CHAPTER 17 – The Great Divide
Abigail hopped down the hallway and peered into the guest room. “I wonder what’s in there?” she thought. It looked interesting, but there was a one foot section of hardwood floor separating the carpeted hallway from the carpeted guest room. She was afraid to cross it. To a bunny her size, it seemed like “the great divide.”
Abigail disliked hardwood floors. Carpet was OK. Even the tile entryway was OK. But there was just something about walking on hardwood that she didn’t like. It made her uncomfortable. “No traction,” she thought, “It’s like trying to walk on ice!”
Her territory was surrounded by hardwood floors. On one side was the kitchen. It was completely hardwood floors. She never stepped foot in there. On the other side was the guest room – with the hardwood border. Even though the doors to these rooms were always open, she limited her territory to the carpeted living room and dining room. “This is enough space for me to have to defend,” she thought to herself.
Many months passed by. One day, Abigail was on her morning patrol and came to the edge of her territory. Like many times before, she stared into the guest room, wondering what lay beyond “the great divide.” This morning, curiosity finally got the best of her. She decided to face her fears. She took a running start and hopped right over the hardwood floor onto the carpet in the guest room. “That wasn’t so bad,” she thought. With so many new smells and new sights to explore, she soon forgot all about her fears. She slinked under the bed and began snooping around.
“Abigail, breakfast is ready!” announced Dad as he set down her orange tray of fresh greens. But Abigail was nowhere to be seen. “Oh Abigail,” he called out, “Where are you?” He searched all her usual hiding spots; behind the couch, under the dining table, behind the bar – even her bolt-to tunnel. No Abigail.
“Where could she be?” he wondered. The only space he hadn’t checked was the guest room. Could she be in there? He scanned the guest room but didn’t see her. Then, he knelt down on his hands and knees and peered under the bed. Sure enough, he spotted the familiar silhouette of Abigail’s tiny round body. Abigail paused her investigation and looked up at him nonchalantly and thought, “What?” Dad said, “Why Abigail, aren’t you the brave explorer today?”
Having conquered her fear of crossing “the great divide,” Abigail decided to claim this space as her territory. She left a few little “poop signs” to let everyone know that this was now HER territory. From then on, her morning patrol included the guest room, too.
For some bunnies, it just takes time to work up the courage to explore something new.
