40-1 2024-04-18

Once upon a time, a little sailboat sailed far, far away. Far from any port, city, or sandy shore. Upon cloudless skies, the black night sighs. Aboard the sailboat, a rabbit awoke from a long, deep sleep. How many hours or days had passed, how many miles drifted from shore, she did not know. Rabbit only knew that she was right here, right now, bobbing up and down, on this little sailboat far, far away. No moon at all, and the stars shone more brightly still. Dark waves gently rocked the hull to the faint beating of a heart, deep down. Rabbit pressed her floppy ears to the deck and listened.

Bmp.

Bmp.

Bmp.

Heart beat that little drum - bmp, bmp, bmp - to the tune of rabbit's little paws, which were tap, tap, tapping to the tune of heart's little beat.

Without even noticing it, rabbit began to hum a tune which soon became a song. Rabbit sang about a small meadow, far, far away from little sailboats like this. There were no oceans and no boats. However, there were many carrots and friends. Rabbit was happy in this meadow, full of carrots and friends, who always filled her belly and heart. She bounded through tall meadowgrasses that rippled in the wind. Watched orioles fly and sing songs she could never understand. At night, crickets cried out over and over again for something they never did find.

Rabbit too was looking for something, and bounced all over the forest looking for it.

"What are you looking for Ms. Rabbit?" asked a little bunny rabbit, who had secretly followed her.

"I don't know."

"Well then how are you supposed to find it?"

"I'll know it when I see it, I suppose."

"That sounds like an awful waste of time."

"Maybe so, little bunny rabbit, maybe so..."

Little bunny rabbit shrugged and bounded away.

Rabbit had searched every corner of the meadow and found nothing but carrots and friends. So came the time that rabbit knew she had to go search some place else.

"I'm going to search some place else, farewell!" said rabbit to her friends.

"Farewell rabbit, we will miss you!"

And rabbit said nothing, but was sad because she knew she would miss her friends too.

"Farewell carrots, I will miss you too."

And the carrots said nothing, because they were carrots.

And rabbit bounded through the trees beyond the meadow, and looked back one last time to see the meadow disappear into warm memory.

Rabbit searched under rocks and fallen leaves, but found only worms and bugs.

"What are you looking for little rabbit?" asked a grey heron, drinking from the lake.

"I don't know, it's something very important."

"Hm, that does sound very important. But 'I don't know' is awfully hard to find."

"Indeed you are right Ms. Heron, would you happen to know where it might be?"

"Sorry, I don't. But they say that there is a tree, next to a creek. This tree knows many things. Perhaps, tree will be able to help you."

"Is this tree very far away?"

"Oh yes, but you'll know it when you see it."

And so rabbit bounded across vast pine forests, scree valleys, and alpine meadows. Rabbit passed by many trees and many creeks and many trees next to creeks, but knew that none of them were the right ones. Rabbit bounded up and down mountains and valleys, asking every bird along the way which way it was to the tree of knowing many things. None of the birds knew what rabbit was talking about, but rabbit kept on asking anyways.

"Hello pretty blue jay, do you know where I can find a tree?"

Blue jay sang sadly.

"I'm sorry blue jay, I don't speak blue jay. Oh but how I wish I could sing so beautifully as you."

Blue jay kept on singing.

"I do not understand, oh bluest blue jay, why do you sing so sadly?"

Blue jay sang even sadder still. Rabbit heard this beautiful singing and could not help but think of those warm memories of that meadow full of carrots and friends. It was as if blue jay's song rose from rabbit's own heart, how pure and lovely it sounded, but how it ached so terribly. Oh how rabbit missed her friends so very much. Night fell and crickets croaked, and it all reminded her of some place she had half-forgotten. Rabbit was very tired, and to blue jay's somber lullaby, fell soundly asleep.

When rabbit awoke, the crickets were gone, and so was the blue jay. The branch from which blue jay once sang fluttered in a breeze which shook the entire tree.

""Well, this can't be the right tree, it's not next to a creek!" said rabbit to herself.

The tree swayed.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot," said rabbit to the tree.

The tree nodded.

"Hi Tree, do you know where what I'm looking for might be?"

"No."

"Darn."

"Have you tried looking inside yourself?"

"Hm, I guess I haven't. Why don't you help me take a look."

So rabbit stood on her tippy-toes and opened her little mouth as wide as she could so that tree could see deep inside.

"Are you looking for a tooth?"

"Nnnnggg, nnng," said rabbit, still holding her mouth open.

"Well then I don't see it."

Rabbit was disappointed and sank back down.

"Are you sure you didn't find it?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Rabbit sighed. She missed the carrots, her friends, and the blue jay's lovely song, whose warmth welled-up in her eyes and fell quietly to the grass. Rabbit cried and could not stop. Rabbit wished, at a moment like this, that she could sing so beautifully and sadly as blue jay did. But rabbit could not sing like blue jay, rabbit could not fly like blue jay, rabbit could not even find what was the most important thing in the world to her. Rabbit curled up, trying to hide her tears.

Tree thought for a while and listened to rabbit's silent song, how her floppy ears twitched ever so slightly, how rabbit's warm heart beat softly upon tree's roots. Poor rabbit, tree thought, how I wish I could help her. Tree watched rabbit's pelt jerk up and down, ever so slightly.

"Ah, I see it now, little rabbit."

Rabbit's ears perked up, just a bit.

"I see a little sailboat far, far away, rocking back and forth over a deep and dark ocean."

Rabbit sniffled, but stayed very still to listen.

"I see so many stars, scattered across the dark waves."

Rabbit peeked a glimpse above of those so many stars, they shined like eyes.

"To the tune of one warmest of hearts, the little sailboat rocks back and forth, back and forth, back..."

And forth, and back, and forth, did little rabbit rock, ever so slightly.

"The silvery boat sails through endless skies."

Tree watched how rabbit's pelt so slowly rose and fell.

"The black night sighs. In a silver boat, listen, little rabbit cries."

She looked up at the crescent moon, and saw a rabbit curled up so warmly inside.