The Absentee

Noisily, aggressively, the dark, swollen river pushed relentlessly towards the distant sea, carrying trees and foliage in its ceaseless purge. The forest lined banks stood resolute, though they had lost much ground.

Brown bears played with their young in the woods. Above them, in the canopy, jays and squirrels competed, in fair sport, for nuts – of which there was an ample supply. Nightingales chorused in the fringes, owls silently flexed their wings in preparation for dusk.

From the hill the view of the sumptuous, green Thames valley stretched far, and flat, to the east. Orchids bloomed in modest numbers. Butterflies, some the size of a bears paw, others amoebic, wafted over the trees in a kaleidoscope of colour. This had been the second of two consecutive days of sunshine after six weeks of continuous torrential rain. The orange, westering sun continued to draw mist from the trees and the fragrance of rain on leaf was, as ever, still apparent.

“Heaven on earth was realised.”

That was the thought of a lone rabbit who stood on the hill at that time: Highgate Hill. He limbered his chewing muscles, that made him happy. Dawn, day, dusk or dark night was all the same to him. He was no special rabbit but was able to enjoy every moment of his life and, whilst doing so, had neither the need nor desire to dwell on the past, nor think of the future.

The grassy slopes of Overwood Hill, as it was then known, were his home. Sauntering in the grass, thinking beautiful thoughts, he decided that with summer on the way he should do some work on the burrow. Perhaps excavate a new corridor, and a couple of new chambers.

With his decision made he continued to fodder, and to play, and to sleep, until he felt that it was exactly the right time to begin such a task. He had no formula for finding that right moment. He had no clock, except his heart. He would just know when the right moment arrived. After all, did the sky have a formula for knowing when to rain?

He never worried about life, had neither problems nor anxieties, and had no fear of death. As a young rabbit he often tried to escape from his own shadow but now, having progressed with his learning, he saw death in the same way – unavoidable and never far away.

Excavating was viewed by many a rabbit as a chore, a duty, but to some it was an art that demanded skill and patience. The resulting warrens were, therefore, either rough and ready or perfect and symmetrical. This rabbit could match any of the masters, though his work was never symmetrical it showed both thought and character.

This humble rabbit began extending the warren with his usual dedication and care.

As he scratched his way towards the centre of the final chamber he felt an unusual resistance to his effort, the sandy earth suddenly felt as hard as a rock. He scratched and scratched in the darkness until a flat, black wall was apparent – he knew he could go no further. However, the full extent of the wall he had not yet discovered so he continued to scratch all along to find its extremities.

After an eternity of digging he finally unearthed what he thought to be a black, square column and, in the dark dusty atmosphere, he circled it in great curiosity. Once, twice, three times he circled it. Each time refusing to believe, in fright more than anything, what was happening.

Now rabbits cannot read, you see, but as he encompassed the column – for the fourth time – he was aware of some writing and could, somehow, comprehend their meaning.

The words were “Box” and “Dangerous”, and that scared him as much as his new found powers of reading. Instinctively, he reacted in the same way as he did as a youngster as he tried to discover and understand life, he ran straight to the wise, old warren leader.

The warren leader was only wise in the ways of rabbits. Of boxes he knew nothing. But he did know that rabbits never lie and that making up stories was above their mentality. “What shall we do? What shall we do?” He thought.

After several minutes and a serious discussion with the senior rabbits, including the rabbit on the hill, he decided that this was a matter for the entire animal kingdom. No rabbit could solve this one.

With strict instructions from the seniors young rabbits were sent abroad as envoys to relate the problem, under a banner of peace, to all living animals and to invite representatives of each to a meeting on the hill. It was to be the worlds first summit meeting.

The envoys left, without fear, to venture into the woods, the plains and to cross the river. The animal code was always respected. In this case, if a rabbit approached and then turned to wave his fluffy white tail, it was a gesture of peace and a call for earnest communication. In this way the fox was contacted, the red kite, the stoat, and many other, otherwise, dangerous creatures.

All but one rabbit returned. All but one animal accepted the invitation.

“Where’s the box then?” growled the brown bear who, despite his gruff voice, could be relied on to provide help. “About here”, said the rabbit from the hill, standing directly above the centre of his new chamber.

“We shall have to dig it up,” said the wolf. With the first sign of consent all kinds of animals commenced, frantically, to bore into the ground. Fear, curiosity and a warm communal spirit were the motivators. There was a badger, voles, hamster and a fox. A battalion of ants, who did more than their share of work and many other creatures, all burrowing like crazy. Some minutes later the top of the hill was shaped like a volcano. In the crater, on show, was the box.

Amazingly all those present were able to understand the writing:- “DANGEROUS – OPEN THIS BOX AT YOUR OWN RISK”. On another side it said, “CONTENTS: Formula for the development of an intelligent and reasoning mind.” Below this was written, “CAUTION – this magic box is the first one of two, and must NOT be opened until the second box is found. The second box is labelled: Key and Instructions for the intelligent and reasoning mind.”

On a third side of the box were the words, “WARNING! Failure to observe these conditions may cause destruction of the world, and will cause the extinction of the animal that takes its contents.”

As if the box could read the animals’ thoughts on its fourth side was written, “Well! Make up your minds!” The effect that this fourth side had on the animals! If you have ever heard an avalanche, a waterfall, the leaves of a forest in a storm, or the sea in a ten force gale, then you can imagine the cacaphony of astounded exclamations that suddenly emerged from the previously organised gathering…

“Too dangerous!”

“Bury it again.”

“Throw it away,” were just some of the desperate comments to be heard.

The sabre tooth tiger roared, “Get rid of it!”

The viper hissed, “Scares me stiff! And that’s no condition for a snake.”

The monkies screeched in panic at which time the hairy mammoth trumpeted as loud as he could. Order was restored.

The rabbit from the hill broke the silence. In his usual composed and optimistic way he said that the box should be dumped in the river that takes everything down to the sea. There it should lie in wait until the second box is found.

Once again the animals were in unanimous agreement. Two buzzards were appointed to fly it over the river and dump it. The assembly watched and waited as the buzzards carried out their important task.

Neither of the two birds, nor, of course, the animals on the hill saw the box hit the water. But it did, and as it did, so it opened, and there was nothing inside.

The meeting dispersed, all participants satisfied.

The one absentee, however, having forgotten all about the time his forefathers found, opened, and buried the box, without waiting for the second, sat in indifference to the meeting, eating roasted rabbit in his cave.

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