Billy the Bunny was lost. He was lonely, cold and hungry; he was also inquisitive and foolhardy at times. He had been told not to wonder off or go out of the warren. He lived in the warren with his mother, father, lots of brothers and sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts and many other family members. He was a little brown, wild rabbit and he thought it would be fun to just pop outside the warren for a peek to see what was out there. So he put his head out but as he was very small he couldn’t really see anything. So he went out a bit further. He didn’t know all the dangers of being outside. He didn’t know about foxes, or traps, or farmers with guns, or other rabbits who would attack him. He was too young to have been told any of this yet. And because there were so many rabbits in the warren he wouldn’t be missed for quite some time, as all the little rabbits could run about all through the warren’s burrows, but always found their way back to their own burrow.

Billy thought if he just looked around for a while he could go back to the hole he had come out of and then return to his family. But Billy had wondered too far by now and he couldn’t find his way back. Everywhere looked the same to him, this made it difficult for him to remember which way he had come. As he crept through the undergrowth he saw something move. He thought it might just be one of his family come to look for him so he carefully edged forward to get a better look. It was a small baby fox cub who also didn’t know all the dangers that were out there, and he didn’t know he was supposed to kill and eat rabbits for food. Billy said: ‘Hello, who are you and what are you, because you don’t look like me?’ The fox cub said: ‘I am Buster and I am a fox cub, and you don’t look like me so who and what are you?’ Billy replied: ‘I am a Rabbit. My name is Billy.’ The fox cub said: ‘Well I live just over there but I have never seen one of you before where do you live?’ Billy admitted: ‘I don’t know, I am lost. I just came out of the warren to look around to see what it was like out here, but now I can’t find my way home.’ Then Billy jumped. He gasped: ‘What’s that noise?’ Buster said: ‘Oh that is my mum calling me in for dinner.’ ‘Oh, I’m starving,’ said Billy. ‘Well if you get into that hole I will go in for my dinner and bring you something to eat when the others have all gone to sleep,’ promised Buster.

Billy got into the hole and as it was the one that Buster sometimes used it was nice and comfortable, and it smelled of Buster as well. Billy snuggled up and went to sleep. He woke up with a start as Buster was nudging him. ‘Oh do wake up Billy,’ Buster said. ‘I have brought you something to eat.’ And he offered Billy some meat. ‘What’s that,’ asked Billy, ‘it looks a bit funny to me?’ ‘It’s what we had for dinner,’ claimed Buster. ‘Well we eat grass and leaves,’ said Billy. ‘If my mum can’t get this for dinner then we sometimes have to eat leaves and grass as well.’ So Billy tasted it as he was so hungry. It wasn’t what he was used to but it wasn’t too bad. Unknown to Billy as yet rabbits did kill and eat rival rabbits, that’s why the meat didn’t taste too bad.

After Billy had finished eating, the fox cub and the baby rabbit started to play. They were running in and out of the hedgerow and hiding in the long grass when Buster heard his mother calling him, so both Buster and Billy came out. Buster’s mum said: ‘Come on Buster, it is time for you to go to bed.’ Then she looked at Billy, went up to him and smelt him, saying: ‘Well I didn’t know there was two of you out here so you can both go to bed.’ It was lucky Billy had slept in the hole that Buster had slept in because he now smelt like a fox cub. Buster’s mother thought they were both fox cubs. So now Billy was a family member of the foxes and could play with Buster when they were both older. They were just messing around and playing when someone called ‘Hello Billy, where have you been?’ Buster said: ‘Who is that?’ Billy replied: ‘It’s one of my brothers come and meet him. I must be near my home now?’ So Billy and Buster walked over to the other rabbit. Billy said: ‘This is my friend Buster, but I don’t know what brother you are.’ The rabbit replied: ‘I’m Solo! Are you coming home now Billy?’ ‘Yes,’ said Billy. When they went down the warren Billy’s mum exclaimed: ‘Oh Billy, I thought I had lost you. I’m glad you’re back?’ Then she looked at Buster and said: ‘But who are you?’ Buster, being wise, replied: ‘Oh, I’m Billy’s other rabbit friend.’ As Buster smelt like a rabbit Billy’s mum didn’t question it and just said: ‘Hello Buster?’ So now Buster was a member of the rabbit family, which ment Billy and Buster had two families each. Billy was a family member of Buster’s and Buster was a member of Billy’s family. After a while Buster said to Billy: ‘I will have to go home.’ Billy agreed: ‘Yes, I know but we will meet up again sometime won’t we?’ ‘Yes, of course we will Billy!’ So off Buster went.

Billy hadn’t seen Buster for quite sometime and was wondering where he could be, then as he was sitting on the top of the hill he looked over the field and saw Buster. He went very fast calling: ‘Buster, Buster, hello!’ Buster looked round, saw his old friend and stopped walking. When Billy caught up he greeted him: ‘Hello Billy, how are you?’ Billy said: ‘I’m fine and I have a family now.’ Buster replied: ‘Yes so have I. Do you want to see my cubs?’ ‘Yes please,’ Billy said. So off they went to Buster’s hideout. After Billy had met Buster’s cubs he asked: ‘Would you like to come and see my babies?’ ‘Yes,’ said Buster, and off they set again. They went down Billy’s warren and Buster met all Billy’s babies. Buster said: ‘We’ll have to get our kids together so they can all be friends like we are.’ ‘Yes, that’s a good idea,’ agreed Billy. So both sets of kids met and they all got on very well.

When Buster and Billy had grown very old they were laying together under a hedgerow and Billy reminisced: ‘Can you remember how we met?’ Buster said: ‘Yes! We had to pretend you were a fox cub didn’t we.’ Then Billy replied: ‘Yes, and then we had to pretend you were a rabbit.’ ‘Yeah,’ said Buster, ‘but we knew who and what we were didn’t we?’ ‘Well of course we did,’ Billy agreed, ‘but we stayed friends and you got me out of a lot of scrapes, and I got you out of a lot of scrapes, but somehow we both survived.’ ‘Yes, we did,’ Buster agreed ‘and we have both had lots of kids and now they are all grown up, so once again it is just you and me.’ ‘Yes,’ replied Billy, ‘we have grown old together and now we will be together for the rest of our lives.’

And they were. They died together one very cold winter. They were lying under a hedgerow and both just slipped away in their sleep, peacefully.

By Rita Joel

     Billy the Bunny      click play button for streaming audio

Why not listen to our March 2007 Children's Podcast  Billy the Bunny read by Eric Sturmey    and Download it as well click here podcast