Once upon a time so very long ago, so long ago in fact that no one actually remembers that time though the tale was written down so that some have false memories of it occurring and such are the things about memories and the passing of great amounts of time, there was a world that had the deepest blue skies, the clearest blue waters, the richest blue bloods and the bluest bunny that had ever lived upon the face of this world...
Bun-bun - so named because his parents had run out of names for their children and chose the first name that they could agree upon - was a small rabbit who had everything that a member of his species could wish for, enough food that he never went hungry, a lack of predators that would enjoy greatly feasting upon his plump body, friends and family that numbered in the hundreds and by most accounts, Bun-bun was a bunny of privilege. And yet he was not a happy bunny for Bun-bun had wanderlust and he wished to see what was beyond the hills that surrounded the valley in which he lived, he wished to discover strange new lands where nobody knew who he was or from whence he came, he wished to find the truth of this life in all things great and small...
So one day when he just had to do something about his situation, he told his mother, "Mom, I'm going to see what there is in this world. I'm going to find myself a new life somewhere far from home. I need to see it all, live it all, be it all."
His mother looked him straight in the eye and said, "Don't be a silly rabbit, you have everything a rabbit could want and more. You should be grateful that you have been given the life you have. There are so many bunnies that would die just to live your life for one day."
"But moooommmmm..." was the only thing that Bun-bun could think of saying and it seemed appropriate though he was far passed the age when that may have swayed his mother in the least.
"The answer is no, and it will always be no. Now you march down to your room and don't come out until you learn to appreciate what your father and I have given you," his mother said in a stern I-really-mean-it sort of voice that Bun-bun knew so well...
So Bun-bun did as he was told and marched down into his room, and once he had arrived there he forgot everything his mother had said and he began to dream of far off places and all the mysteries contained therein. He dream of strange lands filled with strange rabbits that he did not know or knew him for that matter. He dreamed of fields full of clover in full bloom that he could run through, roll around in, and eat when he wanted to. He dreamed of a home of his own in the cool breeze under the tallest tree of the countryside. He dreamed of finding his true love and settling down and raising a huge family. He dreamed and dreamed until he finally fell fast asleep where he continued his dreams of an Eden so far way from all that he knew...
"Breakfast!" was the thing that woke Bun-bun from his dreams of the wonders of the world outside the valley. He pulled himself up and made his way up to the dining room where his mother, father, and all his brothers and sisters that still lived at home where all getting ready to eat - he being the last to arrive. He found a spot and began to eat as fast as his little mouth could chew. When finished, he left the dining room and went outside to play with his brothers and sisters who were doing likewise...
"Let's play explorers," he said as he always did, and though a couple were in agreement with Bun-bun for the most part a large percentage of those gathered declined the request. There were a number of other suggestions like hide-and-go-seek and tag and there were even a couple who suggested predatory and prey, but those who had suggested tag eventually won this battle though Bun-bun declined and went off to lay under a nearby bush and dream of the adventures he would have if he grew-up to be an explorer...
While he was daydreaming under the bush in the cool of its shade, he decided that he would do it, no matter what his mother said, no matter what anyone said. He would go off and see all the places that he had dreamed about for so long. He would do all the things that he wished to do. He would meet the rabbit of his dreams and he would raise his family the way that he wanted to. His mind was made up He would do it and there was nobody on the earth or in Heaven or Hell for that matter who could stop him. He just had to formulate a plan and execute it...
So beneath the bush Bun-bun planned and planned, everything he needed, all the words he would leave for his family explaining what he was doing, what direction he would head. The only thing that stopped his planning was the cry of, "Dinner!"
He crawled out beneath the bush and made a sprint to his house, through the opening and straight to dining room where to his amazement his was again the last to arrive and the last to start eating. The fact that he was last didn't stop him from eating more than most of his brothers and sisters though not even close to all that his father ate. When they were all finished eating everything that mother had prepared, they all went their separate ways though some of these separate ways were very similar to others' separate ways. Bun-bun went to his room, which was not similar to anyone else's way...
Back in his room, he began to implement all the things that he had planned - he wrote the note and hid it until the time was right to reveal it, he gathered all the things that he thought he would need for the journey, everything except for food and that was rectified with a call to is mother and a request for some desert that was met with some resistance initially, but it happened nevertheless. And with everything ready for the journey, Bun-bun just had for the right moment to strike out on his own to find all that he wished to find...
And the time arrived late into the night when everyone was asleep. He pulled the note out of its hiding place and placed it of the spot where he slept. He grabbed all his provisions for he wasn't sure how long it would take for him to reach his dreamland - it could be hours or it could be days. He mentally said his goodbyes to his family and then he crept out of his home and into the great beyond. He was free and now he could live the life that he knew he had to live...
Bun-bun walked and walked up the hill and the hours passed by until dawn touched the land just as he reached the crest of the hill. Just ten feet below him there was a flat expanse of rock that he figured would speed up his travels to the land of milk and honey. There was a bounce in his step that was far superior to the normal bounce he possessed. He felt good about the way things were progressing in his life and he thought that once he rounded the corner ahead his Eden would appear...
As Bun-bun neared the bit of hillside that this rock path went around, two glowing eyes came out from behind the hill and were charging at him. He never had to worry about predators down in the valley and he froze in his tracks. The last thing Bun-bun heard was the screech of the hunter as it struck...
All Bun-bun's family knew was that he went out to find his perfect world, and he was never heard from again though his family lived happily ever after in their quite little valley...
