CHAPTER 48 – SUPER BALL
For Christmas, Santa Bun had brought Abigail a Small Pet Select “confetti ball.” For weeks, Abigail entertained herself with the ball. Even though it was bigger than her head, she would pick it up with her teeth and toss it around. She loved all the smells in it. After chewing on it and tossing it around for awhile, the ball began to fall apart, and soon, she discovered another layer of tasty treats. As the weeks went by, she peeled away layer after layer of different grasses, hay, and other dried plants. It was like foraging through a field for food, except it was all rolled up into a ball. And it tasted yummy! Abigail loved that ball. But eventually, all that was left was a wad of grass.
“May I have another one?” asked Abigail, with her big brown eyes. Dad replied, “I’m sorry sweetheart. That was only available at Christmas, and they sold out very quickly. You’ll have to wait until next Christmas.” Abigail’s ear drooped in disappointment. That seemed like a long time to have to wait.
But Dad got an idea. He knew she liked willow leaves, oat hay, and pumpkin seeds. He took her willow ball and weaved some willow branches with leaves still attached through the holes in the willow ball. Then he inserted some fresh oat grass through the holes. And finally, he stuffed a few shelled pumpkin seeds into the middle of the ball. He was careful not to use too many, since they were fattening.
Dad set his masterpiece in front of Abigail. “Here you go. Try this! It’s a super ball!” Abigail stared at the twig ball, leaves and blades of oat grass jutting out every which way. She looked rather unimpressed. “It’s not the same as a confetti ball,” she thought.
But being a rabbit, after awhile, curiosity got the best of her, and she went over and sniffed it. There were some wonderful smells. Fresh willow leaves, the oat hay, and she could smell something even better inside—the pumpkin seeds.
Abigail nibbled on the delicious willow leaves and oat blades. Then she pawed at the ball with her front paws, rolling it around on the floor. Finally, she picked it up with her teeth and flung it around, trying to knock the seeds out. It worked! A few pieces of pumpkin seeds fell out of the holes. She gobbled them up. Then she went back to playing with the ball, rolling and tossing it around. “This is kinda fun!” she thought.
Dad smiled. Abigail could now play with the ball on her own, even when he wasn’t around to play toss with her! His super ball was a hit!
