Dorian watched the sunlight crawl down the back porch; it was still too early for Leonard to be home. He was tired of eating and tired of sleeping. He wanted to play, but Leonard was still at school. The big grey rabbit hunkered in his small cage. His left hind leg felt cramp but he would not be bothered to stretch because there was barely room to even stand.
Leonard's 4-year-old sister, noisy Lettie, thumped on the cage. "Wake up! Stupid Rabbit! Wake up!"
Dorian braced himself for the shaking and kicking, which sure enough came right after.
"Leave Leo's rabbit alone, Leticia!" Mother's voice called out from the kitchen. "You know how mad Leo gets if its food spills.
"Stupid rabbit!" Again the girl screamed into his ears. By now the cage was all wet because the bowl of water had rocked, spilled and turned over under her onslaught. Dorian squeezed himself as much as he could into a corner, but the cold water continued to spread under his belly. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep away the chill.
"Oh look at this awful mess," Mother said. She lifted the cage, put it to the side and rolled up the wet newspaper. Then she opened the cage door and righted the upturned bowl.
A plate crashed to the floor. Mother ran back into the kitchen shouting, "Lettie! What have you done?"
Dorian stretched his neck towards the opening and poked out his head. The backyard was bright and inviting. Just outside the picket fence was more bushes and a clearing. A squirrel skittered across the yard into a bed of posies, a bird landed onto the stem of a tulip which made it swing up and down like a metronome, and a rat clawed about a pine cone looking for nuts.
The air just outside the cage was fresh and cool. Dorian took quick short breaths appreciatively.
The rat looked at him. "Would you like some pine nut?"
"I am not hungry, thank you."
"Come out and chase me," said the squirrel.
"I don't think I can, my hind leg is sore."
The bird asked, "Can you sing?"
"I've never tried."
Another squirrel appeared and chased the other all over the yard and the back porch.
The bird chirped, "Come out and play."
Dorian hunkered back into the cage. No, he can't leave his cage. What if Mother comes back and shuts the door? He will never be able to come back then. The animals called and called which made him squeeze himself harder and harder into a corner
Mother came out with a fresh roll of newspaper and some water. "Goodness, I forgot to shut the cage. Thank heavens you are too stupid to run off." The newspaper was dry and warm, and the water was sweet. Dorian leaned back on his good hind leg. Leonard will be home soon and everything will be alright again.
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