The bluish-grey dawn produced an ethereal glow inside the rustic bedroom, and Linda Carrotfield awoke with a broad smile. This was the day she had been waiting for months to arrive. In less than three hours, she would be stepping off a plane in world's greatest city, Zootopia.

Linda had been staying in the second bedroom of her massive family's house. Extending the length of the large room were two long bunk beds, each containing half of her 295 siblings. As a temporary houseguest, Linda slept in her own bed underneath the window at the far end of the room. Her mental alarm clock dutifully awoke her at roughly 6:00 AM, giving her ample time to get ready and catch her 8:15 flight. Linda threw off her covers, but discovered too late that her bed had an extra occupant. Marsha was one of the youngest members the Carrotfield litter, and certainly among the sweetest. She had apparently left her usual place in one of the enormous bunks and weaseled her way beside the sleeping Linda. Marsha, who was wearing a plain, white nightdress, stirred and opened her big, green eyes.

Linda smiled warmly. "What are you doing in my bed, Marsha?"

Marsha yawned and lethargically replied, "I wanted to be with you before you went away again, Linda. I miss you when you're away."

Linda embraced her younger sister. "I miss you, too. But I have a job now and I need to serve passengers on the airplanes I ride in."

Marsha looked up blankly. "But you're on vacation. How come you want to go to the city?"

Linda chuckled guiltily. "Well, I'm on leave for only a week. I've already spent the day here and I loved the party you guys threw for me. But Zootopia has always been a dream vacation for me."

"But you've been there before."

"I know, but all those other times I was working and couldn't actually visit. Now I can spend the rest of the week there doing whatever I want."

Marsha sighed despondently. "Are you going to come back home when your vacation's over?"

Linda was beginning to feel like a terrible older sister. "When my vacation's over, I'll need to go back to work. But I will be home either for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Christmas for sure, I promise."

Linda gave Marsha another big hug and passionately kissed the top of her head. She quietly made her way out the room, grabbing her travel clothes which hung from a wire rack. In the bathroom, Linda preened, polished, and enhanced herself with her make up kit. As a stewardess, she had to follow a rigid dress code which dictated her appearance down to the minutest detail. But even on special occasions, Linda would load herself with makeup and use the very same rules of presentation simply for the fun and glamor of it.

Fun and glamor was what Linda had been led to believe what the life of a stewardess entailed. As a young bunny, she had seen the ads of the fledgling airline industry. They featured smiling, beautifully dressed ladies serving the wealthy elite on a never ending journey around the world. Linda grew up with dreams of getting free rides across the continent and beyond, visiting new places and always meeting exciting new animals. Her parents tried to dissuade her from her aspirations, but Linda insisted that she would live out her envisioned life of airborne bliss. She would be in for an egregious disappointment. She'd been told many times about the practical realties of air travel. But as bunnies say, 'The words poured down one ear and shot up out of the other.' It wasn't until her first few flights when those realities hit her in the face. Those advertisements of grandeur turned out to be droning pneumatic tubes filled with cigarette smoke, vomit, and patronizing passengers. Far from a life of adventure, the airline stewardess endured hours of strenuous schedules, rigid codes of conduct, and the constant pressures of maintaining a positive smile and conversational tone throughout the work day. Linda hid these feelings of disillusionment for fear of humiliating brandings of naivety and stuck with her job so as to avoid the disgrace of abandoning a lifelong dream.

When her transformation was complete, Linda was in a lime green blouse with a slightly darker green shade skirt which reached just above her barefeet. To supplement her clothing, she put on a pair of white gloves and a lime green, short brimmed, tilt hat with an artificial white lotus fastened to it. After grabbing her purse and small travel pack, she made her way to the kitchen where her mother, Marilyn, and several of her sisters were baking the scores of carrot pancakes necessary to feed the enormous family. Marilyn was a plump bunny of simple taste and was dressed in a white shirt, slightly dulled by ware and food stains, and a brown skirt. Marilyn had just added ten pancakes on top of one of the enormous towers setting on the table when she caught sight of the formally dressed Linda. Marilyn's round face contorted into an expression of bittersweet pride as she lumbered over to embrace her daughter. Irene, the oldest of the sisters in the kitchen, could not suppress an expression of abject jealousy, whereas the other younger sisters all enthusiastically crowded around the bashful Linda.

"Oh, you look gorgeous!"

"You won't have any trouble fitting in the city!"

"You look like one of the estate bunnies!"

Linda's smile was from ear to ear, so to speak. "Thank you, girls. That's so sweet."

Still crying, Marilyn smooched both of Linda's cheeks. "Oh, Linda, I am gonna miss yah so. Why can't you just at least spend one more day with us? I'll bake you all the blueberry pies you ask for and we'll have another fine shindig after supper or whenever else yah please."

Linda was smiled awkwardly. "I'd love to stay, but my flight's already been booked. I promise I'll send postcards and bring back photos of all the places I visit. I'll even buy you a nice shawl or something."

"What about for me?" Irene asked, still looking miffed.

"If I get you something, then the rest of the girls will want something, too."

Irene folded her arms. "How come you're just getting something for Mama, then?"

"Because she's our mother. When you have dozens of sisters, you can't possibly buy something for all of them!"

The front door swung open and her father, Franklin, entered. He was dressed in soiled, blue overalls and a grimy t-shirt. On his head was a ratty, old baseball cap he had since he was a teenager.

He removed the cap and threw it onto the countertop in frustration. "Mama, I just can't get that darned tractor to start no more! I've tried replacing the sparkplug, I've tried changing the oil…..why short of bribing it with a bottle o' whiskey I think I've…"

Franklin stopped short upon noticing Linda and his sour expression brightened. "Linda! Is that really you?"

Linda grinned proudly. She was no narcissist, but she did enjoy receiving praise for her appearance.

Franklin approached Linda to give her a hug, but Marilyn quickly cautioned, "Hold it, Frank! Yer covered in engine oil!"

"But I gotta give the cherub a hug, Mama!" Franklin insisted.

Linda did not want any more guilty feelings so, despite Franklin's filth, she kissed his cheek.

Franklin chuckled stupidly, "Well, I'd swear if I didn't see's yeh come out Mama's pah'toot myself, I'd say you's born an angel."

All the sisters except Linda, who was mortified, and Irene, who gave an envious "Humph!" exploded with laughter. But Marilyn was not amused. She rat-tailed him with her dishtowel, causing the girls to laugh even harder, and chided, "Now that's no such talk around the young'ns, Frank!"

When the laughter subsided, Marilyn hugged Linda again. "Now be real careful, yah hear me? Stay away from the bars and alleys, especially at night."

Franklin did not hesitate to add, "And stay away from foxes and weasels."

Marilyn nodded with approval. "He's absolutely right about that, sweetheart. Them varmints can't be trusted with their own little devil-spawns."

Linda smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm not even going to be anywhere near places with foxes and weasels. Most of them live in Happytown or in other ghetto areas."

Marilyn pressed, "Well, still be careful about who yah tangle with. The city is the city and pretty ladies like yourself have to keep away from any suspicious characters."

A car horn honked twice. Linda looked out the open door and caught sight of her taxi pulling by the curb.

"He's here. I need to go now," Linda announced and hugged Marilyn for the last time.

The sisters, including Irene, joined the embraced. Lind gave Franklin a final smooch and grabbed her luggage, which had been waiting by the door since the night before. The other Carrotfield children began pouring into the kitchen just as Linda walked outside. Not wanting to miss saying goodbye, all the little bunnies rushed outside, waving and hollering their farewells.

As she set her luggage down for the driver to put into the trunk, Linda looked back at the legions of rabbit children rushing at her. Marilyn and Franklin stumbled through the horde, waving and barely holding back their tears. The raccoon driver hurriedly loaded the trunk and rushed to the driver's seat. Linda almost broke out in tears of joy upon seeing her family all passionately sending their love and best wishes. She even momentarily considered staying. But she had already committed to her vacation and boarded the taxi after blowing her family a final kiss. The taxi puttered off, blowing a cloud of black smoke through its exhaust pipe. Linda turned in her seat to look out the rear window. Her siblings chased the car, continuing to wave and holler, stopping only at the edge of the property. Linda waved back and then turned to face forward.

The driver let out a long sigh. "How many kids do you guys have?"

"We have 296, including me. I'm the oldest."

Impressed, the driver clicked his tongue. "And I thought I came from a big family."

Linda let out a sigh of relief; she was finally on her way.