Adult children: the secrets of dysfunctional families
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Adult children the secrets of dysfunctional families (John C. Friel, Linda D. Friel) (Z-Library)
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a rabbit!"
The three rabbits looked surprised, and then chuckled loudly to each other. "If you aren't a rabbit," asked one of them, "then what are you?" "I am a person," she answered angrily. "A person!" laughed the second rabbit. They fell to the ground and began laughing hysterically. "Do people have long ears and fur?" asked the third. "Some of them do," she cried. "I've seen them." The tears began rolling down her face in rivulets. ''I am not a rabbit!" she said again. By this time, the three rabbits realized that she was serious. They asked her where she lived and how she found food, and she told Page 151 them that she lived with the other people in a house not far from where they were in the forest. Before they could ask her anymore questions, she hopped away and went home. That night, she talked to the two children and told them what had happened. They didn't have the heart to tell her that the three rabbits had been right. And so she went to sleep that night, secure in the reality that she was a person and not a rabbit. The next day, she went into the forest again. Something told her that she needed to go, but wasn't sure what it was. And so she went despite her doubts. She was in the forest for quite a long time, and a part of her was hoping to see the three rabbits again. After all, they did think that she was pretty, and they had been nice to her aside from their rude laughter. But they were nowhere to be seen. She nibbled on some fresh greens, drank from a babbling brook nearby, and then started home. After hopping just a few yards, she stopped. Her heart began pounding, and her stomach knotted up. Her breathing became shallow, and she stood still, being very, very quiet. She smelled something ominous. "The fox! Oh, no!" She had never seen a fox, she thought. She didn't even know what a fox was, she thought. Then how could I even say "The Fox," she asked herself. Something strange was happening. And then she saw him. He was not more than 15 yards away, lurking behind a bush, ready to pounce on her and kill her. She was frozen with fear! A split second before the fox leaped toward her, she spied something out of the corner of her eye. They were three rabbits, dressed in strange costumes and wielding three sharp swords with curved blades, known as scimitars A fourth rabbit jumped from behind a tree and shouted, "Here, take this and defend yourself!" He hurled one of the scimitars in her direction, and without thinking, she deftly caught it by the handle and reared up on her hind legs to face the fox. The fox leaped toward her, mouth drooling and fangs bared. Her heart raced. Images of her dead parents flashed through her mind's eye. The adrenalin coursed through her veins. The fox sailed through the air! She took one step to the side very quickly, disorienting the fox. And then with all the strength she could muster, she made the scimitar do its work. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The blade of the scimitar sliced through the air back and forth with graceful power! Whir! Whir! The tip of the blade cut into the fox enough to draw blood but not enough to kill him. Confused and Page 152 frightened, the fox raced into the woods, where he could be left alone to lick his wounds. "Three cheers for the Rabbit! Hooray for the Rabbit!" they cheered. Tears welled up in her eyes. They were tears of relief. "I am a Rabbit," she cried, joyfully. "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" cheered the other rabbits. As she turned to thank them, she was amazed at what she saw. Forty rabbits came out from behind all the trees that surrounded her. And then, a forty-first rabbit, dressed more fashionably than the rest, emerged. "Who are you?" she asked. The forty-first rabbit answered, "I am Ali Baba. And these are the 40 Robber Rabbits." "Robber Rabbits?" she asked. "Well, not really. I mean, we don't rob from just anybody. We help animals in the forest protect themselves from predators. The wolves and foxes called us Robber Rabbits and the name just caught on." "I see," said the Brave Little Rabbit. And then she said, "I thank you for helping me to save my own life. But even more than that it has helped me to see that indeed I am a Rabbit. And I am proud to be a Rabbit! "Three cheers for the Brave Little Rabbit!" shouted Ali Baba and the 40 Robber Rabbits. "And three cheers for me," thought the Brave Little Rabbit. "Three cheers for me." |
