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One morning Alice was feeling especially tired because she had eaten too many sweet peas the previous night and had stayed up late frolicking with the caterpillars who insisted on dancing "The Locomotion" in never ending circles around the garden. As she made her way through the village commons, she noticed several other rabbit hole creatures looking weary and out-of-sorts; some were even complaining crabbily about the butterflies winging good naturedly over their heads.
Oh, this is going to be a loooong and very tiresome day, Alice thought, feeling the vibes of disgruntlement all around her.
Soon after, Alice noticed that a new visitor to the rabbit hole had entered the square...a pretty brown mole wearing a blue and white checked apron with the name Betsy embroidered on it and a smile that could melt the coldest heart. Immediately, a low level buzzing could be heard as all the creatures wondered to each other who this surprising stranger could be.
Just then the rabbit hole's mayor, an officious looking, giant rooster, burst on the scene. His burly chest huffed and puffed with a feeling of FRENZY, so much so that the air around him began to turn cloudy and thick. It was clear that the mayor (who was often found to be greatly agitated) was in a dither of the highest intensity about some transaction that had just occurred and he sputtered and mumbled continually, barely pausing to take a breath.
All the creatures witnessing this scene began to back away from the rambling rooster, hoping to avoid being drawn into a conversation with him. When nearly everyone had backed away from the mayor, Alice suddenly noticed that Betsy, the new visitor, had stepped forward and was advancing toward the disconsolate figure. Alice took a deep breath and hoped that this would not cause even more drama in the moment.
From the vantage point where she stood, Alice could only see a partial view of what was happening. She could tell that the mayor was distraught from the way his shoulders shook but all she could see of Betsy was the calm silhouette of her back and her head which was nodding gently every so often.
Then, after a few moments, Alice suddenly saw a bustle of energy move in the air. She drew in closer to the scene to see what was happening and could not fathom what could have possessed Betsy to make such a dangerous move. Betsy was HUGGING the mayor!
And, after a few, very long seconds, HE WAS HUGGING HER BACK!
Alice was not the only person shocked at this turn of events. Everyone ALWAYS avoided getting too close to the mayor and had learned to step wayyyyyy back when he entered the scene. This default behavior of everyone had existed to protect them from the mayor's unpredictable and erratic blasts of emotion. Betsy was BREAKING the unspoken Rule! What was going to happen now, everyone wondered and hoped that Betsy would be OK.
Betsy and the Mayor stood hugging for a REALLY long time. Watching the scene, Alice felt that, as strange as it might sound, maybe the mayor had NEVER been hugged before...at least, not the way Betsy was hugging him as if the hug had welled up from deep within her very heart.
All of the creatures in the rabbit hole had obviously been mesmerized by Betsy's show of courage and began to murmur among themselves. Now the mayor and Betsy moved over to a nearby log and sat themselves down and everyone could see that his freshly starched shirt was wet with tears. From her vantage point Alice could see the mayor smiling at Betsy and wiping his flooding eyes with a handsome linen handkerchief.
Instead of the frenzied posture he always carried, the mayor now seemed calm and even approachable. Something about him seemed inviting, though no one could explain why that was so. Unable to help themselves, the creatures crept closer to the mayor and found themselves smiling at him. Soon, he noticed this and began smiling back at them. What had produced this transformation, everyone wondered. Why, it seemed a miracle had occurred!
Nearly all of the creatures were now circling the mayor, their hearts mysteriously opened at this unexpected show of vulnerability. Betsy moved slowly away from the mayor and found herself approached by a gentle, white dove who drew in close to where she stood. "It's always beautiful...every time," he whispered to her.
No one but Alice saw the two talking. Alice smiled to herself. Obviously,
a great secret had just been shared. Alice did not know what the secret was, but she could see the luminous results of what had just occurred.
That night Alice went to sleep with a special prayer of gratitude on her lips. Maybe the rabbit hole is where all of the wonderful things in life happen, she thought.
Marie Helena
mage from hellaheaven-ana.blogspot.com
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