CHAPTER 9 – SUMMER HEAT
Abigail flopped on her side and sprawled out on the carpet. It was no use. No matter what she did, she couldn’t cool off. In the blink of an eye, spring had turned to summer. In one day, the weather had gone from pleasant to sweltering.
“Hot today, isn’t it?” asked Dad, as he breezed through the room, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. “Are you OK?” he asked. Abigail looked up at him, forlornly, and with her sad eyes said, “If you think it’s hot, try wearing a fur coat! Can you do something about this?” It seemed to Abigail that Dad was the god of light because he could make the darkness disappear at night, so maybe he was the god of weather, too.
Dad knew rabbits didn’t handle heat well. But it was late in the day already, so he had to make do with what he had. Opening the doors and windows didn’t help. It was even hotter outside. He grabbed some ice packs from the freezer and wrapped them in a towel in front of a fan, and aimed it at Abigail – homemade air conditioning, so to speak. It might have helped. A little. But Abigail still looked miserable.
Fortunately, as the evening progressed, the outside air cooled down so Dad could open the windows. On TV, the weatherman announced, “Tomorrow’s forecast is more of the same." Dad looked at Abigail, still flopped on the floor, and vowed, “I’m so sorry, Abigail. I promise, I’ll do something tomorrow.”
Early the next morning, Dad left the house. A few hours later, Abigail heard his footsteps approaching. They were much heavier than usual, though. Dad came in and set a big box down on the living room floor. “I have your answer!” announced Dad. “It’s an electric cold air machine!” Abigail hopped over to investigate. For the next few hours, a curious Abigail watched as her Dad sawed, drilled, and painted. He cut a hole in the wall, built a frame, and placed the big white box in the hole. As he was doing this, the temperature began to climb again. Abigail dreaded another hot day.
Just as the heat was becoming unbearable, Dad announced, “OK, I’m done. Let’s try ‘er out.” He pushed a button and the big white box made a humming noise. Like magic, Abigail felt cool air blowing on her. “Ohhh, this is nice!” she thought, “I was right! Dad must be the god of weather!” She positioned herself on the floor right where the cool air was the strongest. She settled into her loaf position, ears back, and enjoyed the cool breeze. Dad laughed, “Nice, huh?” For the next couple of hours, Abigail parked herself there and didn’t move.
Later that night, when the evening air had cooled down, she ran through the living room, binkying. It was her way of saying “thank you” to Dad. She was a happy girl!
