The time I thought I was Jack Hanna:
Written, March 2007:
When I was in highschool my father brought home a shoebox.
inside was a tiny rabbit
he saw the neighbors cats tossing something furry up
in the air over and over.
When he went to investigate
he realized it was a very frightened but uninjured baby rabbit.
He brought him home and handed him over
knowing that sort of thing was right up my alley.
I named him Hampton.
and put him in a small animal carrier with lots of places
for him to hide and snuggle in.
I would wrap him in a towel and sit in the hallway
and give him a small nursing bottle every 4 hours.
I set my alarm in the middle of the night so I wouldn’t
miss his feedings.
and he grew.
and grew.
and started eating grass and clover.
I’d take him out in the yard and let him hop around
and explore.
and one day, when he was completely weaned,
I took him to the end of the neighborhood.
( I grew up in the country where everyone had 5 or 6 acres)
and I opened the door to his carrier, wished him a happy life
and walked home.
I wanted to keep him forever
but I knew I had to release him before he grew to big
and became completely reliant on humans.
I came back later, secretly hoping he was still there
but glad to see that he had set out for the great
big forest.
I always wondered how he was doing.
and 2 years later, at a neighborhood cookout
the people at the end of the street told a story
about a brown bunny that would nibble grass in their front yard
and he would let them get close to him.
not close enough to touch,
but close enough to look him really good in the eyes.
and I knew it was Hampton bunny.
doing just fine on his own in the forest.
The End.
M
