Chapter 78 – The Big Party

Chapter 78 - The Big Party

The big day finally arrived. It was time for the big bunny party! Enzo was so excited. As soon as Dad set down the carrier on the floor, he ran right in. “Come on, Merlot, let’s go!” Normally, Merlot was his little shadow and would follow him everywhere. But she was hesitant and stood back. “I’m nervous,” she said to Enzo. Enzo said, “Don’t worry. I protect you!” Dad scooped her up and placed her in the carrier. She snuggled up against Enzo for comfort.

Since they were the hosts of the party, they arrived early. Dad had set up the play area the night before, so everything was ready to go. He opened the carrier. Enzo stepped out. Merlot followed. They looked around at the large area. It was very colorful. There were castles, tunnels, litter boxes, and water bowls scattered around. Enzo spotted Café Bunz right away and made a bee line over to it to sample all the treats. There were platters of fresh greens and willow, bits of apples and bananas at “Salad Central”, and Small Pet Select hay at the “Gourm-hay Buffet”.  “Come on, Merlot!” Merlot wasn’t hungry. She just looked around to find a bolt-to spot. She found a large castle that would serve nicely.

After that, she explored the area. Once the guest buns were given a health check, they entered the play area. More and more buns came over to say hi. Being a Dwarf rabbit, most were bigger than she was. That made her nervous. “I think I’ll just hide in the castle,” she thought.

Enzo was out running around greeting the other buns when he noticed Merlot was missing. He searched around and found her cowering inside a castle. “What da matter?” he asked. “I’m scared,” she replied, “I think I’ll just stay here. You can go explore if you want.”

Enzo, being the big-hearted rabbit that he was, was true to his word. “No,” he said, “I stay here and protect you.” Enzo sat next to her in the castle. Whenever another rabbit would come investigate, he would chase them out. One big black rabbit peeked inside and asked, “I’m scared, too. May I hide in here, too?” Enzo let him in.

Meanwhile, the rest of the rabbits were out having a good old time frolicking around. There were buns of all different breeds, sizes, and ages. It was cuteness overload as they ran around meeting each other. Some had not even seen another rabbit since they were babies! With such a large group of rabbits, they all got along. Occasionally, there was a bit of chasing and the Bunny Wranglers would separate them. Many visited Café Bunz. The special of the day, fresh willow, was very popular. Of course, so were the bananas.

Dad noticed Enzo pushing the other bunnies away. He came over and asked, “Enzo! What are you doing? You’re the host. You’re supposed to be nice to the guests!” Enzo looked up at Dad and thought, “I protect Merlot!”

Dad couldn’t fault him for that. But he didn’t think they should hog the castle to themselves. Dad suggested, “OK, how about if I move you guys over to the ‘time-out’ pen. You guys can be by yourselves and still watch what’s going on.” Merlot was game for that.

Dad set them up in the corner of the play area in their own private pen, with some fresh willow and a litter box. The two of them relaxed. Every so often, a rabbit would come by and visit them. They would ask, “Why are you in jail? Did you do something bad?” Enzo would explain, “Merlot shy. I protect her.” The other rabbits seemed to understand and left them alone.

As the guests were leaving, they said, “This was fun! We hope you do it again!” Enzo wondered, “Did we make money to help dat bun?” Dad said, “Yes! You did good! We made enough to pay for his vet bills.” Enzo was happy. So was Merlot. That made it all worthwhile!

To see more photos from Bunny Play Date, visit: https://therabbithaven.smugmug.com/Rabbit-Haven-Events/Bunny-Hops/Bunny-Play-Date-Aug-2025

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