It was the middle of winter, and it was very cold.
Safe and warm inside his little hole, a beautiful white rabbit was sound
asleep with a big grin on his face. He was having a wonderful dream
about a large, juicy, bright red carrot that tasted absolutely delicious!
When he woke up, the rabbit said to himself,
"Wow.....that dream has made me so hungry, that
I'm going out in search of a REAL carrot!" So he raced out of his little hole and immediately landed in a large pile of snow.
"Oh, my!" shouted the rabbit. "How am I ever going
to find a juicy red carrot in the middle of the winter?"
He knew that he'd never find one underneath all that snow......and he had certainly never seen any carrots lying on the sidewalk......which left only one other place: the supermarket! So the rabbit fluffed up his fur and hopped into town. There were lots of carrots in the supermarket, but none were as large or as red as the one he had dreamt about. "Oh, well," he thought, I guess they'll have to do." .....and he hopped over to a man in a white apron who was polishing little green apples.
"Good morning, Sir," said the rabbit. "Would you please give me one of your carrots?"
"Of course," said the man. "Do you have any money?"
"No," answered the rabbit. "Rabbits never have any money.....surely you know that?"
"I'm sorry," said the man. "If you have no money, I can't give you a carrot......because we sell our food.....we never give it away for free."
"Oh...." mumbled the rabbit. "I didn't know that."
Then he sadly hopped back outside.
"Where could I go next," he wondered....."Maybe I'll try one of those pretty houses across the street and someone there, would give me a carrot?"
He hopped over to the first pretty house and rang the bell.
A very tall man in a bright red sweater opened the door. He was so tall, he didn't even see the little rabbit standing on the stoop below him.
"Hmmm....I was sure I heard the bell ring," said the very tall man,
as he went back inside his house and closed the door.
The rabbit hopped over to the next pretty house and rang the bell.
This time, a very short lady in a purple dress opened the door.
"Hello," said the rabbit. "Would you please give me a carrot?"
"I'm sorry," said the very short lady in the purple dress, as she stepped back inside. "I'm in a really big hurry because I must catch the 10:45 train to the city, so I have no time for rabbits, today!"
The rabbit was very hungry now.
He practically ran to the next pretty house and quickly rang the bell.
A little girl with long black hair opened the door.
"Hello, little rabbit," she said....."Why are you ringing doorbells on such a cold winter day?"
"Because I'm hungry," said the rabbit. "Do you think you might be able to find a carrot for me?"
"I wish I could," said the little girl. "But all our carrots are gone! The last one went into yesterday's soup. I'm sorry......I have to go and finish my breakfast now.....bye, bye!"
The rabbit watched as she closed her door.
He was beginning to feel really sad.
"I'll never find a carrot," he thought, as he hopped to the next pretty house and rang the bell.
The door opened slowly.
A little boy in a blue-and-white-striped sweater came out on the front stoop
and stared at the rabbit with big eyes of surprise.
"Hi!" said the rabbit. "I'm tired and hungry and looking for a carrot.....can you help me?
"Of course," said the little boy. "Come in!"
"Thank you," said the rabbit, as he hopped into the warm, cozy house.
The little boy took the rabbit to the kitchen and told him to sit down at the table. Then he put a white plate in front of the rabbit, and in the middle of the plate, there was a large, juicy, bright red carrot.
The rabbit couldn't believe his eyes! It was exactly like the carrot he had dreamt about! "Thank you," he said to the little boy. He quickly started to nibble on the best carrot he had ever tasted, and in between bites, he slowly told the little boy about all his adventures of that morning.
When the carrot was gone, the little boy smiled at the rabbit.
"I have a really great idea," he said.
"If you came to live in my back yard, I could give you a juicy red carrot whenever you wanted one! And at the end of the winter when it's warm again.....we could grow a whole patch of carrots!"
The rabbit got so excited, he started to hop
up and down with a great big smile on his face.
I would love that!" he said.
"But how could I ever repay you? What could I do to make YOU happy?"
"Nothing," said the little boy.
"I've always wished that a rabbit would come to live in my garden.....so just
being there, would be the nicest thing you could ever do for me!"
So the rabbit went home, packed his belongings,
and moved into the garden of the little boy.
That winter, the rabbit and the little boy became really good friends,
and when the snow had melted and it was spring again,
they grew so many carrot-plants, that
there were always more than enough juicy red carrots
for all the other rabbits in the neighborhood!
