Raphael, hidden at the entrance of the rabbit warren, with only his keen brown eyes and brown nose visible to the outside snowy world, realized that his dream was at hand. For so long he had been dreaming about this day. The day that he would prove to the world that he, Raphael, was the Marco Polo of the Rabbit World, a brave rabbit, a hero rabbit, for all the world to see and know.
Raphael was so anxious to set out into the unknown land before him that he threw caution to the wind and hopped out of the safety of the Warren. He was at once overwhelmed by the beauty in front of him. The lush landscape of snow covered hills, an array of wondrous vegetation that filled his senses, it was beyond his wildest dreams.
Raphael hopped around in an enchanted daze, wondering which bush to nibble on first, all of them looked delicious. He hopped over to the Hawthorn bush, nibbled, and then off he was to the Willow tree, with its low hanging branches and nibbled. As he looked around he saw the flowering Witch Hazel tree in full bloom. It’s star-shaped yellow blooms held an enchanting scent that drew him, almost spell-bound, to the perfumed yellow star flowers. His full tummy made it difficult for him to even hop and he wished for a bigger tummy. Nonetheless, he began to nibble the succulent blooms until he was drowsy with the sweet yellow nectar.
Suddenly, he heard the flapping of wings and saw the shadow of them descending quickly over him. He froze. It was the hawk he had seen earlier. It grabbed him with its sharp talons around his very chubby tummy. Raphael screamed for dear life.
At that very moment, he heard his mother calling his name and he called out “Mother, help, help!” His truly brave mother, hopped as quick as lightning to his side, without fear for her own life and bit down on the leg of the hawk still trying to carry Raphael away to its nest. At the mouth of the warren, he heard the cries of his siblings as they hopped up and down and all were crying out his name.
The gray hawk, seeing he was out numbered, let go of the very chubby rabbit and flew off for easier prey. Raphael and his mother hopped quickly back to their Warren and all of them returned safely to their warm and cozy abode. Raphael, now ashamed of his dangerous behavior that put not only himself at risk, but his family too!
Raphael, his head bowed in shame and regret, said in a low and humble voice, “Mother, please forgive me and I promise never do such a foolish thing again!”
“Raphael”, his mother replied, “there is more to being courageous than throwing caution to the wind. A great rabbit once said, “love, caring for others, and the spirit of self-sacrifice is the bravest and most courageous thing of all.”
Raphael now knew that true courage and bravery is found in the love you have for others, family, friends, and even strangers. A lesson, that he, Raphael, would never, ever forget! The End.
Story by K. D. Dowdall, December 10, 2016
A very good ending to the story and a lesson learned.
Huge Hugs
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David, I am so thrilled that you like my little story. I love writing children’s stories, for the child in all of us. And, I am glad that you approve of my ending! And, hugs to you too! Karen 🙂
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I dearly LOVE this story. Thank you for sharing your warm and insightful writing.
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Jennie, you are so kind with your praise, a kindred spirit too. It is so inspiring to me to because it comes from you, someone that I admire greatly! Thank you, Karen 🙂
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Thank you so much, Karen. We are kindred spirits, and in the words of my grandmother, “We’re cut from the same cloth”. Your writing is an inspiration for me. Lucky me.
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Jennie, you are so inspiring for me as well! My grandmother use to say the same thing and I do think we are “cut from the same cloth”! Thank you so much, Jennie.
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You are welcome!
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Very sweet. Are these your illustrations too?
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Hello, no they aren’t, but actually I do that kind of illustration or I should say, I did that kind of illustration at one time. It was just a hobby. These are from Pinterest and are in the public domain, so they are okay to use in this manner, but cannot be used to publish in a book or magazine without the artist’s consent. I am glad you like the story. The other story about Bella, the Winter Mouse, that is an quick easy illustration I did for that story last year. I will post another story with illustrations that I did maybe in a few days. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Karen 🙂 A note, I did find you on twitter and am following you!
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This is a lovely, beautiful, and engaging story! Thank you for sharing it with us!
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Charles, I am so happy that you like it and thank you so much. You inspire me to always do my best, Professor French! 🙂
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