Bailey Bunny and the Farmer’s Cat - Chapter 1
Chapter 1:
In Which Bailey Has a Misadventure
Once upon a time, in a cozy corner of a verdant meadow, where wildflowers danced with the breeze, there lived a family of bunnies in a snug warren.
Of all the bunny girls, one was widely acknowledged as the prettiest in the warren: Bailey Bunny. Unfortunately, she also had a reputation for being the silliest of the young bunnies, but her parents loved her for her curiosity and spirit, even when she misbehaved. Bailey’s Papa was a handsome black and tan rabbit, while her mother was chocolate colored. Bailey’s fur was lilac, but with tan markings on her chest and tummy similar to her father. Her baby brother, Benny, took after their father, but his blue-black fur was a shade lighter.
Bailey's days were filled with hopping through the meadow, nibbling on clover, and playing hide-and-seek with Benny. But one day, Bailey hid in the bushes surrounding the neighboring farmer’s fence. And before Benny could count to 20 and shout “Ready or not, here I come!” Bailey’s mother spotted her daughter hiding in the bush, and rushed to pull her out.
Mrs. Bunny shook her head as she pinched her daughter by the ear and led her home to the warren. "Bailey! You know the farmer's garden is off-limits!”
Bailey hopped on one foot as she was dragged home. “Ooch! We were just playing hide-and-go-seek, Mama! And I didn’t actually go in the garden!”
Bailey blushed as she heard a few of the neighboring rabbit children giggle at the sight of her. Benny, who had finished counting, watched with wide eyes as he sucked his thumb.
Ignoring the other children, Mama clicked her teeth. “Pish posh! You knew full well we’ve told Benny to stay far away from the garden. That’s why you hid there, isn’t it? I ought to give you a spanking, right now. Plus another spanking, good and hard, for talking back!”
With that, Mama spun Bailey around and held her daughter tight against her waist, and planted the first three swats over the seat of Bailey’s blue and yellow sundress, right beneath her quivering, fluffy tail. Bailey squeaked in surprise, then stiffened as she saw Mama raise her paw high to deliver a second spanking, as promised. But before the hand of chastisement could land, they heard Papa’s booming laugh as he leapt out of the burrow. “Ho ho! What’s all this hullabaloo, then?”
At the sight of his beloved wife preparing to wallop his beloved daughter, Papa crossed his arms. “Mama? What’s Bailey done to deserve a smacking this time?”
Mama huffed. “I caught her hiding in the bushes by the fence of Mr. Murakami’s farm!”
Bailey kicked her feet, in a futile effort to wriggle free of Mama’s grasp. “But I didn’t go inside Mr. Murakami’s garden! I was outside the fence the whole time! Please, Papa, tell her to stop. I didn’t disobey!”
Benny pulled his thumb out of his mouth with a pop, then looked up to Papa quizzically. “She’s right, Papa! I never saw her go inside the garden…Though, I did have my eyes closed the whole time.”
Papa hummed and pressed a paw against his chin. “Hurm! Mama, I know we’ve told Bailey not to go inside the garden plenty of times. But have you ever told Bailey that includes the bushes outside Mr. Murakami’s fence?”
Mama’s ears stiffened, then drooped. “Well, I can’t rightly recall. But I must have warned her to stay away from that garden a hundred times, if I’ve said it once!”
Papa crossed his arms, then turned his attention to his imploring daughter. “I see. Bailey, did you mean to disobey your Mama when you hid in the bushes outside the fence?”
Bailey nodded her head vigorously, then when she realized she needed to say no to avoid a spanking, changed her mind and shook her head. “No, Papa! I never meant to disobey. I thought the bushes outside the fence were safe!”
The truth was that when Bailey had hidden in the bushes, the idea had occurred to her that Benny would never dare to look for her in a hiding place so near the forbidden fence. But Bailey wasn’t eager to admit the whole truth, not when her tail was so vulnerable to the wrath of Mama’s paw.
Papa let the silence hang, then with a sigh, shook his head at Mama. “Very well, Bailey. In that case, I think a few swats will suffice as a warning. Mama, put her down. There’s no need to give Bailey a proper spanking today.”
Mama took a sharp breath, tempted to argue with her husband, and carry on spanking her daughter for a few minutes until the argument was resolved. Instead, Mama bowed her head meekly and set down Bailey, though she did pat Bailey’s bottom lightly a few times, just to remind her of the fate she had so narrowly escaped. “Yes, Papa. Bailey, go give your Papa a hug. And the next time you sit your fluffy little tail down, remember that you have him to thank for the privilege of doing so…comfortably.”
Papa accepted the hug from his daughter, then looked her in the eyes. “But from now on, the rule about not going into the farmer’s garden includes the bushes outside his fence. No matter how tempting the carrots, lettuce, or strawberries might look, you must stay away. Do you understand?"
As her ears perked up at this happy news, Bailey grinned. "Yes, Papa!"
But as Bailey’s eyes strayed toward the vibrant patch of green bordered by the fence, all she could think about was how lucky she was to escape a spanking today.
In her private heart, Bailey thought, “It’s not fair! It’s not as though the plants in the garden are any different than the ones near the warren. If anything, they’ll taste much better. Plus, there are no foxes, so it’s probably safer anyway!”
Papa noticed Bailey staring at the garden, then held her under the chin to get her attention. "Remember, Bailey, if you ever disobey, you have a spanking coming. And not just any spanking, but one you'll remember."
Bailey nodded, her ears drooping. At the moment, the thought of a spanking was enough to drive all thoughts of disobedience from her mind.
Days turned into weeks, and Bailey managed to keep her curiosity in check. But one golden afternoon, as the sun began to dip, casting long shadows over the meadow, something caught Bailey's eye.
Sitting on her favorite sunny spot near the warren, she caught a glimpse of something strange inside the farmer’s garden. It was a shade of bright orange, exactly like a carrot, but its shape was round like an apple. Craning her neck, Bailey was sure it was some sort of animal. It had two eyes and a mouth, at any rate, and it seemed to be peering at her over the top edge of the fence. “Is that what a farmer looks like? Very strange.”
As Bailey approached the fence, the orange face disappeared from her view, only for her to catch a glint of light through a gap at the bottom of the fence, between two bushes. Bailey backed away, wondering if her parents were around. But they were in the warren preparing for supper, Benny was napping next to their family’s burrow, and the neighboring rabbit children were too busy eating chive blossoms to pay her much mind. “After all, Papa only said not to go into the bushes outside the fence. He didn’t say anything about not looking at the fence.”
Sure enough, as Bailey hopped near the gap in the fence, she could just make out a strange, tall animal, with an orange head and red and blue fur (at least, that’s what it looked like to Bailey). Strangest of all, it had several small, yellow circles on its chest that each shone like a tiny sun. They seemed to be winking at her, as though beckoning her in.
Bailey felt her bottom beneath her dress, thinking about the promise she had made, and the spanking she would surely get for breaking that promise, but the mystery was too much for her young, adventurous spirit.
"Just a peek,” she told herself. “I won't touch anything. I'll just look."
With a mix of fear and thrill, she felt the narrow gap in the wall of the fence. Nervous that the rough wood would tear her clothes, she pulled off her blue blouse and yellow skirt, and folded them neatly on the grass. Once she’d had a good look at the orange-headed farmer, she’d come right back, get dressed, and her parents would be none the wiser.
Even without having to worry about her clothes snagging on a splinter, Bailey had to struggle to squeeze her head through. Then she got stuck, her tail caught outside the fence. Terrified that her parents would catch her at any moment, and find her oh-so-helpless bare bottom held oh-so-helpfully in place for a spanking. Straining with all her might, Bailey popped through the hole and came tumbling into the garden, rolling to a stop head over heels.
Above her, the great, orange head of the farmer was glowering down at her, a smile frozen on its face. With a squeak, Bailey scrambled to her feet and looked for a hiding place. But the foliage inside the garden was strange to her. There were neither trees, nor thick bushes, let alone an escape hole to the warren. She dove behind some leafy greens, breathing rapidly. “I’m sorry, Mister Farmer! I won’t eat any of your plants! I only wanted a quick…peek?”
As Bailey examined the farmer more carefully, she noticed that his arms and legs were stiff and wooden, like stray sticks. No, not like stray sticks. His arms and legs really were sticks, and his red and blue “fur” was really just frumpy pieces of cloth, which she recognizes as a red flannel shirt and blue overalls from her bedtime stories about farmers.
Bailey snorted, before remembering the rule all rabbit children learn: to be still and silent before a larger animal. But when Bailey noticed that the farmer’s eyes were as dark and empty as a rabbit hole, she started to crack up. “Huh? You’re not alive. You’re just a big orange plant with holes in your head! And your hair is a bunch of straw!”
That final realization was the final straw that broke Bailey’s resolve to be silent. She rolled on the ground in fits of giggles. Finally, she recognized the strange, orange plant as a pumpkin. Last autumn, her parents had pointed out one sitting outside the farmer’s house, before warning her sharply not to go near. “You’re Mr. Murakami? You’re nothing but a great, silly pumpkin head!”
Gasping for air, Bailey sat up. If Mr. Murakami was just a pumpkin on a stick, that meant all the rabbits were afraid of nothing. Once she told her parents what she’d found out, they’d forget all about their silly rule and realize how clever she had been. There was enough food in this garden to feed the entire warren for the winter.
Then, Bailey had a vision. She saw herself sitting high on a pedestal in front of all the other families in the rabbit warren, all gathering to witness her moment of glory. Her Papa patted her on the back, before lowering himself to join the throng at her feet. “Three cheers for Bailey, Bravest of the Bunnies! Bravo!”
In the crowd, Mama held up baby Benny to see Bailey’s moment of triumph, before all bowed low. “You see, Benny? Your big sister Bailey will serve as an example to all rabbit children!”
“Hip, hip, hooray!” roared the adoring crowd. “Hail Queen Bailey!”
Bailey suddenly found she wore a golden crown on her head, and a purple cape and mantle draped around her shoulders. Waving a golden scepter, she silenced the cheers. “Thank you! As my first act as your queen, I hereby decree that no little bunny may ever be spanked again! All spankings are forbidden, forever!” All the bunnies roared with delight at this news.
Rubbing her paws together, Bailey snickered as she snapped out of her imaginative world. She knew that last part about being the Bunny Queen was a little far-fetched, but it was fun to make-believe nevertheless.
Deciding that she’d need a trophy to prove that the stories of the dreaded Mr. Murakami were only a myth, Bailey tugged at the pumpkin-headed man’s pants, planning to knock him over and tear away one of the metal, brass buttons that had caught her eye earlier. Bailey tugged until one of the old straps of the overalls came loose. With a flump, the pants flopped to the ground, and Bailey snickered as she found a button that appeared to be hanging on by only a thread. Biting the button in her buck teeth, Bailey pulled it free with a sharp tug.
But her plans were abruptly interrupted by a low, menacing growl. Bailey's heart skipped a beat as she turned to find two large, yellow eyes peering at her behind the carrot patch: it was a fat, cream-colored cat. It pounced, but Bailey managed to scramble away just in time, the stolen button still clamped tight in her mouth. One of the cat’s claws caught Bailey’s flank, so that she had to pull away with a tug, leaving a thin scrape across her haunch.
Disappointed, the cat wailed a shrill war cry and gave chase.
[End of Chapter 1]
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