A Fable For Today

This was written decades ago by Jim Shelley, and is the reason Painted Wheel people say things like "Sorry, can't make it tonight, I don't wanna be a bunny killer."

 
It's dark and messed up. You have been warned.

Once there were three rabbits named Bluebell, Daisy and Thistle who lived in a small burrow at the edge of the great woods.

Bluebell was the practical sort who like to find new ways to improve life in the burrows. She was always trying new recipes or rearranging the furniture. Occasionally she would venture out into the great woods to find some new stone or flower with which to decorate the burrow

Daisy was a dreamer who like to sit outside on the edge of the great woods and write poems about what she saw. One time she saw a rainbow and wrote a song about it which she sang while playing a little ukulele.

Thistle was the adventurous type who like to go off on wild adventures the great woods. One time he explored a big cave he found and accidentally woke up Bentley the Bear, who was hibernating at the time. Bentley was very mad at the time, and he was afraid he would not be able to go back to sleep.

Fortunately, Daisy sang him a lullaby about Bears, and Bluebell cooked up some warm milk, so he was able to go back to sleep.

Well, one day Thistle was exploring a new field when he stumbled upon a little mouse. The mouse’s name was Pine Nut. Pine Nut said he was new to the woods and wanted to meet some friends. Thistle said he should come over the next day to the rabbit burrow to meet Bluebell and Daisy. Pine Nut said he would be happy to come over.


Thistle then went home and told Bluebell and Daisy about Pine Nut. Bluebell got very excited and started making all sorts of cookies and deserts. Daisy started thinking of lots of words that rhymed with mouse, so that she would have a poem ready for Pine Nut when he arrived. Thistle got busy cleaning up
 the burrow, so it would be nice and clean when Pine Nut came over. They all stayed up to the wee hours working to get everything just right.

Well, the next morning Pine Nut woke up with a slight cold, but he was so excited about the visiting his new friends that he didn’t think too much about it. Bounding across the field, he came upon the rabbit burrow and knocked on the door. The door flew open and he was greeted by Thistle who shook his hand and invited him in. Once in, Thistle introduced him to Bluebell and Daisy. They all sat down and enjoyed the sumptuous banquet of food Bluebell had prepared for them. Afterwards Daisy recited her poem about the virtues of being a mouse in today’s world. They then told all sorts of stories about Thistles grand adventures in the big woods. When the day drew to a close, Pine Nut bid them goodbye and told them he would see them tomorrow. They all said goodnight to him and watched him scurry out into the field towards home.

Well the next day Pine Nut went to the Rabbit burrow and knocked on the door. He waited and no one showed up. He knocked again. Still no one showed up. Finally he knocked as loud as possible and put his ear to the door. He heard nothing. He tried the door and it was open. He came in and looked around. What greeted his eyes shocked and horrified him.

Bluebell, Daisy and Thistle were all dead. All killed by the very same cold that Pine Nut had dismissed. You see, colds affect rabbits much greater than mice, and poor little Pine Nut had unfortunately signed a death warrant for his new friends when he showed up at their burrow sick. He went home heartbroken and shot himself.


The End.

The moral of this story is that if you show up at the Shelley’s house when you are sick, they will most likely shoot your rabbit-killing ass on sight.

– Fair Warning.