fifth day, a little fox chirped and called from afar: “I know where your love is!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Surrou leapt forward. “You do? You know?”

“Yes, of course!” The fox smiled a toothy grin. “This way!”

Surrou bounded after the fox, but tripped and fell on her chest. Turning, she found Sir Mole holding her tight.

“Sir Mole… Why did you stop me?”

His fingers trembled. “That path is one you should never walk, Lady Rabbit.”

She kicked her feet, she pounded her little fists into the mud. “He knows where my love is, Sir Mole! I must follow or I may never see him again!”

Surrou flailed and scratched with her nails, she drew blood from his face.

“You can hurt me a thousand times…” Sir Mole shouted. “But I won’t let you take that path, Surrou!”

She stopped. “You… know my name?”

“Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“But… All this time, I’ve never taken the time to learn yours.”

“I know.” Sir Mole smiled. “You’ve had a lot to deal with, and that’s okay.” He patted her shoulder. “I’ll walk this path for you, Surrou. That way, we will know for sure if the fox tells the truth… and if he lies, he will not tempt me like he will you.”

“I will be back by sunrise.” Sir Mole nodded. "When I do, I will tell you my name." He burrowed beneath the earth.

“A mole, a rabbit, it makes no difference to me.” The fox smiled and trod ahead.

One day passed, then two. Surrou waited and waited. On the third day, she stole from a nearby tree a piece of bark, she nibbled on her toes until red flowed over her white fur, and she drew a picture of him.

“Miss Vole, can you help me find my friend?”

She looked up curiously. “What is their name?”

“I have no name to give, for he never told me.”

“Are they even a friend if you never bothered to learn their name? Where did he go?”

Surrou looked to the rise where she last saw him. “He left that way, after a fox.”

“And you allowed him to go alone?” Miss Vole stamped her foot.

“He didn't want me to follow, in case I got hurt.”

“And what if he gets hurt?”

Surrou’s frown deepened. “What was I to do?”

“Never let him go alone through trouble, just as he did for you.”

And Surrou began to cry. “What am I to do now? I have sacrificed my friend to find my love, and now have no friend and no love, and no one to help me look for either of them.” She lowered her head and she sobbed. “I am alone…”

The vole took Surrou's paws in its own. “Then love yourself, love yourself until you find the strength to stand tall and confident. Then you will never be alone again, no matter how many others come and go from your life.”

“I have no qualities to love of myself.”

“But Miss Rabbit… You had not one, but two people who loved you.” Miss Vole gently hugged her. “Do you think they were stupid?”

“No…”

“Why would they love someone so unredeemable?”

Surrou cried into Miss Vole’s shoulder until she had no tears left. Then, she turned over the bark she had drawn Sir Mole on, and drew a picture of herself. Surrou dried her tears and said to herself: “This person is very important to my love and my friend.

“Would you help me find her?”