Living on a roundabout

 Jacob was a very bouncy and lively young rabbit. He lived with his mum and dad and his brother Derek. 

Like all rabbits, they lived in a warren.

Now….just in case you don’t know….a warren is an underground house just for rabbits. It has rooms like a normal house but they are all joined together by tunnels …oh…and of course, it’s all very small because it’s rabbit-sized.

Jacob and his family had lived in the warren all their lives and there had been rabbits in the warren for as long as any rabbit could remember. 

Jacob and his brother loved to play outside as often as they could. Given the chance, they would run and jump in the long grass all day long. Their favourite game was to play hide-and-seek in the bushes and it was only when their mum shouted to them that they would reluctantly come inside.  

“Derek and Jacob …time to come in and get cleaned up….it’s time for dinner.”

Wherever Jacob and Derek were when they heard their mum calling, they would stop what they were doing and run as fast as their little legs would carry them back to the warren.

They loved to race each other back home, and the first rabbit through the entrance hole into the burrow was the winner.

They did this every day and it was always Derek who won….he was bigger and faster because he was the oldest.

Jacob didn’t mind losing to his big brother because it just made him try harder. He knew that one day he would win and it wouldn’t be long….He was growing, getting bigger and bigger, and getting faster and faster every day…. as little rabbits do.

After getting cleaned up they would make their way into the dining room which was just down the tunnel from Jacob’s bedroom. It was a large room with straw around the edges and the food was placed on a large flat stone in the middle of the floor. 

Dinner that day was a pile of succulent green dandelion leaves, mixed together with wild grasses and their favourite….deliciously sweet wild clover….mmmm…..scrumptious.

Jacob and Derek were positively ravenous after playing outside all day. They made sure they ate every last mouthful of their dinner because they both knew they wouldn’t grow up big and strong if they didn’t eat their greens. 

After they had eaten dinner and cleared away the leftovers, the young rabbits would start to get ready for bed.

There were always a few scraggly bits of food left over after a meal…. like a few pieces of really tough, grass-root or some old, dried-up leaves which weren’t very appetizing.

As Jacob and Derek were making their straw beds and generally making them nice and cosy, they would tell their mum and dad what they had done that day….Jacob especially was such a chatterbox ….he never stopped talking, even when he was tucked up in bed. 

Derek was the older brother so he would have to say every night….

“Time to stop talking now…sleep-time.”

They would both close their eyes and drift off to sleep, blissfully dreaming of what they had done that day.

Jacob and Derek always woke bright and early every morning and this day was nothing different. They couldn’t wait to eat their breakfast of yummy, scrummy dandelion leaves so they could get outside and play.

As soon as they had finished eating, Jacob began hopping up and down in excitement.

“Can we go outside now mum…can we…. can we?”

“Go on then the pair of you,” she said lovingly, “but don’t forget…..NEVER go beyond the bramble bushes.”

The bramble bushes were a long way off and they completely surrounded the warren. Mum always told them not to go beyond the bushes because it was dangerous and she didn’t want them to get hurt.

“Ok mum,” they both said together and off they ran….straight up the tunnel that leads to the entrance and out into the beautiful sunny day. The light was so bright it made their eyes blink but within a couple of seconds, they were ok and running and jumping into the field.

Jacob and Derek had been playing in the field all day as usual when Derek turned to his brother with a crafty look on his face.

“Don’t you wonder what’s on the other side of the of the bramble bushes...I do.” He said turning away. He stood on his hind legs, lifting his head high into the air with his little rabbit nose wiggling from side to side, looking…. staring at the bushes, full of wonder as to what was on the other side.

“I do” said Jacob anxiously “but we’re not allowed to go there Derek…Don’t forget what mum said….she’ll be very cross if she finds out.”

“I’m not worried what mum will say,” said Derek with all the bravado of a young rabbit. “I’m going to find a hole through the bushes…I’ve got to see what’s on the other side.”

“Don’t Derek….it must be really dangerous or mum wouldn’t want us to do it.” cried Jacob.

Derek didn’t listen and off he bounded with his head down and his snowy white tail high in the air…straight towards the dark and prickly bramble bushes. Jacob could see him running along the edge of the bushes, stopping here and there to see if there was a way through.

Jacob turned his head away for what seemed like only a second and when he turned back, Derek was gone….he must have found a hole into the bushes.

Jacob was really scared….what should he do? What if something should happen to Derek?

He didn’t want to move from the spot where he was just in case he lost sight of where Derek had disappeared so he sat and waited…..and waited….and waited.

After what seemed an eternity Jacob could see it was getting late. The sun was getting low in the dazzling blue sky, the shadows were long and Jacob knew they should be heading back to the warren.

Then in the distance, there was a voice….it was mum shouting as she usually did around this time…. 

“Derek and Jacob …time to come in and get cleaned up….it’s time for dinner.”

Jacob didn’t know what to do so he just sat there….silently …..scared and waiting for Derek.

Mum shouted again…..only a bit louder this time. 

“Derek and Jacob …time to come in and get cleaned up….it’s time for dinner.”

Worried for Derek and what his mum was going to say, he jumped up and ran across the field as fast as he could all the way home.

“Mum…mum” Jacob shouted as flew into the warren “Derek’s gone through the bramble bushes …I waited for ages but he hasn’t come out.”

Father rabbit was still outside in the field and heard what Jacob had said. He immediately stopped what he was doing and went inside to find out more. He stood in front of Jacob and glared at him with a large frown on his face….Jacob had never seen him like this before.

“Jacob…. show me where Derek went into the bushes...now.” said dad in a stern but caring voice.

They said a quick goodbye to mum, turned and ran up the tunnel to the way out.

Once outside, Jacob took the lead.

“This way Dad…quick.” They ran as fast as their rabbit legs would go across the field and it wasn’t long before they were at the place where Jacob had seen Derek disappear.

They stopped, and after a second to get their breath back, Jacob pointed to the section of the bushes where Derek had vanished.

 “Stay here and don’t move son.” Said dad still panting a little. “I’ll be back as soon as I can”

He raced towards the bushes and very quickly found the hole where Derek had gone through. Looking with experienced rabbit eyes, dad could see it was safe and hopped into the bush.

He forced his way through the gloomy, prickly mess of brambles, getting bits in his eyes and prickles in his paws….then…suddenly….he was through.

It was dusk now and he could just see in the dimness a black piece of hard ground beyond the grass….and sat in the middle of it was Derek.

The piece of hard ground he was sitting on was white….and there was another one, and another….he was sitting on a white stripe? 

HE WAS SAT IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROAD…cars were flying past, this way and that making such a loud noise and shaking the ground as they thundered along.

Derek was huddled into a ball, shivering, scared, paralysed with fear.  Then….he heard a familiar sound….

“Derek…..Derek….look at me.”….He gingerly lifted his head and there on the grass just a few feet away was dad.

 “Derek….Stay still….don’t move….listen to me” shouted dad trying to be heard above the noise of the traffic. “When I say…run…run as fast as you can towards me…don’t stop….just run.”

“I ca..can’t” trembled Derek “I’m scared.”

“Trust me Derek….you must trust me” pleaded dad, hoping his son wouldn’t get up right now and run….that would be disastrous….he could be hit by a car.

“O..Ok” muttered Derek.

Dad watched the road intensely, looking one way…and then the other. Looking and waiting for a break in the traffic….then…all of sudden…it was clear.

“NOW DEREK….RUN….RUN” bellowed dad.

Derek looked straight at his dad, leapt from the spot where he had been trapped for the last few hours and ran like he’d never run before.

He sprinted across the road, narrowly missing a large motorbike that was speeding past a lorry, and tumbled onto the safety of the grass. He stood up on his hind legs gasping for breath.

“Th..Thanks d..dad” Derek stuttered with tears in his eyes.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” said dad softly “your mum and Jacob will be worried about you”

They made their way back through the bramble bushes and into the quiet of the grass field where they met up with Jacob.

“Thank goodness you’re ok,” said Jacob…”What’s happened?”

“I’ll tell you later” whispered Derek, not wanting dad to hear.

All the way back home, not a word was spoken between them.

When they got back to the warren dad went in first followed by Derek and then Jacob.

Mum was standing in the room with her back to them. All the while they’d been gone, she had been so worried. The only way she could stop from worrying herself sick was to keep busy so she had spent the entire time cleaning the warren…it was sparkling like a new pin.

“We’re home mum,” said dad tenderly. She slowly turned around and as soon as she saw all three of them she burst into tears…tears of joy. They were back safe and sound.

“Is it time for dinner mum….I’m really hungry” said Derek. Every rabbit looked at each other and burst out laughing. “What,” said Derek….”What’s so funny?”

“Nothing son…nothing at all. Have your dinner lads but the next time your mother tells you not to do something….listen to her….promise me?”

Derek and Jacob looked at each other and then turned to look at their dad.

“Yes dad,” they both said together.

“We live in a lovely place and it’s really safe as long as you don’t go through the bushes….you see…we live on a roundabout surrounded by roads and cars…. it’s very dangerous out there.” pronounced dad.

“Yes dad” they both replied.

“Can we eat our dinner now?” asked Derek with a grin on his cheeky, fury face.

“Of course,” said mum.

Mum looked at dad.

“Ah…..all’s well that ends well.” She said smiling.

Both Jacob and Derek tucked into a huge helping of their favourite food… wild clover and dandelions. They didn’t even stop to take a breath….they were ravenous after their adventure and nothing was going to get in the way of their supper.

So, if you’re ever in the car and you see rabbits on a roundabout, they could be Derek and Jacob playing hide and seek and remembering not to go on the road.

The End