Revenge is Sweet

Freckles:

I was so busy shredding that I didn’t hear the high-voiced one enter the room. Suddenly, it was standing behind me. I sniffed the air and realized that it had my favorite treat in its paw. Bribery! That was how it planned to woo me away from my revenge -- with bribery! I glared up at it. This was revenge. I couldn’t be bought!

Sweet Treat

Deb:

I cut up an apple and removed the core from a quarter section. Freckles liked having a ridge to grab onto when she ate her apples, so quarter sections worked well. I didn’t peel it. She loved the peels on her apples. This one was a Gala, her favorite variety.

I picked up the apple piece and returned to the living room where I glanced around the room in search of my new little buddy. It didn’t take long to locate her, standing by the couch surrounded by the shredded remnants of my forgotten newspaper.

The Queen of the Other World

Freckles:

This was my chance to check out the high-voiced one’s favored material while it was out of the area. I hopped over to the cave entrance and nosed the material. It was very thin and I was sure that it could be easily destroyed. I nibbled a bit of the corner. Sure enough it came away easily. It didn’t taste half bad actually. Hmmmm. This was going to be a cinch.

I grabbed a larger section in my mouth and yanked. A ripping sound greeted my ears. I pulled the piece away and grabbed another. Grab, rip, grab, rip, grab, rip. I soon had a nice pile of shreds in front of me. Ah ha! I would show that high-voiced one who was the Queen of the Other World.

A Treat to Seal the Deal

Deb:


I decided that I should reward Freckles for this step forward in our relationship. A fruit treat would be just the thing to cement our new bond. After petting her for several minutes, I stood, brushed the rabbit hair from my slacks, and headed for the kitchen to get a snack for Freckles.

Freckles’ New Plan

Freckles:

A plan formed in my mind as I rested there beside Big Guy’s feet and allowed the high-voiced one to stroke my back. Let it think it had won me over. I had a better way to show it how angry I was.

I waited until it gave up the stroking and left the Other World. Interestingly, it parted through a Portal that I had not yet explored. There would be plenty of time to explore there later. Now, I had to get to work. The high-voiced one had not realized the favored material had fallen to the floor. This was my chance to examine the substance. This was my chance to plot my revenge.

Unsuspecting Deb

Deb:

Freckles seemed to be asleep as I petted her. Eyes closed, she relaxed and allowed me to stroke her ears and back.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, alert to some noise in the room. She stared across to the couch I had just left. The newspaper I had been reading had fallen to the floor. Nothing very interesting...I was sure she would just ignore it.



(Deb will be out of town at a book festival for the next couple of days, and Freckles isn't allowed to play on the computer until she cleans her room -- not likely to happen. So, we'll be back on Monday!)

An Opportunity Arises

Freckles:

As I contemplated how I could get through that high-voiced one’s thick skull that I was angry with it, I allowed it the privilege of rubbing my nose, ears, and back. It seemed to enjoy this grooming ritual, and I thought it couldn’t hurt to keep it off guard for a bit longer. I would have to come up with a new plan to show it my annoyance at its part in building the barrier. But, what could my new plan be?

My eyes were closed, but I heard something fall to the ground across the room. I opened my eye to see what had happened. It was the substance that the high-voiced one was holding in its paws during my warning nip. It had fallen from the tree where it had left it and had landed in the dirt. I couldn’t tell from this distance, but it looked like it was made from a weaker material than the barrier. Hmmmm. It seemed to be an item that the high-voiced one cherished because it was holding it for a long time. Maybe I could use that fact against it.

Ignorant Bliss

Deb:

Freckles had accepted me! Happiness filled me to the brim. I felt gleeful that my goal had been accomplished! Freckles allowed me to pet her. Petting was an activity that Freckles had denied me in the past. Even with my husband and son she was finicky about where they were allowed to pet: nose, ears, and back were about it. She had an important rule. “The hand must never go near the tail of the bunny.” I made sure during this petting event that the hand never strayed beyond the middle of her back. I wasn’t about to mess up now.

Unexpected Reaction

Freckles:

Well, this certainly wasn’t what I expected! The high-voiced one came over to me and sat next to me. Wasn’t it going to remove the barrier? I’d nipped it to get it to mind, and here it was just trying to annoy me! It held out its paw and touched my nose -- just like it does in our ritual before I leave my Home Place and journey through the portal to the Other World. It rubbed my nose a bit and then stroked my back with its paw. It felt kind of good. Now, what was I going to do. It didn’t seem to get the idea at all. I closed my eyes and contemplated my next move.

Acceptance?

Deb:

I sat on the floor next to Freckles so I could be at her level. I reached out and petted her nose and then stroked her back. She flattened herself and stayed very still, even closing her eyes at one point. What bliss! Freckles had finally accepted me!

Freckles Waits

Freckles:

After nipping my warning at the high-voiced one, I puffed out my chest and settled in my spot, a strategic position beside Big Guy’s feets. From this, my second favorite position (after the inner sanctum of my cave) I could see the entire clearing of the Other World. I could especially see the high-voiced one. I’d sure showed it who was the boss. Now, it would surely do the right thing and remove the barrier. If not, it would feel more of my wrath.

The Cluelessness of Deb

Deb:

Well, I guess I’d been told! Freckles ran past my chair and nipped my foot. How should I interpret this nipping? I’d read that sometimes rabbits are looking for attention when they nip. I somehow didn’t think that Freckles was searching out my attention. Or was she? She couldn’t be angry with me. There’s no way she could know that I was the one who reinforced the barrier to the cave with more blankets, because she wasn’t in the room when I did it. Maybe she wanted me to play! That’s it, I decided. She wanted me to put down the newspaper and have some fun with her. I was thrilled to accommodate her.

The Nip of Warning

Freckles:

I had to let it know that I was aware of its treachery. I needed to make a point. I did it in the only way I knew how. I could kick or I could bite. I chose biting. I decided I would give it a warning nip first, more of a nibble. It would know I was angry and would realize that I had the ability to hurt it if I chose. It would think twice before crossing me again!

The high-voiced one gave me a frightful sneer and then held its paw down with a luscious treat to tempt me. I pretended to run for the treat, but veered at the last minute and nipped one of its feets. Aha! I had hit the target. I had nipped my warning.

National Novel Writing Month

Freckles:

Just thought I'd take a moment out here to tell you what Deb is doing! She's gone and signed up to write a novel this month! A bunch of other writers on the Verla Kay Children's Writer site talked her into it. They were so excited about challenging themselves that she got caught up in the fun and signed herself right up!

Anyway, she's starting today to write a 50,000-word novel by November 30th! That's 1,667 words every single day for 30 days! And she's got work and some meetings and stuff she has to go to, so where she's going to find the time for this plus tell our story, I don't know! Guess we'll see! (And we're just getting to the exciting part of our story!)

You can follow her progress by clicking the icon on the right side of the screen -- the one that looks like this (Sometimes their site is a little slow to load because they've got over 90,000 writers participating) :


Wish her luck!
She's gonna need it =:-)

The Surprise Attack

Deb:

Freckles gazed at me for a long time, and I wondered what she wanted. Maybe she'd take some food from me. I picked out a piece of cracker from the bowl beside me and held it close to the floor. Freckles looked from me to the cracker in my hand. She started towards me. I smiled, thinking she was finally going to take food from my hand. She picked up speed and ran straight for me. Suddenly, she changed direction. As she passed my feet, she gave the top of my foot a nip. Not a hard bite, but a swift nip that felt more like a poke. I couldn’t believe it. I’d been a victim of a run-by nipping!