If it is possible to love plants, then Mr. McDougle really loved his garden. He spend hours each day pulling little weeds away from his cabbages and beans. His tomatoes and pumpkins always won prizes at the Fair for their beauty and taste.
So, you might imagine the despair that Mr. McDougle felt when he found bites taken out of his cabbages one morning. Oh no, rabbits have been in my garden!…and they have been munching on my cabbages. Sure enough, there was a big bunny still at the end of a row!
Shoo, shoo yelled Mr. McDougle…get out of my cabbages. The bunny jumped up and ran as fast as she could! Oh, if only I had my sling-shot with me thought Mr. McDougle, I’d give that bunny a sting that would keep her running! He decided that he would wait for the bunny early in the morning because he knew she would be back!
So, early the next day…Mr McDougle got up before the sun came up. He was very quiet as he walked out to his garden and sat down at the edge of the cabbage row. He sat and waited.
…and waited…and waited…and waited. He got very tired waiting so long.
He thought about all of his lovely plants as he waited. He remembered the days when he was just a young boy, helping his mother in her garden. He recalled how wonderful the food was she made from their freshly picked vegetables. Just as he was in the middle of a lovely day-dream about fresh green beans…he heard a sound. Slowly he turned his head…and down at the other end of the cabbage row sat that pesky rabbit! But, she was not alone…she had friends!
When Mr. McDougle looked closely, he saw that these were not friends…but babies. That pesky rabbit was a Mama! The little bunnies were so cute, so fluffy and they hopped around their mother with such joy. Mr. McDougle shifted his feet, and the mother stood still as stone. The babies stopped moving and hunkered down to the ground. Mr. McDougle could hardly breathe he was so still. The mother bunny twitched her nose, and back down the cabbage row she hopped. She stopped long enough at the end of the row to munch on a cabbage leaf…and then she was gone. The baby bunnies were no where in sight either!
Mr. McDougle sat and thought a few more minutes before getting up from his hiding place. As he walked back to the house, he said to himself “next year, I need to plant more cabbages!”.
So, you might imagine the despair that Mr. McDougle felt when he found bites taken out of his cabbages one morning. Oh no, rabbits have been in my garden!…and they have been munching on my cabbages. Sure enough, there was a big bunny still at the end of a row!
Shoo, shoo yelled Mr. McDougle…get out of my cabbages. The bunny jumped up and ran as fast as she could! Oh, if only I had my sling-shot with me thought Mr. McDougle, I’d give that bunny a sting that would keep her running! He decided that he would wait for the bunny early in the morning because he knew she would be back!
…and waited…and waited…and waited. He got very tired waiting so long.
He thought about all of his lovely plants as he waited. He remembered the days when he was just a young boy, helping his mother in her garden. He recalled how wonderful the food was she made from their freshly picked vegetables. Just as he was in the middle of a lovely day-dream about fresh green beans…he heard a sound. Slowly he turned his head…and down at the other end of the cabbage row sat that pesky rabbit! But, she was not alone…she had friends!
When Mr. McDougle looked closely, he saw that these were not friends…but babies. That pesky rabbit was a Mama! The little bunnies were so cute, so fluffy and they hopped around their mother with such joy. Mr. McDougle shifted his feet, and the mother stood still as stone. The babies stopped moving and hunkered down to the ground. Mr. McDougle could hardly breathe he was so still. The mother bunny twitched her nose, and back down the cabbage row she hopped. She stopped long enough at the end of the row to munch on a cabbage leaf…and then she was gone. The baby bunnies were no where in sight either!
Mr. McDougle sat and thought a few more minutes before getting up from his hiding place. As he walked back to the house, he said to himself “next year, I need to plant more cabbages!”.
