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Sillywinter
“You would do well to help me!” shouted Fox, his dirtied paws doing little against the slimy stone. His belly was slick with water, and the texture paired with the stink was enough to make Fox wrinkle his nose in distaste.
“Help you?” replied Rabbit, the tips of his ears quivering with laughter from where he waited at the lip of the well. “You seem to be doing just fine on your own.” He peeked over the rocky ledge of the well, his furred nose twitching as he grinned down at Fox. “Look at you! Barely even wet.”
“Yes, but not for much longer.” Fox scraped at the wall, trying to hoist himself up, but whined when he made no progress. This was hopeless, he was certain. And Rabbit, with his short legs and laughter, would be no help. This was also certain.
Rabbit, having hopped off the ledge and back onto solid ground, stifled his laughter once more. He called over his shoulder, “I’ll find something to help you, Fox. Then you owe me.”
“Owe you!”
Snickering at Fox’s indignant tone, Rabbit hopped off into the tall grass to find something to hoist his friend up. There had been a rope—and, likely, a bucket—attached to that well, but the rope had been cut some time before. Perhaps it had been discarded somewhere nearby.
Rabbit had made it no farther than a few feet into the grass before he heard a hissing sound. A snake, brown as dust and with coal eyes, slithered out of the brush.
“Where are you going in ssssuch a hurry, Rabbit my friend?” Snake hissed, his tongue darting out of his mouth as he tasted the air.
Rabbit drew to a halt, studying Snake warily. “I’m looking for some rope, for the well.”
“Ssssomeone has fallen in?”
“Yes, and-”
“A brother, perhaps?” Snake rose up a bit, as if trying to see the well over Rabbit’s shoulder.
Suspicious now, Rabbit replied with doubt in his voice. “Not by
blood, no.” He almost left it at that, but something in Snake’s eyes made him add, “But we are quite similar!”
Snake’s head tilted slightly, pondering this. Then: “Looking for a rope, you say? Perhapsss I know where one is. Best to hurry before your friend
drownsss.” Snake had a sly look on his face, as if he was on the cusp of saying something clever.
“Will you show me the way?” Rabbit asked.
The snake looked delighted at this request, and he slithered into the brush quickly. With a twitch of his whiskers, Rabbit was quick to follow after Snake. They traveled in
silence, and more than once Rabbit almost lost Snake in the woods. They traveled quite far away, and Rabbit began to feel even more suspicious of Snake’s intentions.
“Say, is this rope anywhere nearby?” Rabbit asked at last, when the trees had begun to thin out. The bare-
bones field was too empty to hold anything of worth, much less a rope.
“Of courssse it is,” Snake replied back, not breaking his quick pace. “Here, in fact.” He slithered to a stop, and Rabbit drew up close behind him.
Before them both was the rope and, indeed, the bucket was tied to it. The bucket itself was rather
rusted, but it seemed the mouse who had taken it as a home did not mind. She
hiccuped in fear at Snake’s appearance, and her eyes darted to Rabbit.
“Snake!” she said, voice high. “What brings you to the fields?” Her paws were clasped together as she spoke, tiny fingers twitching.
“My friend here,” Snake replied back, curling his tail around himself, “isss looking for thisss rope. He needsss it.”
“The rope!” Mouse cried. “But what about the bucket? It’s my home!”
Snake grinned, the movement awkward on his face. “The bucket, too.” He slithered forward, and Mouse retreated back, shaking with either
fury or fear. “Thisss home is no good for a moussse like you anyhow—it’s too
brittle! The wind could carry it away.”
Mouse looked about ready to cry, but she didn’t seem keen on arguing with Snake. She cast one last look at Rabbit, who did his best to look apologetic, and darted away into the field.
“Ssssee?” Snake said, twining around the bucket. “I found it for you.” His eyes twinkled mischievously, before turning dark. “Now you owe me a…favor.”
Rabbit gulped. “I’m very grateful, Snake. We best make haste back to the well. I can repay the favor there! My, ah, brother will be quite pleased and will love to give you something.”
Snake considered this, then nodded. “Yesss, I think you and your brother would make for a lovely gift. Er, make a lovely gift.” He took the rope in his mouth and began to slither back the way they’d arrived, the bucket tugging out of the dirt neatly.
“Yes,” Rabbit agreed. “I think so, too.”
Fox was relieved to hear his friend return. It seemed he had been gone forever, and indeed the shadows cast on the well had shifted quite far. When the rope was lowered towards him, he bit into it eagerly. He was pleased to get out of the
soppy water, his fur already
matted beyond repair. Rabbit and Snake tugged at the rope, which was not an easy feat when Fox was so much bigger than them both.
“Your brother is much heavier than I expected,” Snake said, speaking around the rope in his mouth. “Do rabbitsss weigh thisss much?”
“Oh, uh. My brother eats quite a bit of food.” Rabbit avoided Snake’s gaze, tugging harder on the rope.
First, Fox’s nose poked out over the well. Then his red snout, along with his ivory white teeth as they bit into the rope. Snake’s eyes widened quite a bit, and nearly bulged out of his head when Fox crawled his way out of the well, chest heaving.
“Finally free from that well!” Fox cried, looking giddy. He turned to Snake and said, “Rabbit likely couldn’t have done it on his own, so thank you. Perhaps we can repay you!”
Snake coiled into himself, eyes darting between Rabbit and Fox. “Uh, no worries. Glad I could help you and your…brother.” He was quick to dart off after that, the grass quivering as they closed behind him.
Fox turned to Rabbit with a tilt of his head, curious. “Brother? What’s up with that?”
Rabbit grinned, as fox-like as his friend. “Oh, nothing.”
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