Gentle

• Makayla Mizzi, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2020

She scanned the area, nose twitching and eyes popping, her usually gleaming white coat was tinged a dusty brown from her burnt surroundings and her long black ears drooped, falling on the sides of her small, round and gentle face. The young bunny had warm golden eyes but they were tinged with sadness today. She had many laugh lines but she was not smiling today. She had a strong posture but today it was weak for the land she had come to was scorched and dry, the only water was her bitter tears that hit the ground with a lonely sizzle. Her giant heart full of love was bursting at the seams with the urge to do something to help.

Her paws with a mind of their own tapped impatiently, so she began to tread lightly across the dry and barren earth which crumbled under her paws. She heard a sudden high-pitched chirrup coming from a distance and she instantly began to hop towards the source of the noise. There was a young bluebird laying weak on the hard ground, her wing was bended in an unnatural position and it was streaked with black. The smart bunny ignored the dirt and horrid smells and began to bustle about, collecting the twigs that had not been destroyed and using the cloth from her light blue dress, she fixed the weak wing. It should heal nicely little bird, she thought without speaking a word, knowing that the message would get across and so she began her excruciating job, helping this now barren place.

She scampered around attending to injured animals and watering the land with her love and tears. Slowly but surely the land began to transform, beautiful bright flowers bloomed, animals tumbled about playing with each other, pups yapped and raced around in circles, birds sang a beautiful melody which suited the haven that was created, overflowing with love, gentleness and compassion. All because one little bunny believed. She stood and watched with an immense smile that lit up the world and was the sun itself - her name was Gentle.

Gentle knew that one day when the world came into peril again her sons and daughters would band together to save it once more and we have already started to work together, governments, firefighters, teenagers, children and adults have already begun helping to stop Bushfires, Climate Change and other pressing matters in our world today.

Thank you especially to our firefighters you are the bunny who saved our land!