by Joanne Mansfield

Created on: May 22, 2008

See that burrow over there? Well, I can remember the time when two brothers, Blackie and Bumpy, lived there with their mother, father, and sisters.

Bumpy, the smaller of the two brothers, had snow white fur, except for some brown speckles scattered across his tiny, pink nose. Blackie, whose fur was so wiry, was so dark that even his whiskers looked like the night.

On this particular afternoon, Blackie forgot to tell mama that he and Bumpy were going down to the stream to play. As the brothers hopped through the forest, the enormous pine trees seemed like giants above them.

Bumpy came to a screeching halt. "Hey, I got an idea."

You and your ideas, thought Blackie. "What is it this time?"

"Let's play woodum track?" Bumpy asked, turning his head to one side. "Pleaseeeeeeee," he begged, wrinkling his small, pink nose.

"Woodum what?" Blackie stammered.

"Woodum track. I'll gather wood twigs, lay a path, and you track me."

Blackie's ears perked up. "That sounds like fun. I'll help gather the twigs, too."

Now even good children sometimes forget to listen to the advise of their parents, and so it was in this case. As Bumpy and Blackie scampered beneath the colossal trees for twigs, the warning of their mother, "Never go beyond our world," was lost in their excitement.

"Phew, I'm tired." Bumpy slid on a tree trunk and rolled on the ground. "Ouch!"
He yelled. "What's on my back?"

Blackie flew to his brother's side and carefully examined Bumpy's back. "Pine needles. Hold still." Placing his two rear feet against Bumpy's back, Blackie gave one big tug.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

"Are you okay now?" Blackie soothingly rubbed Bumpy's back.

"Aokay," Bumpy lunged forward and somersaulted, "and ready to play!"

Hours passed. Neither rabbit thought about going home. As they hopped away from the woods into the clearing, Bumpy spotted a yellow and orange butterfly. The butterfly's wings looked as though they had just been painted with tiny, brown spots. The butterfly landed on a freshly opened daisy. The flower's petals glistened from the morning's dew.

"Watch this!" yelled Bumpy, leaping into the air. Thump..Kerplunk

Blackie skittered over to his brother. "What are you trying to do?" He asked breathlessly. There was only stillness. Bumpy lain on the ground. His four paws stretched out in all four directions.

"Shhhh." Bumpy's ears perked up. "I got a butterfly under me," he whispered, "and when he gets ready to fly, I'll catch a ride on his back."

"That's ridiculous," hooted Blackie, rolling

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