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| From the works of Beatrix Potter |
Sarah Sevelia's
Best-Ever Rabbit Thanksgiving Day
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| From the works of Beatrix Potter |
Sarah Sevelia slowly opened her eyes and saw her sister Rebekah Ann jumping up and down on the bed.
"Sarah Sevelia, how you can sleep on a day like this, is what I want to know" cried Rebekah Ann. "Please hurry up. Grandma already has three pies baked and sitting on the window sill and here you are still in the bed!"
Oh, how could I forget?, wondered Sarah Sevelia as she hopped out of the bed. This was the most special day of the year. And she had wasted too much of it already. She loved being at Grandma and Grandpa's house, sleeping in the little room with the slanted roof and the window seat. And she loved being there on this day better than any day in the year.
"Oh, Sarah Sevelia, come quick," said Rebekah Ann. She was kneeling at the window. "It's snowing." This was the first snowfall of the year and made Rabbit Thanksgiving Day even more special. It was Sarah Sevelia's very favorite holiday. This was an even more special Thanksgiving than usual, because she was ten years old and it was her turn to help Grandma bake the carrotberry bread for dinner. She had to hurry, for Grandma might start without her.
She rushed into the kitchen and stood for a moment just looking. She loved Grandma's kitchen. Her Grandpa, Revelation T. Rabbit (everybody just called him Rev.) was sitting by the fire sipping a steaming cup of hot carrot juice, reading the Carrot County News. Grandma was bending over the stove, stirring the carrot stew. (They always had carrot stew for Rabbit Thanksgiving Dinner.) Sure enough, there were three hickory nut pies on the windowsill, cooling. She could almost taste them now.
Grandma had all the ingredients for the carrotberry bread on the table, and the fire was just right in the oven. Sarah Sevelia very carefully measured everything, mixed it together in the big blue bowl, and poured it into the pan Grandma had waiting on the table. When Grandma opened the oven door, Sarah Sevelia popped the pan into the oven. All they had to do now was wait. Which was very hard for Sarah Sevelia to do, by the way.
Sarah Sevelia sat down by Rev. and thought about all the cousins, aunts and uncles that would be hopping across the field any minute now. This was going to be such an exciting, happy day.
Suddenly, the most awful racket she had ever heard interrupted the quiet, peaceful morning. She didn't know who was the loudest, Grandma or the bluejay on the limb outside the kitchen window. Whatever could have happened to upset her Grandma so much?, Sarah Sevelia wondered. Grandma went running out the door, with her rolling pin in her hand.
"Oh, no," cried Rebekah Ann, "look, Sarah Sevelia, that bad rabbit stole one of Grandma's hickory nut pies from the window sill."
Sarah Sevelia went running out the door after Grandma. "Grandma, please wait," she cried, "I know that rabbit."
Grandma stopped running and waited for Sarah Sevelia to catch up. "Do you know that pie thief, Sarah Sevelia?" Grandma asked.
"Yes, Grandma. His name is B.J. and he lives over on the other side of the garden. He was in my class at school, but he doesn't get to come any more because his daddy is sick and he has to help in the carrot field. I don't think they'll have a very happy Rabbit Thanksgiving Day this year," replied Sarah Seveliah sadly.
"Oh, my," said Grandma, shaking her ears.
Sarah Sevelia looked at Grandma with tears in her eyes. "Grandma," she said, "I'm sure he only stole the pie because they were hungry. Would you mind very much if I gave B.J. our carrotberry bread?"
"We'll do better than that, Sarah Sevelia," said Grandma. "We'll just hop over to B.J.'s house and invite his entire family over to our house to share our Thanksgiving dinner. Would you like that?"
"Oh, yes," cried Sarah Sevelia, "I'd like that very much. Grandma, you are the best grandma in the whole wide rabbit world, and I love you very much."
So, they put on their coats, their hats and their mittens and hopped on over to invite B.J.'s entire family over to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving in Rabbitsville!
As far as they were concerned, it was the best Rabbit Thanksgiving Day that had ever been in Rabbitsville.
