The Lucky Rabbit

Long, long ago, on a warm summer night, a black rabbit was drinking some water from a river. The rabbit gazed upon the stars in the water’s reflection while hydrating, when he noticed one of the stars was moving! He looked up to the sky and sure enough, a star was flying across the sky, searching for a place to land.

In awe and curiousness, the rabbit decides to follow the star to see where it would land. Alongside the riverbank, the rabbit runs as fast as he can while keeping the star in view. He soon comes to the edge of the forest and into a meadow clearing. The rabbit pauses, stands onto his hind legs and examines the area. Sitting back down, the rabbit looks back up to the sky. He could see the star was starting to flicker out of sight. The rabbit then stomps the ground a few times with his back right foot and calls out to the star “Come here, come here little star! It is alright! I do not see a danger in sight!”

The star stops for a moment. Then, with the rabbit’s astonishment, the bright bundle of light starts to glide in his direction! Pulsing bigger and brighter until eventually floating just above the rabbit’s head, lighting up the meadow like the biggest firefly that he has ever seen. Although, maybe a bit too bright for the little rabbit, as he had to cover his eyes. After a faint crackle, the star leans in and gives the tiny mammal a gentle kiss on the forehead. Surprised, the rabbit opens his eyes to see a burst of light beneath his feet as the grass glows for a second. The rabbit checks his surroundings, but does not see his glowing acquaintance anywhere in view.

Not sure if the star was trapped, the rabbit took a bite out of a single blade of grass. Only to be disappointed when not even a spark of light emerged. So, the rabbit swallowed the small piece. Soon to feel a warmth go down from his throat and reach to the tip of his toes. He looks down to see a white star pattern has appeared on his back right foot.

Then the rabbit hears a faint crack of a twig. He jolts his eyes to see a man hiding in the forest’s shadow on the opposite side of the river, aiming an arrow towards him. While thinking of a direction to go, the man releases his arrow. Quickly, the rabbit manages to jolt out of the way and head towards his side of the forest.

While running away, the rabbit could barely feel his feet touch the ground as he zipped across the numerous trees and bushes, without missing a beat. It was almost like he was flying! After knowing the coast was clear, the rabbit heads back home to his burrow with his new found speed.

A shortened time later, the rabbit comes home to find his wife has given birth to five kits, all baring a white star on their foreheads. Four of the kits took after their mother in terms of colours. Then the oldest was the spitting image of his father, even baring white starred toes on his back left paw. The parents decided to call him Junior.

As the weeks passed, the father rabbit worked on providing nesting materials and food for his wife. While the mother rabbit left to replenish her energy and come back to their home a few times a day to feed the kits. Day by day, the father rabbit would continue to eat the grass for another sign. And after every meal, something would happen. When it as a snare or a net trap covered in tasty berries, he would swiftly grab the food. Only allowing the tricks to brush the air. And if it was a predator or a man, the rabbit would wait for his opponents’ first move, briskly dodge out of the way, and then run away with immense speed. This made the man both frustrated and determined to catch this stubborn little thing.

‘There was no way a creature could be this flawless….’ the man thought, as he drawn another attempt to shoot the black rabbit. ‘There must have been a reason as to why this rabbit keeps bypassing all these obstacles.’

While he was aiming, the rabbit scratches his ear and unknowingly lets the man find a white star at the tip of the rodent’s back paw. The man releases his arrow, just for the rabbit to dodge again and take off like the speed of wind.

On the other hand, the rabbit became more confident day by day with every triumph. And every night, the father would tell his wife and kits tales of his accomplishments. Then would give advice to his little ones saying “If you see danger my dears, do not fear. Just stand still and let your enemy make their move first. The outcome for them will be their worst. For we have been blessed with luck by a flying star! Remember to eat plenty of grass and it shall grant you a chance. And leave not one drop of luck behind. Not even for the flies.”

Soon, it became the promised day for the kits to explore the world outside their burrow with the parents. To make sure that the path was clear, the mother and father left at dawn to survey the land while the kits went to bed for the day. But, by the time the parents came back, just before dusk, they arrive home to four worried kits and Junior missing.

“Junior said that he could not wait. So, we told him you would not be long.” said the kits with tears in their eyes. “But, by the time we woke up from our nap, he was already gone!”

“Do not worry, my little ones.” replied the father, as he leans down to his kits. “I will go find your brother. In the meantime, go on and enjoy the trip with your mother. We will join you later.”

And with that, the father rabbit took off to find his son. All night he would run for a bit in a direction, stomp with his back foot a few times and call out his son’s name. After no response, he would repeat his actions while looking for any clues as to where Junior might have gone. For you see, kits do not produce a smell when they are young, that way they can not be found by predators. So, the poor father could not track his son down by scent.

In no time at all, the dawn started to peak from the horizon on the worrying parent as he called out one more time “Junior!”

The rabbit waited. And waited. And waited, as the forest birds began to wake up and chirp their morning greetings. The rabbit sighs, tilting his head down towards the grass beneath his feet. He goes to take a bite of the cool and crisp grass. While chewing, he closes his eyes and hopes in his head ‘Please work.'

After swallowing his meal, a snap of a twig came from the rabbit’s left side. The excited father bursts his eyes open, but to be disappointed once more. Emerging from behind a tree was the man, with a drawn bow and arrow pointing at him. Aggravated, the rabbit waits for the man to make his move so he can get back to finding Junior until something catches his attention. Glowing in the light of the rising sun, swaying on the man’s hip, dangled a black furred foot with white stars on the toes.

The father’s heart sunk to the ground, anchoring him in place as he stared at the little charm. Hundreds of thoughts ran through the rabbit’s mind, faster than the speed of his quickening heart could beat and the rate of his shallow breathes could take in. The edges of his vision were getting blurry and darkened all around him by every millisecond. Then, after a blink of an eye, the rabbit attempts to run.

Days went by and neither Junior or the father returned to the burrow. But that was alright, the kits knew that they would return someday. In the meantime, they would continue to pass on their father’s wisdom to their future kits to come. “And who knows, maybe father did not get away because he forgot to eat grass that day.”