Hearing a noise at the window, I looked out and saw a large nervous rabbit, burdened with a basket of treats. Not wanting to startle him further, I carefully opened the front door and whispered, “Who the heck are you?”
Ears twitching, eyes rolling, he whispered back,
“I’m your assigned Easter Bunny.”
“What?” I asked. “How come you are tip-toeing tentatively instead of hip-hopping happily?”
Furtively, he looked left and right and then said, “Have you heard about the ginger cat?” “Oh, yes,”
I said. “His name is Marley. He lives here!”
“WHAT?!” He squeaked. “You live with a ginger cat? Don’t you know that cats have sharp edges? Easter Bunnies are not required to make stops where there are large ginger cats!”
“Oh, dear,” I said. I'm a grandmother and I have sweet commitments!”
“Fuss and bother and good grief,” said the Easter Bunny. “It’s very complicated having to apply for cat permissions. Every time you ask a cat
something they always say, ‘I’ll think about it.’
They are notoriously slow about signing their papers! I am really too busy to deal with this.
Take these treats and watch my back. I’m hurrying off. Right now!”
Looking down, I found a basket of goodies on the step. Marley said he didn’t care for candy and if he had his druthers, the Easter Bunny would leave bags of rabbit. “Send the sweets off to the kids,” said Marley. “And we aren’t sharing with Buddy. There is a limit to being a generous sweet–tempered ginger cat!”
Happy Easter!
Ann Melby Shenkle, April, 2019
