The Chihuahua and the Cottontail    

 

Each morning as the sun peeks over the mesquites in Gransie’s Gardens, Merry dances down the steps and out the gate for her morning run.  With her graceful Chihuahua-esque moves, she herds three to five uninvited guests out of the yard and into the pasture beyond the barbed wire fence.

Who, you might ask, would dare to congregate on Merry’s turf?

Why, it’s a rather large family, in fact, several generations of cottontails.

At dusk, the “stars” step on stage once more and repeat the morning performance with precision.  The mockingbirds, dove, and hummingbirds cheer them on from their perches high above.

It’s a good life!

Predictable.  On schedule.  Lots of exercise. 
No one gets hurt.

They’re living each day just as the next—anticipating tomorrow will be just like the day before.

Then, one scorching summer day, things changed.  Merry pranced out of the yard to chase the intruders away, ran them under the fence, and turned to skip back for her breakfast treat.  But something caught her attention, and she turned to see one of the cottontails hopping after her.

What?  Who did this bunny think she was?

Merry pursued the rabbit again.  She hopped away and ducked into a large prickly pear patch.  Of course, this Chihuahua was feeling very proud of herself, and she dashed through the garden doing figure eights as Gransie clapped and cheered.

When Merry reached the steps, Gransie pointed and whispered, “Merry, I think you have a visitor.”

That rabbit had followed her and stood right at the open gate, wiggling her bunny nose and her soft white tail.

The little dog ran out after her, and the two went back and forth across the field with Merry in hot pursuit and the cottontail, Honey Bunch,

scurrying just ahead of her.

Gransie couldn’t believe her eyes!  This must be one bold rabbit.  Most of them ran away and hid, but this cottontail was fierce.  Honey Bunch, Gransie’s name for bunny, would wait until Merry was almost to her in a full run, then she’d jump straight up in the air.  The dog would pass right under and stop when she realized the bunny wasn’t in front of her.

Something strange was going on here!  Gransie decided to get to the bottom of it.  She began to look around the gardens and was surprised to find a hole in the middle of the yard.  With a stem from a daylily, Gransie carefully pushed back dirt, grass, and balls of hair.  There, deep inside, she found three baby bunnies, snug as bugs in a rug.

Gransie and Merry had to have a little talk!  These must be Honey Bunch’s babies.  She was trying to get the Chihuahua to run after her so she’d leave her baby bunnies alone.  Gransie shared the new found treasure with her little friend and told her the hole must not be disturbed.

Merry changed her morning and evening dances to include a little warm-up beside the rabbit hole.  Well, a little change is good for every one of God’s creatures!  She’d look inside, take two or three sniffs and circle the hole twice.

Oh, yes, Merry would make her usual passes to scatter the rabbits…all except for Honey Bunch, who always had surprise moves and secret trails to lead her away from the babies.

The saga of the Chihuahua and the cottontail went on for days and into weeks.  The babies were safe, and the performers were happy in their roles.   One day, however, Merry circled the hole and turned to Gransie with a questioning look.  Gransie checked inside and the baby bunnies were gone.

Merry ran out of the garden.  There was Honey Bunch awaiting their morning chase.  Merry quickly followed her to the fence.  She backed away and stood staring under the boughs of a cedar.  Gransie had followed and peeked beneath the tree to see what was happening.  Three baby bunnies were sitting underneath with their mama.  Merry wasn’t moving a muscle.

Had Honey Bunch finally introduced her to the triplets?

Oh, how Gransie wished she could hear what they were saying to each other through the old fence.

          Thank you for being kind to my babies.

          You know, we aren’t so different!

          We can all live together and be friends.

          Really…new adventures make life more fun.

Merry turned and trotted to the porch, and Gransie was sure that she saw a smile on the Chihuahua’s face.

Time went by, the rabbits grew up, and Merry still has her daily runs through the gardens to chase the cottontails.  But, there’s one special bunny who always comes to challenge her and keep her on her toes.

A family dog and a wild cottontail faced off as enemies and became friends.  And they taught Gransie some special lessons about life.

Rainy Day in Spain

School was out! Andres and Michaela ran down the steps and into
the cool, gentle rain!
Reaching into his backpack, Andres displayed his treasures.
“Michaela, I need to send these postcards to my friends in America.”
Glancing at her watch, Michaela gasped, “If we hurry, we can just
catch the bus that runs past the post office!.”
Splashing through puddles down the winding cobblestone path
they sang, “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”

Andres and Michaela arrived at the bus stop just in time to leap over the rain
filled gutter and climbed on the bus!
They wound around and through the streets of Salamanca until they
finally reached the post office. The two friends had to wait in a very long
line to mail Andres’ cards but didn’t mind at all. They laughed and visited with
all the people around them. What a wonderful place to practice their Spanish!

With the cards safely mailed, Michaela and Andres began to look for another bus.
They’d be back home in no time!
Splashing through puddles down the winding cobblestone path
they sang, “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”

Suddenly, Michaela stopped and whispered, “Andres, I smell something
wonderful!” Andres hesitated, drew in a deep breath, and pointed toward
a merchant’s cart that was parked nearby.
The street vender was selling chestnuts roasted over an open fire. Excited and
extremely hungry, Andres and Michaela paid the man and chomped on the nutty treats as they splashed through puddles down the winding cobblestone path
and sang, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... ”

A bus pulled up to the curb and the friends leapt on without a care in the world.
But…the bus took them to the middle of nowhere. The driver told them to get off or
pay again for the ride back to the station. Unconcerned, Andres and Michaela stepped
out once again into the rain, because they weren’t sure that this
bus would get them back home.
They splashed through puddles down the winding cobblestone path
and sang, “It rains in Spain and their chestnuts are never plain.”

Andres pointed to the end of the street where another bus had just
pulled up, and they raced to catch it. Once seated, Andres and Michaela assured
each other that this must be the bus that would take them back home. They
began visiting with some very nice people sitting beside them who helped them
find the right bus stop. Thanking these wonderful new friends, Andres and
Michaela made their way to the door and slid out into the rain.

What a wonderful adventure! Andres mused, “Michaela, I think we just
lived a children’s book!” His friend smiled and they
splashed through puddles down the winding cobblestone path
and sang, “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”

****This is a true tale of an adventure that Andy and his friend, Michele, had earlier
this week in Spain. I just added a few lyrics:)

Stubby the White-winged Dove

(Stubby is a dove that has visited our porch feeders everyday
since March. Her beak is broken off.)

Adventures with Flat Stanley

Favorite Song and Story