"But dad, I saw them!" Judy's foot thumped out of frustration. She had entered into her father's office that morning to apologize, but was surprised by her father's apprehension.

"Judy, you don't have any evidence. You don't know that Gideon and Travis caused that fire."

Stu Hopps had been pouring over some papers and a small survey map of the farm. An area of the survey map had been circled meticulously in red, with cross hatches blotting it out. The fire had taken just under an acre of land because they were able to act so quickly to stunt its growth until the fire department arrived. Out of their nearly 500 acres, it wasn't anything catastrophic, but it did lose them some real estate and produce.

"But dad-"

"But nothing, Judith." Stu stepped from behind his desk and leaned down to Judy. "Sweetie, you have to understand." He placed one paw on her shoulder, drawing her eyes to his. Judy noticed her dad's face was covered in concern. "The Greys may have always hated us, but they're foxes, Judy. Foxes...foxes are dangerous predators. If there's even a chance you're wrong...any chance at all that it's a misunderstanding…" Stu's face fell and he took his paw off Judy. "Any accusations against them would only cause them to hate us more. Angry foxes are a rabbit's worst enemy."

Judy's foot thumped again "But I heard them. I heard them laughing."

"Did you hear them say specifically that they started a fire?"

"Well...no-"

"Did they tell you they did it?"

"N-no.." Tears started welling up in her eyes.

"Did you see them do it, Judy?"

Judy was sniffling loudly now. "No, daddy...I didn't."

"Then for now, honey...even if you're right, it's your word against theirs. Foxes are sly, they'd get around it somehow."

Stu stood up and put his arm around his daughter. She pushed herself into his side as she composed herself. Looking over at his desk, Stu knew he had a long day ahead of him, but thankfully the kits were off school all week in preparation the Carrot Days festival this coming weekend. He had plenty of extra paws this week to help take care of the farm.

"Daddy?" Judy managed between her sniffles.

"Yes, hon?"

"I don't like mean mammals."

A warm smile came over Stu. "I know hon. But sometimes...sometimes you have to just ignore those who mean you harm. Sometimes...sometimes letting them know they hurt you is just giving them what they want."

"But…" Judy choked on another sob. "But it's just not fair!"

He looked down at Judy. Perhaps after all this excitement, she could use a little time away from the fields. He knelt down again, wiping the last of Judy's tears away. "Hey, come on now Jude the Dude. How about we switch you over from harvest duty today and send you with your mom and the little kits to the park instead?"

Judy's eyes opened wide. "R-really? You mean it?!"

"Yeah, I'm sure your mom would love the extra set of eyes, and you'd probably have a lot more fun that way, go and tell-" before Stu could even finish his thought, Judy was already bolting out of the room to find her mother. He hopped out of his office to see a little gray ball of excitement zooming down the hall towards the main dining room.

A couple hours later, Judy, her mom, and about 40 of the youngest kits of the family were all at the large park near Woodland Elementary School. Judy and her mom held the newest kits, who had only been born a few months prior, while the rest ran, laughed, hopped, and squealed.

The park had everything a kit could want: slides, rock walls, jungle gyms, swings, sandboxes, and much more. A large wooden ship was built up out of the center of a large sandbox, making it look as if a pirate ship had washed ashore a magical island. Woodland Elementary was a huge school, hosting several different kinds of mammals. The Hopps family, of course, took up the majority of the school, with entire classes being nearly entirely made up of siblings.

The sun was getting high as noon approached. Judy and a handful of her younger siblings were enthralled in a game of tag. Being older and much quicker, Judy had to restrain herself from getting away every time, letting the younger kits tag her. A young doe had tagged her, and Judy was in full pursuit. Each time she'd run towards the little fluffle of bunnies, they'd squeal and dash around her to the sides before grouping back together. As Bonnie noted while watching, it was completely adorable.

After an hour of chasing the squealing kits, Judy meandered over to her mother, who was resting under the shade of a tree with several sleeping newborns.

"Little ones wearing you out, Judy?"

Judy collapsed at the base of the tree next to her mom. She was visibly tired. "That was a lot of fun, mom. I'm glad I got to come with you today."

"Me too Bun Bun." She reached over and pulled Judy to herself. "You'll need the practice. One day you may have a slew of kits yourself to keep track of."

Judy nodded. All little does had dreams of being wonderful mothers some day. But for Judy...that dream always seemed so distant. Some of her sisters had already started looking at the bucks in the area, imagining what it would be like to get married and have kits one day. But Judy always felt like there was something different about her.

"What other things can bunnies do?"

The question somewhat caught Bonnie off guard. "What do you mean?"

"All the bucks become farmers, farmpaws...and all the does become mothers and teachers. Isn't there anything else?" Judy's question was innocent enough. She looked up into her mother's eyes, which were the source of the sparkling violet found in her own. Her mother's face was soft, smiling down to her.

"Sometimes...simple is beautiful, and beauty is simple." She looked back out towards the rest of the kits. "And sometimes...it's anything but simple." she chuckled. Looking back at Judy and smiling, she said softly "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Judy smiled back at her mom. As she thought about her mother's words, Judy didn't even notice her head beginning to lean over onto her mother's side. Bonnie looked down and smiled as she noticed Judy's eyes beginning to droop. Before too long, Judy's breathing steadied out as she slipped into a warm midday nap.

"HELP!" The sound of a scream jerked Judy awake. She quickly realized her mom wasn't next to her anymore and looked for her. She caught sight of her mother across the park trying to round up the rest of the kits. Judy darted over as others heard the scream too.

Everyone at the park began scanning the area to find the source of the cry.

"HELP, PLEASE!" The scream was coming from a visibly distraught bobcat mother. She was pointing desperately up the trunk of a nearby tree. Looking up, Judy noticed that a small bobcat kitten was precariously perched on a branch, looking completely terrified.

Judy pulled on her mother's shirt. "Mom, I know that bobcat! That's Bobby Catmull, he's in my class!"

Bonnie silently prayed as a small crowd gathered under the tree. Mrs. Catmull was stifling her tears trying to keep her son calm. "Bobby! Come down, it's okay!"

Bobby's eyes were huge as he looked down to the ground. He was only 20 feet up, but to him it may have well been 100 feet. He was completely paralyzed in fear.

Suddenly, the crowd that had been gathering began to split, allowing a taller gray wolf to approach the scene.

Judy was taken aback by the wolf's outfit. It was dark blue, well kept and pressed. She saw a shining emblem on his chest, marked with three letters, "ZPD." The wolf walked up to the frenzied mother.

"Ma'am, my name is Officer Lupus, ZPD."

Mrs. Catmull turned to see the officer, nearly throwing herself on him. "Oh officer, thank you. My son was chasing a butterfly, and without me watching him he managed to get all the way up the tree. When he realized how high up he was, he froze and hasn't been able to move!"

"Okay, ma'am, I'm gonna call for the fire department to come, they'll be able to get their ladder up there to him. In the meantime, I need you to remain calm." Officer Lupus pressed his paw to a radio receiver on his shoulder. "Dispatch, this is Officer Lupus. Please contact the Bunnyburrow fire department and have them send a unit to Woodland Elementary Park. We have a young male bobcat who is stuck in a tree and we need a ladder." He looked back to Mrs. Catmull. "Ma'am, the truck should be on its way shortly."

Mrs. Catmull's eyes released their dam, allowing her tears to flow. "Oh, thank you, thank you officer!"

Judy noticed the wolf's demeanor. He was strong yet gentle. He was sure, confident, and prepared. He was brave and selfless. He was amazing.

"Wow…" she said, almost involuntarily. Judy had never really seen a real ZPD officer before. She felt compelled to go meet this amazing mammal. She moved away from her mother's side, unnoticed as Bonnie was tending to the other children.

She moved closer to the officer, eyeing his uniform. She could see he had a belt on with handcuffs, and a tranq gun at his side. Every facet of his uniform was drawing her in. Here was a mammal whose entire life was devoted to helping others around him. That concept was completely foreign to Judy, especially since he was a predator. Weren't predators supposed to take advantage of prey? Why would he help them instead? Judy felt no fear, though, as she approached him.

Officer Lupus's radio buzzed to life, snapping Judy back into reality as she stopped a few feet behind him. She couldn't quite make out what was being said via the staticky radio, but Officer Lupus must have understood. His face dropped and his ears went back. Something was wrong.

"Mrs. Catmull, I'm afraid we'll have to find another way to get your son down. The only fire truck here in Bunnyburrow is in use at a fire on the other side of town." Seeing Mrs. Catmull's eyes beginning to water again, he quickly added, "We'll figure a way to get him down, even if I have to climb up there myself."

Judy's mind began to race. She felt like she should do something, too. She felt like she had to help...needed to help. Suddenly, an idea clicked in her mind as she ran over to where the officer was.

"I have an idea!" she cried.

"Huh?" Officer Lupus turned around, seeing no one behind him. "Who said that?"

"Down here!" The wolf looked down, and standing just as high as his knee was a small bunny doe. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Sweetheart you'll have to stay back, okay?"

"But officer, I have an idea to help get Bobby down!" Judy pointed to the stranded bobcat. The wolf's face relaxed a little.

"Well little one, that's very kind of you, but I have this covered for now. Why don't you run along and find your mother and let me handle this?" The wolf reached down and ruffled the fur between Judy's ears before turning and walking back to the base of the tree.

Judy sat and processed what just happened. Slowly her brow furrowed as her foot began to thump in anger. "I know my idea can work…" she grumbled to no one in particular.

Officer Lupus reached the base of the tree, considering his previous promise to climb if need be. First, he attempted to talk to the petrified bobcat. "Bobby, right? Can you hear me son?"

Bobby didn't move at all, claws gripped firmly into the wood of the branch beneath him.

"Bobby, can you hear me? My name is Officer Lupus. I'm here to help you."

Bobby's eyes were glassy, locked looking off into the distance. The gruff voice of the gray wolf wasn't getting through. Officer Lupus looked up and his face fell. This wasn't working. He began sizing up the branches heading up the tree that the little bobcat had no doubt used in his own absent minded ascent. They likely wouldn't hold the weight of the wolf as they did for the young kitten.

Watching the wolf try putting his weight onto various branches only made Judy even more frustrated. She began to step forward to approach him again when she heard a familiar voice shouting behind her.

"Judy! JUDY!" Bonnie had finally taken notice that her daughter was missing. Running over to her, she grabbed for Judy's paw. "You're gonna be the death of me, kit. You had me so worried, what were you doing over here?"

"Mom...I wanted to help the officer get Bobby down!" Judy pulled away from her mom, but Bonnie had a grip on her paw.

"Judy, I'm sure the officer had this under control. He knows what he's doing sweetie, let's just-" Bonnie's word cut short when Judy shook her paw free. "Judy? Judy get back here!"

Judy began to run over to the tree. "I gotta help Bobby!"

Running over to the tree, she pulled on Officer Lupus' pant leg. "Officer! I think I know how to get Bobby down!"

Lupus looked down at the tiny doe. "You again? Sweetie I'm trying to figure out how to get up to him right now, I promise I'll get your friend down."

"But sir, I think I know how to get him to come down to us!" Judy rushed over to Mrs. Catmull, eyeing her purse. "Miss, do you happen to have a mirror?"

Mrs. Catmull turned to Judy. "Yes...but why?"

"I remember seeing Bobby playing one time, chasing after a light that was reflecting off a wind chime. Let me see the mirror!" Judy reached out and took a small pocket mirror from Mrs. Catmull. Stepping back into the sunlight, she caught the light and looked to where a small line of reflected sunlight was going up the trunk of the tree. This has gotta work…

The small ray of light moved up through the shaded tree branches, finally resting next to Bobby. Judy began to wiggle her paws a little, hoping the small light would catch his attention. Bobby's glassy eyes stayed the same.

Officer Lupus came to step by Judy's side. "You're hoping to distract him from the height?"

Judy's brow furrowed, she needed to grab Bobby's attention for her plan to work. She moved the ray of light around him in circles, hoping to catch his eyes. After a few moments, she saw the fruit of her labor. Bobby's eyes moved to the spot of light directly in front of his paws. Gotcha! She moved the light back and forth, seeing Bobby's eyes widen and follow it. The bobcat's instincts kicked in, and his claws retracted from the branch, allowing him to begin pawing at the light. Slowly, Judy moved the light over to the next lowest branch, seeing Bobby following it as absent mindedly as he likely had followed the butterfly in the first place.

Mrs. Catmull and Officer Lupus began to laugh in relief as Judy led the small bobcat from branch to branch, slowly leading him down the tree. When he landed on a branch close enough, Officer Lupus reached up and grabbed Bobby. "I got you, little buddy!"

All around them, mammals began cheering. Bobby's attention snapped back to the officer, with a confused look on his face as his mother ran over to take him. She pulled her little boy in for a tight snuggle, kissing his head.

Judy put the pocket mirror down and ran over to Mrs. Catmull to return it. When she got there, Mrs. Catmull pulled Judy in for a hug too. "Thank you, thank you little bunny!"

There was another cheer as Bonnie made her way over to the scene. "Judy!" She ran over to take Judy by the paw again. "How did you know how to do that?"

Judy looked up at her mom. "I...I didn't know it work. I just knew I had to try."

The Catmulls walked over, thanking the officer as well. When they walked by Judy and her mom, Mrs. Catmull paused. "Bonnie Hopps, right?"

"Yes, that's me." She held Judy close.

"Well Mrs. Hopps, you have a fine daughter there. She's a hero!"

Bonnie looked down at her daughter with a mix of confusion and pride. "I suppose she is."

"I'd say…" the voice came from behind Bonnie and Judy. They both turned and saw Officer Lupus. He knelt down. "What's your name, kit?"

Judy pulled away from her mother, standing tall next to the kneeling wolf. "Judy. Judy Hopps."

"Well, Judy…" the wolf began to reach into one of the pockets of his belt, pulling out a small sticker. "For your amazing act of bravery and service, I'd like to bestow upon you the rank of Junior Officer." He peeled the sticker and placed it proudly on Judy's shirt.

Judy looked down at the sticker badge with wide eyes. Junior ZPD Officer. She felt an overwhelming pride begin to well up inside her. This moment felt good...it felt right. With a few tears coming to her eyes, she looked up at the smiling wolf.

"Do you think...do you think I could really become an officer?"

"That's entirely up to you, Judy. Remember the Zootopia motto. Anyone can be anything."

That night, Judy was the talk of the Hopps farm. Dinner was a huge series of Judy retelling the story of saving the bobcat over and over again as new swarms of kits came in. Each time she got a little better at telling it, but tried not to overembelish the details. She still wore her Junior ZPD Officer badge proudly on her shirt, inciting "oohs" and "aahs" from her siblings. Stu and Bonnie were proud of their daughter for being so clever and helping.

As the last round of kits finished hearing Judy's story, the excitement of the day finally started showing wear on the little bunny's face. Judy was exhausted.

Forgoing the normal sequence of clean-up and getting ready for bedtime, Bonnie decided to help the tiny kit find her way to bed a little early that night. She scooped Judy up and began carrying her towards the bedrooms.

"Mom?" said Judy as she rested her head on Bonnie's shoulder.

"Yes, Judy?"

"I liked helping Officer Lupus today." Judy's words made Bonnie smile.

"You were wonderful today, bun bun. You'll be the talk of the town tomorrow, I'm sure."

Judy's little head popped up for a moment. "Really?" Suddenly, Judy felt a little embarrassed.

"Yes, you know your cousins Marty and Suzanne work for the Bunnyburrow Gazette. They already asked if they could put your story into the paper this week."

Judy's eyes opened up. "The newspaper..."

Bonnie laughed as they finally reached the room with Judy's bed. "That's what happens to heroes, Judy. Mammals like to talk about them."

Judy's brow furrowed. "I didn't do it because I wanted other mammals to talk about me, though. I did it because…" her face fell soft again as her mother placed her in bed. "I did it because I knew I needed to help."

Bonnie looked at her daughter as she pulled the sheets back to tuck her in. "All the more reason you're a hero, dear." She reached over and kissed Judy between her ears. "Now, my little hero, you've earned some rest." Bonnie began to get up to move towards the door.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Judy?" Bonnie stood in the doorway again, looking back at Judy's tiny frame tucked into the covers.

"Do you think I could be a police officer one day?"

Bonnie feared that question was coming. After all, there never had been a bunny cop before. Bunnies didn't do danger. Their nature was safety in numbers and avoiding conflict whenever possible. A life as an officer of the law was exactly contrary to that. But Bonnie didn't have the heart to say any of those things at that moment.

"It's always good to have dreams, Judy."

Judy thought for a moment before thumbing at the Junior Officer badge still on her shirt. "I want to make a difference in the world, just like you said."

"And I know you will, Judy. Good night sweetheart." Bonnie closed the door on her way out, a mix of pride, joy, concern, and amusement plastered on her face.

In the dim light coming in through the window, Judy reached over to grab a stuffed bunny she slept with. She reached to her shirt and pulled the sticker badge from it, placing it neatly onto the stuffed bunny's chest. She held it up so that the metallic yellow of the badge shimmered in the moonlight. She pulled the little stuffed bunny back to her chest, squeezing it tightly as she rolled to her side. Officer Judy Hopps, she thought as she fell fast asleep. Sweet dreams quickly overtook her.