Monday, August 27, 1900

This is why I hate my brother's rabbits so much! I wish they would run away for good! After such a good day yesterday, this!

Let me start over before I get so angry I break my pencil. Then I will have to sharpen it and that will take forever so let me just calm down. Right before breakfast Anthony and Samuel went out to feed the rabbits. A few moments later they came barging in, literally screaming loud enough to shake the roof down, "The rabbits are gone! All three of them! We must find them!"

Everyone groaned so loud, especially me. Edward grabbed a sausage link right out of the frying pan and said he was "too busy" to help. So much for that big brother. Mother claimed she wouldn't help, and Papa had business in town to tend to, though now that I think of it, what business did he have? We just moved here and he had business?! Sure! Nathan volunteered to help, but Anthony just rolled his eyes and looked at me, as if to say, "You helped us catch them in Little Rock, you got to help us catch them here in Galveston, too."

"No!" I said, but Mother wheeled around and told me to help them "this instant."

"She doesn't have to, Mother," dear, sweet Nathan said. "I will help the boys."

Mother smiled. "I know you mean well, Nathan, but there really isn't anything you can do to help catch those quick rabbits. Why don't you set the table?"

I saw the disappointment in my brother's face. It is those types of days that I can tell he wishes he could see. But obedient Nathan went to set the table without a second thought. Why can't I be more like him? But as dogged as I am, I claimed I would not help them. "They're their rabbits, they can catch them."

Anthony immediately started to wail, which sent a chain reaction right to Samuel, and he started crying as well. "We'll never see Fluffy or Freddy or Fuzzy again!" (I don't know what is with the F's, so don't ask.)

Mother set her hands on her hips, like she does when she is angry, and pointed towards the door. "You go right out that door, Miss Emelise Carson, and catch those rabbits. If you don't, I will not allow you to go to the orphanage with Alice." I wanted to tell Mother that Alice hadn't even said yes to the orphanage-coming-along question, but I held my tongue. It was bad enough to have to catch those stupid rabbits, but to not go to the orphanage, if granted, would ruin the whole week.

"Fine," I grumbled, stomping out the door, the boys, all of the sudden dry-eyed and cheery, skipping behind me. The last thing I saw when I closed the door was Nathan giving me a sympathetic look.

"All right," I then said. "Show me the hut." The boys led the way to the rabbit hut. Papa had constructed it three feet off the ground, with the house two feet off the ground. There was a ladder that led up to it, and numerous toys scattered about the run around area.

"Here," A pointed. "I hadn't forgotten to shut the door like before"—I rolled my eyes. There had certainly been a before—"but instead, the cage is torn open."

I bent down and examined the damage. The rabbits had not chewed through the wire, that was clear, because the hole was far too large for them to create in only one night. Besides, it looked as though the cage had been pulled on and torn from the pressure. I wondered what had happened.

S grabbed my arm. "Look!" I turned towards the road and what did I see trying to hop across? One of the rabbits—Fluffy, Freddy, Fuzzy, whoever. The rabbit's ears were up, and I could see him gingerly taking a step forward, only a wagon came and almost trampled him.

"Go get him, Emelise!" A squealed.

I sighed. Why did I have to be the one? Hurrying over to the road, I mumbled under my breath about eating those stupid things. How many times had they escaped? And what good did they do anyway? We couldn't eat them—well, we could, but the boys didn't want to. They don't give us milk like a cow, or wool like a sheep. They didn't snuggle up by you like a cat, or play fetch like a dog. What do they do, I would like to know?

Luckily, this one didn't give me too much trouble. I walked to the opposite side of the road and ran towards it (watching for oncoming traffic, of course). The rabbit practically jumped out of its skin and ran back in the yard, into the hut, going through the hole it had come out of. One down, two to go.

I knew from experience that the last two rabbits were the rascals. They were the ones who probably planned every escape plan, every runaway. I hated catching them. How many times have I mentioned that, I wonder? Well, I do. Even worse, our house was right in front of the street...and it was a beautiful day. People awoke from their sleep and went outside to sit on their porches and read the morning paper. Except, I knew far too well that they were not actually reading the paper—they were watching me catch a white ball of fluff that zig-zagged across the yard.

"There he is!' A and S would shriek. "Catch him! Catch him!"

"You know," I panted, "this would be a whole lot easier if you two would help me."

"We can't," A said. "Curt and I are watching this rabbit so it doesn't get away." Of course.

After hours of trying to catch those rabbits and having them almost head into the street, I had caught the second one. Two for three. By that time, I was hungry, sweating, and positively boiling in anger. Edward had actually come out of the house and sat on the porch, watching us—me really—run around. When I snagged my dress on Mother's thorn bush, he burst out laughing. "Shut up!" I said, shocked at my words. I sounded like Edward! Mother rushed out of the house and told me if she ever heard me say that again I would get my mouth washed out with soap. Edward smirked. How come she can catch me saying that, but never Edward?

Nathan came out later, too. He tried to listen for the rabbits, or anything he thought would be helpful, but he didn't contribute to the cause at all. "I hear something over there," he would say. But when I looked the rabbit I had cornered before ran as soon as my eyes were taken from it.

Finally, when everyone else had eaten lunch—including A and S, might I add—the last rabbit had itself in a pickle. There I was, on my stomach under the filthy porch. Yes! Under the porch! The rabbit had squeezed through the white fencing surrounding the porch and hidden in the way back. I can't write down how many spiders crawled on me or how many times my hair got caught on a nail. My knees were bleeding—torn at the stockings—and I felt disgusting.

The rabbit—Fluffy, A claimed it was, though I don't know how he can tell the difference between the three—cowered on the corner, panting. I reached out and tried to grab it. A had instructed me not to grab it by the ears or neck. Right now I didn't care if I grabbed it by the tail and yanked it off. I was going to catch the rabbit—now—or the boys would have to either get it themselves or live with two.

As quick as lightning, I grabbed a tuft of fur and pulled the animal towards me, cradling it. Only then it started to kick. My arms got scratched and started to bleed. I almost dropped it, but I managed to hold it tightly in an embrace. I crawled out of the porch and handed it to the boys. They thanked me over and over, saying the rabbits would be extra nice to me, but I really didn't care at all. I went in the house and took a bath. Might I add that the water turned slightly brown from all the dirt I had collected?

When I finished and went downstairs, the boys were telling a rather different tale to Mother.

"And it ran on the road, and I caught and brought it back to the hut! Then the last one was under the porch and I grabbed it and pulled it to safety!"

"How brave of you," Mother complimented. "Maybe you should take a bath?"

"Oh, no," A said, shaking his head. "Curt and I aren't dirty one bit, are we, Curt?"

"Nope," S agreed. "Not one bit, Herby."

Mother smiled. "All right then. Go play with the rabbits and make sure they don't escape again."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Next Day…

Where is Alice? It has been almost forty-eight hours since her visit. Surely it does not take forty-eight hours to ask the Sisters of the orphanage if a teenage girl and her brother may tour the place. I think I will die of waiting.

I'll see if the mail has arrived. Maybe there is something for me.