All the rabbits in Cloverdown Warren flinched as a doe's scream came from the medical burrow and echoed through the tunnels. They all paused and exchanged worried glances. They knew that it was the Rah's doe, Celandine, that was screaming. She was halfway through having her first litter of kittens, an event that was celebrated when the medical doe had first pronounced her pregnant, but nobody was celebrating now. The birth was going seriously wrong. The medical doe had told the Rah, Spearmint, that Celandine would be very lucky to survive.
Almost all the rabbits of the warren had asked Frith to help poor Celandine with her first litter. She was very popular and well loved, as was Spearmint-Rah. Everyone felt very sorry for them and now, since the screaming had started, they all thought that the Black Rabbit of Inle was already on his way to collect poor Celandine. They didn't hold out much hope for her. So they were all very surprised when their chief rabbit bounded out of the medical burrow with a huge grin on his face and called an emergency meeting of the whole warren. Everyone quickly gathered together in the main burrow. It was so crowded that a lot of the rabbits couldn't get in and had to queue up outside in the tunnels. They pricked their ears and craned their necks around tunnel walls, trying to hear what their Rah was saying and get a glimpse of him. Spearmint-Rah stood on a large rock and looked over his rabbits and a large smile spread slowly over his face. He cleared his throat to get total silence and announced to the warren that although Celandine was very weak and it had been touch and go for her for a while, she would live! What was more, she had given birth to three healthy kits! Two does and a buck and both Marli and kits were doing well!
That night, as the kits nursed from their Marli for the first time, the rabbits of Cloverdown warren celebrated. Flayrah was distributed, bobstones played and the warren's best storytellers told all their best stories well into the night. Spearmint-Rah gave a cheerful speech to close the proceedings and announced the new kit's names. The buck would be called Goosegrass and the two does would be Orchid and Heather. Some of the rabbits were allowed into the medical burrow to see the new kits and congratulate their Marli. They all said "awww" as they saw the new kits huddling blindly against their Marli for warmth. Celandine smiled exhaustedly at them, but hoped that they would not be staying for long. She really just wanted to sleep, but she knew they all meant well and that she had a duty as the Rah's doe to let them see the new-borns.
As hours slowly grew into days and days then grew into weeks, the kits grew too. Their eyes opened and their fur came through. The buck, Goosegrass and Heather had sandy coloured fur, their sister, Orchid, had pure white fur and very proud of it she was too. "I have nicer fur than you!" she'd tell rabbits that she passed on the way silf. They'd laugh and treat it in good humour and think it cute that one so young should be so proud.
"Now kits, go and silflay, but don't stray too far from Marli, okay?" Celandine told them one afternoon, as they got silf. Goosegrass grinned and hopped away. He had been listening to a fantastic El-ahrairah tale the evening before and had been waiting all day to get silf and play at helping the rabbit hero himself. He pretended that he'd been asked to take Rabscuttle's place on a particularly dangerous adventure. Heather went off on her own like she always did. She was a quiet little doe and enjoyed her own company. One of her ears wouldn't stand up properly, it just hung down limply at the side of her face. She could hear out of it okay, but she just couldn't move it. She did worry about it sometimes because it wasn't the same as the other kits, but Marli said it was cute so that made her feel a little better. She hopped away from her two siblings. They were too loud for her. Goosegrass was always running around and shouting and Orchid was always screaming for something she wanted. She normally got it too, just so the adults could get some peace and quiet. Heather found a nice sunny spot to sit and some lush looking clover to silflay on. She smiled and started to silflay quietly, until someone walked up behind her and trod down on her bad ear.
"Ow! Get off!" said Heather, unable to raise her head to even see who it was. She managed to turn her head to the side and saw a small white paw treading her ear into the ground. She knew then that it was Orchid.
"You're silflaying my flay, Freakear." Orchid growled. She was slightly bigger than her sister and far more aggressive.
"B..But I found this flay..." Heather began, but she stopped as Orchid slowly pressed her claws into her ear. "Stop it! You're hurting me!" she cried.
"Then you'd better run away, hadn't you? You ugly little freak!" Orchid said, grinning.
"I'll tell Marli!" warned Heather. Orchid growled again and pushed her little claws down harder, this time drawing tiny pools of blood around each claw tip.
"Marli won't listen to you, Freakear. I'll just say you made it all up. Who's Marli gonna believe? Her beautiful, intelligent daughter or her stuttering, little Freakear?" Orchid asked, then she grinned wider and leaned in to Heather to whisper in her bad ear.
"I heard Marli crying last night while you and Goosegrass were asleep. She was talking to Parli about you. You make her cry a lot because she's so ashamed of you." Orchid said, pausing to let her words sink in. "She said she wished you hadn't been born, Freakear." Orchid lied. She really enjoyed making other rabbits feel bad and at this early age, Heather was by far her easiest target.
"T..That's not true!" Heather said, but tears were already beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.
"You know it's true. Now get lost, Freakear. I need this good flay because I have beautiful fur. An ugly kit like you only deserves to silflay bad flay." she said and lifted her paw off of Heather's poor ear. Heather turned and started to run as the tears started to trickle down her face. She didn't want Orchid to see her cry. Orchid giggled to herself as she watched her go and started to eat the clover.
Almost all the rabbits of the warren had asked Frith to help poor Celandine with her first litter. She was very popular and well loved, as was Spearmint-Rah. Everyone felt very sorry for them and now, since the screaming had started, they all thought that the Black Rabbit of Inle was already on his way to collect poor Celandine. They didn't hold out much hope for her. So they were all very surprised when their chief rabbit bounded out of the medical burrow with a huge grin on his face and called an emergency meeting of the whole warren. Everyone quickly gathered together in the main burrow. It was so crowded that a lot of the rabbits couldn't get in and had to queue up outside in the tunnels. They pricked their ears and craned their necks around tunnel walls, trying to hear what their Rah was saying and get a glimpse of him. Spearmint-Rah stood on a large rock and looked over his rabbits and a large smile spread slowly over his face. He cleared his throat to get total silence and announced to the warren that although Celandine was very weak and it had been touch and go for her for a while, she would live! What was more, she had given birth to three healthy kits! Two does and a buck and both Marli and kits were doing well!
That night, as the kits nursed from their Marli for the first time, the rabbits of Cloverdown warren celebrated. Flayrah was distributed, bobstones played and the warren's best storytellers told all their best stories well into the night. Spearmint-Rah gave a cheerful speech to close the proceedings and announced the new kit's names. The buck would be called Goosegrass and the two does would be Orchid and Heather. Some of the rabbits were allowed into the medical burrow to see the new kits and congratulate their Marli. They all said "awww" as they saw the new kits huddling blindly against their Marli for warmth. Celandine smiled exhaustedly at them, but hoped that they would not be staying for long. She really just wanted to sleep, but she knew they all meant well and that she had a duty as the Rah's doe to let them see the new-borns.
As hours slowly grew into days and days then grew into weeks, the kits grew too. Their eyes opened and their fur came through. The buck, Goosegrass and Heather had sandy coloured fur, their sister, Orchid, had pure white fur and very proud of it she was too. "I have nicer fur than you!" she'd tell rabbits that she passed on the way silf. They'd laugh and treat it in good humour and think it cute that one so young should be so proud.
"Now kits, go and silflay, but don't stray too far from Marli, okay?" Celandine told them one afternoon, as they got silf. Goosegrass grinned and hopped away. He had been listening to a fantastic El-ahrairah tale the evening before and had been waiting all day to get silf and play at helping the rabbit hero himself. He pretended that he'd been asked to take Rabscuttle's place on a particularly dangerous adventure. Heather went off on her own like she always did. She was a quiet little doe and enjoyed her own company. One of her ears wouldn't stand up properly, it just hung down limply at the side of her face. She could hear out of it okay, but she just couldn't move it. She did worry about it sometimes because it wasn't the same as the other kits, but Marli said it was cute so that made her feel a little better. She hopped away from her two siblings. They were too loud for her. Goosegrass was always running around and shouting and Orchid was always screaming for something she wanted. She normally got it too, just so the adults could get some peace and quiet. Heather found a nice sunny spot to sit and some lush looking clover to silflay on. She smiled and started to silflay quietly, until someone walked up behind her and trod down on her bad ear.
"Ow! Get off!" said Heather, unable to raise her head to even see who it was. She managed to turn her head to the side and saw a small white paw treading her ear into the ground. She knew then that it was Orchid.
"You're silflaying my flay, Freakear." Orchid growled. She was slightly bigger than her sister and far more aggressive.
"B..But I found this flay..." Heather began, but she stopped as Orchid slowly pressed her claws into her ear. "Stop it! You're hurting me!" she cried.
"Then you'd better run away, hadn't you? You ugly little freak!" Orchid said, grinning.
"I'll tell Marli!" warned Heather. Orchid growled again and pushed her little claws down harder, this time drawing tiny pools of blood around each claw tip.
"Marli won't listen to you, Freakear. I'll just say you made it all up. Who's Marli gonna believe? Her beautiful, intelligent daughter or her stuttering, little Freakear?" Orchid asked, then she grinned wider and leaned in to Heather to whisper in her bad ear.
"I heard Marli crying last night while you and Goosegrass were asleep. She was talking to Parli about you. You make her cry a lot because she's so ashamed of you." Orchid said, pausing to let her words sink in. "She said she wished you hadn't been born, Freakear." Orchid lied. She really enjoyed making other rabbits feel bad and at this early age, Heather was by far her easiest target.
"T..That's not true!" Heather said, but tears were already beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.
"You know it's true. Now get lost, Freakear. I need this good flay because I have beautiful fur. An ugly kit like you only deserves to silflay bad flay." she said and lifted her paw off of Heather's poor ear. Heather turned and started to run as the tears started to trickle down her face. She didn't want Orchid to see her cry. Orchid giggled to herself as she watched her go and started to eat the clover.