One morning, Honey woke up very early, tipped-toed past her mother, father and three brothers, and out the front door into the clover patch, where she munched, munched, munched until she finally looked up and said: “I wonder what is going on in the forest; I think I’ll go find out.” So off she went.

Not far away, Owl woke up, stretched his wings, and said: “What a beautiful, beautiful day!” Diving from his perch high atop a Douglas fir, he launched into the blue space before him, feeling the gentle wind and warm sun slide over his brown speckled wings! Then he said: “I wonder where Honey is. I think I had better go find out. She might be in trouble.” So off he flew in search of her. 

Honey hopped beyond the deep green clover patch into the dense forest surrounding her warren. Suddenly the Maiden ferns, Lady ferns, and Christmas ferns toppled above, and the beyond sunlight dappled yellow and orange to the myrtle and cedar trees. She breathed in the musky air, the smell of lush life. She felt safe and at peace. Here, Honey could wander as she chose, guided only by smell, sight, and sound, the stellar jays squawk, the yellow jackets hmmmm…, the mourning doves coo. Soon she heard the trickling-ripping of water from a nearby creek, narrow enough to hop across but big enough from which to drink! There it was, just beyond that patch of salmonberries and moss!

OOPS! As she crept along, she nearly squashed a small black ant carrying a tiny seed on his back!

“Oh, I’m so sorry Mr. Ant,” she said. “I was in such a hurry to get to the cool water that I did not look where I was going!”

“Ah, no worries,” said the ant. Happens all the time. Ya gotta be agile if you’re an ant, believe you me. We wee fellows need to dodge and dart around all sorts of things: falling fir needles, rain drops, beetles. And pinecones! They’re the worst. They can smash you in a second, and if they don’t do that, you might get stuck on their sap. Terrible situation it is. Terrible. But hey, that’s life! “You get what you get and you don’t get upset,” I say! So, what’s your name, by the way

“Honey. What’s yours?”

“Andy they call me, Andy Ant. Glad to make your acquaintance, Honey. Now, I’ve gotta move along. This thistle seed is heavyyyyy, and I need to get back to my colony in time for breakfast. Lots of hungry workers! So long, Honey, and watch out where you step! HAHAHA!!!”

Off Andy went to feed his friends, and off Honey went to lap up water. After drinking, she paused to look at all the life around her, the growing green plants, the humming insects, the whispering breeze. And she marveled. “What a wonder,” Honey thought. “How very lucky I am to be here, now, in this special place, surrounded by so much life, and a new friend. How very lucky! This is what it must be to be happy!” She smiled a bit, then hopped over to the creek and into the dense forest beyond., wandered from the path and became lost. There were no familiar sounds or boundaries, no sunrays or clouds to guide her, no friends or family to protect her, and Honey began to worry.

Soon, the growth became so thick, the forest so dark, that Honey, unawares, wandered from the path and became lost. There were no familiar sounds or boundaries, no sun rays or clouds to guide her, no friends or family to protect her, and Honey began to worry.

Then, from somewhere, from nowhere, she felt a long, dark shadow, a sense that something or someone was nearby, watching, listening, and smelling. It was a feeling, more than anything else, primal, and instinctive, and so Honey began to run, slowly at first, but then faster and faster, skirting left and right, under logs and over branches. As her heart raced, so her feet raced, and soon she heard the loud thunder of other feet behind her, steady, and sure, and strong. Honey knew that without sure shelter, she was doomed!

And just at that moment, without knowing what happened, she ran helter-skelter head first into a hole at the end of a hollow log, going so fast that she became stuck! Safe, at least for the moment, but stuck!

Honey was not sure if she was more afraid of the darkness within or the shadows without, but when she saw the bright red fir and the black snout of Foxie poke his long nose into the hole at the end of the log, she knew where she would rather be!

Foxie snuffed and snorted and scratched at the dirt with his front paws. Puffs of cloudy mist sprang from his snout, white teeth chomping as drool dropped from his pink tongue. It was not a pleasant sight! Soon he got tired, though, and after stamping around the log for some time, he said: “Next time, my furry friend, you will not be so lucky! Watch where you go because you can be sure I do!” With that, off he pranced, confident that somewhere, somehow, he was going to find his breakfast!

All this left Honey shaking, really shaking. But worse than that was the realization that though safe though, she was also stuck, unable to move forward or backward, a very dangerous situation indeed! At that moment, however, though thankful for the log and its protection, Honey felt completely exhausted and soon fell asleep.

How much time had elapsed, Honey did not know. It could have been several hours. But when she awoke, sunlight peeped through the front hole. Honey took a deep breath and said: “Now, how do I get out of here!”

“What?” someone replied.

“Who’s that?” Honey thought.

“I said, what did you say?”

“Who’s there? Who is asking me?”

“Me, Andy Ant, that’s who’s here, babe. Who are you?”

“Andy,” Honey screamed, “is that you? It’s Honey, Honey Bunny and I am stuck! Foxie chased me into this log, and I can’t get out!”

“Whooaa! That must have scared the pumpkins out of you! Lucky for this hollow tree log. Hmmmm…how are we going to get you out, though?”

“That’s the problem! Any ideas?”

“Well,” said Andy, “Yea, think I got a plan. Hang on for a few; be back soon.” With that, he scampered into the woods.

Soon, Honey heard the thunder of little feet, thousands of little feet, actually. For right in front of Honey, through the hole at the far end, came Andy and all his relatives, of which there were many!

When he got close to Honey, he stopped, as did everyone else, and he said: “Got this problem licked, HB. No prob at all! See, me and my family, we love wood, and lots of it! It’s like clover to you, sweet and delicious. So if you don’t mind, me and my relatives are here to chow down, and, in the process, get you unstuck!”

“Hooray,” shouted Honey! And before long, Andy, his aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces, gnawed around the inside of the log enough to make wiggle room for Honey. Soon they took tiny hops backward, very slowly, step by step. At long last she wiggled first her cottontail, then her furry back and long pinkish ears, out the back of the hollow log and into freedom! It was a glorious moment, a moment when she breathed in fresh air, saw the bright sun, and gave thanks, especially to Andy and his relatives!

“Wow,” thought Honey. “Wow again! Now, if I can just find my way home.”

At that very moment, high above, Owl was circling and searching, looking for wherever Honey might be, until he spotted her directly below. Down he zoomed, fast as lightning, landing right in front of her nose so suddenly that Honey nearly screamed!

“There you are,” he said. “Where have you been, you silly rabbit! I have been searching for you high and low, worried that something bad had happened! I am glad to see you are safe and sound! You do look a bit weary, though. Would you like to hop onto my back so I might take you home?”

“Oh yes, dearest Owl! Oh yes, I would like that very much!” With that, Owl told Honey to climb onto his great back where surely and swiftly he soared high up into the sky, over the treetops, and home to the warren at Mussel creek. On the ride home, Honey recounted her morning adventures, her meeting with Andy Ant at the creek, her frightful flight from Foxie, her prison in the log, and her rescue by Andy’s family. To all this, Owl just listened.

Finally, they landed at the edge of the clover patch near Honey’s burrow, and here is what Owl said:

Owl’s Hollow

My dear Honey, today you have learned about the miracle of life and the reverence we must have for all life. In this very clover patch, and at the small creek, you learned about the food and drink that sustains us and makes life possible. There, too, you learned to respect the life of an ant, the smallest of the small. In turn, this tiny creature gave you life, and opened up again your life to the sun, to the beauty of the forest garden, to the treasure]re of your own family. Life, Honey, is a gift, to each and to all, a gift to be grasped firmly and protected fiercely. There are those who do not respect life, and you encountered them, today, too. Learn from them, Honey. Learn that there is beauty and value in each and every living thing, even in Foxie, if only he could see it. Your challenge is always to see the joy of creation, all creation, and not to lose the miracle of the moment.

Seeing that Honey was at last safe, Owl departed. And, though her mother and father were pleased to see her, they were not happy that she had left the clover patch to go into the woods, and told her to go straight to be, which she did! Of course, father rabbit brought her a small cherry soda as always. At last Honey fell sound asleep, dreaming about the new adventures she would have tomorrow with her friends in the forest!–