Now Playing: Give to have...
I was talking with Mr Mouse.
When Foxie was sick last week, Maman and Dadda fixed uppa BunPen Uppystairs in Dadda's Office so she could have Hextercise to help her get her pooties movin' through her system again. So now, of course, we all want a turn having our Playtime Uppystairs inna BunPen. But that means we have to have "Arrangemints" as Maman calls it and we have to "Take Turns" - sometimes sum of us being Downnastairs while sum of us are Uppystairs, having Playtime inna BunPen. Which is pretty much the same thing that goes on when the BunPen is put up out onna ScreenPorch inna Summertime.
Now, Missy and I have allus been 'lowed to have Playtime in Maman's Study, which is only Wun Door away frum Dadda's Office, but somehow, onna'count obba Fakt the BunPen is inna Noo Place, it just seems like a Whole Lot More Fun, even if it is smaller than a Whole Room, and doesn't have a Footon or ennyfing like that. Sumtimes a "Noo" location makes sumfing "Old" seem Betta onna'count obba Fakt it is inna "Noo" place - in udder werds, Dif'frunt can be As Good As Noo.
So, ennways, I was talking to Mr Mouse while we were in Our Habbytats inna BunRoom, waiting for Maman or Dadda to come get us to take us Uppystairs for Our Turn at Playtime.
And the Houz was Pretty Quiet.
Mr Mouse was just browsing, sort of going through his Morning Handful of hay one strand atta time, looking for the tasty bits and trying to find the bits that were best suited for building. He hadda whole Hay Wall going atta back of his Habbytat and was looking to add to it. Missy had settled down for her Morning Nap against the back of Our Habbytat, and I was over in my Finking Spot, which issa spot closest to Mr Mouse's habbytat.
And Mr Mouse called over to me and said, "Hey George. I gotta draft ober heer." and he started to pile up summa his hay towards the back of his habbytat.
And I said, "Yeah, tell me about it. We got wun ober heer, too - ev'ry time they open the Back Door to let the Stoopit Dawg in or out On Patrol, we gotta draft. Missy's been complaining about it since we mooved innu This Houz."
"No, rilly." Said Mouse. "This issa preddy Noo Draft. It's frumma ScreenPorch Door, and it's a deffynit draft. I can feel it on my butt when I lie down to sleep."
And I was like, "You know, This Houz has more leaks than the Old Houz ebber did, and the Old Houz hadda lot more windows and stuff."
And Mouse stopped shoving hay for a minit and swivelled his ears thoughtfully. "You know, you're right?" He said. "I bemember the Furst BunRoom, and there were three big windows in it besides the door that led to the Hallway. Anna windows looked out rilly, rilly high up, into the tree tops."
"Yeah." I said. "I bemember my very furst habbytat there wassa liddle cage - Maman called it a 'hospiddle cage' and it was set up onna shelf, and it looked out over wun of those windows. I bemember looking out and being on eyeball-level with sum sparrows. I was only a babby then."
"You were 'nnoying then." Piped up Missy, sleepily. "Going around axting ev'ry gurl-bunny, 'Are you my mawmie?' I thought Belinda was gonna bite your head off."
"Belinda was TopBunny then." I said. "And she slept nextest to the side of her habbytat so I could cuddle up to her because I'd been 'bandoned inna cardboard box atta vet's and felt all OnAlone.."
"Belinda was very sick when you met her." Missy said, pulling her back feets under her and nosing around inna fresh Morning Handful. "She had 'cancer' Maman called it and hadda travel inna car to go see Dokter Doolan far away and Dokter Sharin close by and they gave her lots ob meddysin and said she could have alla fresh salad she could eat. Maman said Belinda could have ennyfing she wanted because she was so sick that her tummy wouldn't hold on to ennyfing. But even though she was sick, and her tummy hurt her frumma 'cancer' stuff, Belinda still believed in 'NoBunny OnAlone'. And that's why she let you sleep cuddled uppa'gainst her, George."
"Well, when I came, I didn't unnerstand that whole 'NoBunny OnAlone' fing." Said Mr Mouse. "I came frum my own warren where I was TopBun."
"And you thought you should have been TopBun when you got to Our Warren." I said.
Mouse shrugged. "Yeah, well, I didn't know, did I? I mean, six years as TopBun and then suddenly, I'm not. So of course I started a Pee War with that big English Spot I'd just met. I thought I was born to be a TopBun, just your reg'lar Natchural Leader. And heer was this big, elderly English Spot bossing the whole place around, and she was sick and ebberyfing, so I figgered..."
"And ding-dong, you were wrong." Said Missy, sing-song sarcastic-like. And she shook her ears. "Ebben sick, Belinda could out-pootie most udder bunnies. When it came to Our Warren, it was HER Warren and that was preddy much, that. Belinda had Roolz. And once you stopped peein' ebberywheres and buildin' pootie-walls, you got the hang of it. And were glad you did."
"Yeah," Said Mouse slowly. "I was glad I did. But I hadda change my whole, entire finking. I mean, I hadda get ober the whole 'I'mma TopBun' attytood."
"Do you miss it?" I axted. "Do you miss that attytood?"
And Mr Mouse shook his head. "Nope." He said. And he flinged up sum strands of hay and watched them fall down onto the nest he was building atta back of his habbytat, nearest the ScreenPorch Door.
"To be perfektly honest with you, I don't fink I rilly 'gave up' ennyfing at all. I mean, I still get treated "'Peshul. Maman takes me innu the Sitting Room to sit onna sofa, eat Rice Chex and see my old friends frum 'Law & Order'. I ride around on Dadda's shoulder when Foxie isn't alreddy occupying it. I get to run around in Dadda's Office. Dadda brings my Salad atta same time Maman brings yours and Missy's. So afta I lost the 'attytood', whut hextactly did I 'give up'?"
"The attytood." Replied Missy, promptly.
"Yeah." Said Mouse. "It was like I only hadda change my finking, and then fings got bedda, not worse - which was whut I'd been afraid of, you know. I thought if I changed How I Was, I wouldn't be me ennymore, but I'm still me, and I get the same stuff, only ev'ryfing is bedda. I don't have to struggle to be TopBun and I still have alla TopBun stuff."
"To get a cuddle, all you have to do is give wun." I said, remembering snuggling up to Belinda. She was a Senior Bun when I met her, and no matter whut Maman did, and even though it was Summer, there were still sum little drafts inna BunRoom atta Old Houz. Belinda didn't sleep much and she was allus awake, poking her nose in and axting if I was comfortyable enuf to sleep. And she allus began by saying, "Lookit, I'm not your mawmie, but sumbunny hasta look out forda babby bunnies..."
So I would talk to her and tell her she made me feel like I hadda mawmie. And I was comfortyable. And then I would snuggle up to her and block enny liddle drafts. And she would sorta doze off, and then her English Spot energy would recharge and she'd be awake again, axting if I was all right. And that's how I learned that TopBuns stay awake all night to keep watch and sleep during the aftanoons, and how to share TopBunning Dooties so that sumbunny is allus awake and in-charge even if it is Not You Alla Time.
It doesn't have to be You Alla Time. You have to share. That's how to be TopBun, by sharing, giving away so you can have, too.
"Well, a cuddle isn't Whut I Need right atta momint." Said Mouse. "Whut I need is to get rid of this draft."
And he put both paws into his Morning Handfull and began pushing up hay like a small, brown bulldozer.
"You know," Offered Missy, raising her ears and her nose above the rampart of hay she'd built in our habbytat against the drafts whipped up by the Dawg's tail as he passed through the BunRoom. "You're trying to cover too big an area in there. Whut You Need is to make more obba shape to fit your butt. Try backing in and custom-making a Mouse-shaped hole-inna-hay."
"You think?" axted Mouse, looking over his shoulder at the Wall o' Hay.
"Eidder that or get bonded." Said Missy. And she swung her head around and using her nose, pushed herself between me anna Water-Crock until she'd wedged her Gen'rus Pro'porshuns nextest to me, so that my fur was squashed out the side of the habbytat.
"Hey George." She said, elegantly draping one long, loppy ear over my neck. "I fink there's sumfing stuck on my whisker, right heer. You wanna habba look at it for me?"
And you know? You gotta give kisses to get kisses...
---------------------------------------- By George
