Whiskers' First Adventure

Once upon a time, long, long ago there was peace in the world. There was laughter and love enough for all creatures, both human and animal. This is the tale of a very young rabbit by the name of Whiskers. Whiskers lived with his parents in a home they had created at the base of a huge oak tree. The oak tree made a sturdy and safe haven. The parents, Jonah and Molly Rabbit, had lots of room in their new home. They made a sturdy door to keep out the severe cold of winter and the heavy rains of spring. Their home was secure.

Whiskers was a loving and obedient bunny, but, he was also filled with wonder about the world outside their front door. He could not venture outside alone until his parents said he was old enough to follow their instructions on safety.

Whiskers was looking forward to his first trip outside their home. So far, Whiskers always had his parents or a teacher with him. His big day was coming up very soon and he was excited.

His first steps outside alone was both scary and exciting, but, he was determined to make his parents proud. So, with his chin held high and his shining eyes darting everywhere, Whiskers very carefully put one foot outside. Gathering his courage, he stepped out the door on to the forest pathways that wind through the entire forest.

The sky was far, far above him and such a beautiful blue. The trees around their home were really, really big and a bunch of them had homes built in the bottoms, just like his home. The sun was shining through the canopy of leaves, warm and golden. Whiskers was amazed at all he saw and heard that day. His first step alone outside his parents' home was the beginning of his very first adventure as a young rabbit.

The first thing he needed to do was to see if any of his friends from school were outside too. He was ready to have fun this day.

A short way down the road Whiskers spotted two of his very best friends. Stinky Skunk and Nancy, a Rabbit cousin, were walking towards him.

The three children were all the same age, four years old in animal years. They walked over to the central pond where there was a huge playground. They could swing, fly down the slides, climb the uneven bars and just have lots of fun in the sun. The only restriction was, stay away from the pond. None of the children ever got to close to the pond because they might fall into the water. It was explained very carefully to all three by their parents. It was hoped they would listen to their rules.

The children had played so hard and were now hungry as all children get, after playing for so long in the fresh air and sunshine. Whiskers told his friends that his mother offered to fix some lunch for them all at his house; then, after resting for a while, they could go back to the playground.

Stinky and Whiskers were chasing Nancy across the playground and they were having a great time running and laughing on their way to lunch. Suddenly, Nancy tripped over a rock in the roadway and, being to close to the pond, she fell into the water. Stinky was screaming for help; Whiskers ran to a fallen branch under an oak tree. Struggling, he drug it over to the pond. As Whiskers was dragging the branch, he yelled at Stinky to run to Whiskers' home and get his father.

"Run Stinky, run as fast as you can and get my father". Stinky took off like a rocket for Whiskers' home and the help they needed.

"Ok Nancy, I'm going to push this branch to you and you need to grab it and hold on tight".

"Whiskers, please get me out of here" she exclaimed!

"I'm trying as hard as I can, just hold on until help gets here because I'm not strong enough to pull you out of the water".

"I'll try," she said. Nancy was scared and crying very hard. Whiskers was very afraid that Nancy would not be able to hold on for very much longer.

Thankfully, Whiskers' father, Jonah, arrived and, using the branch, was able to pull Nancy safely out of the pond. Jonah held the young girl in his arms as she sobbed her fears away. Jonah carried Nancy and led the two boys back to his house.

Jonah turned the little girl over to his wife, Molly. He sent Stinky to get Nancy's mother and then, sat down with Whiskers to hear exactly what had happened that day.

When Whiskers finished telling his father all that they had done, his father asked Whiskers a very important question. "Son, how did you know what to do to save your cousin Nancy?"

"I read it in a book at school, it had pictures and everything," he said.

"Son, I am so very proud of you and what you did to save Nancy."

"But Dad, I was so scared and I was afraid Nancy would not be able to hold on."

"By telling me that, you are even more special." said Jonah.

"Why am I special?" asked Whiskers.

Jonah pulled Whiskers onto his lap and gave him a big hug. "You are special because you didn't panic and run away when Nancy was in danger. Even though you were scared you carried on, you got the job done and you saved her life."

I hope that Whiskers, Stinky and Nancy will have better days ahead, days without so much drama and danger.

Over the years, Whiskers would have many adventures. He would meet and make friends with many of the animals who lived in his neighborhood. They would all meet every day after school to play games and explore the forest. All the animals had lessons to learn about life and living in the forest. They had to learn how to find food, how to store food for the winter and how to build a safe and secure home for their own family one day.

Many years have passed since Whiskers' ventured out of his home for his very first adventure. Perhaps I can tell you about them in the next edition.