Jibs & the Farmer

The rabbit jiggled and wiggled its smallish-sized nose as it inched its way between the rows of cabbage. The little one was on his way to the other side of the patch to find the best cabbages. They were always on the other side. Jibs guessed that the farmer planted them like that to keep them away from hungry rabbits like him and his siblings.

Jibs was the smallest of all his brothers and sisters. He often wandered into the garden alone, even though his mother always told them not to.

“Hello, Jibs!” Said a small, happy voice. The little rabbit looked up, and saw a small pixie, sitting on a cabbage leaf above him. He smiled.

“Hello, Talli. How are you today?” Jibs asked politely.

“I’m just great, Jibs! It’s a wonderful day, isn’t it? The sun is shining! And the cabbages are nice and green!” She said as she patted the leaf she sat on. “Where are you off to, Jibs?”

“I’m going to the other side of the cabbage patch. The best ones to munch on are always on that side.” Jibs said with a smile.

This made Talli giggle cutely. “But that’s near the farmer’s house, silly! You could get caught,” Her little wings flexed slightly as she leaned forward to look down at him over the edge of the leaf.

“But those cabbages are really good! Besides, I’m too fast for that old farmer. He’ll never catch me! Want to come along?” Jibs asked sweetly.

Talli giggled again. She was always so giggly like that. “Sure! Let’s go!”

Then her wings started to flap quickly, lifting her up off the cabbage. She did a figure eight in the air above Jibs, and then headed towards the other side of the cabbage patch. Jibs followed happily.

When they finally arrived, Jibs took a bite of one of those large, good looking cabbages as Talli zipped and zoomed around in the air above.  She watched for the farmer as she played and sang softly.

Suddenly, a butterfly net went over Talli, capturing her.

“Run!” She cried out to Jibs as she struggled to get free. It was no use though. The net was twisted above her, and then sat on the ground. She wouldn’t be able to escape to help Jibs.

When Jibs heard her shout, he started to hop away as fast as he could. He looked behind him, thinking he had gotten away, but he ran into a large, brown boot with an oof.

The farmer reached down and scooped up the little rabbit.

“Well, well… Looks like I’m having rabbit for dinner tonight!” He said, and then carried him into the house, picking up the net that had Talli trapped as well. “And for a bonus, I caught a garden Pixie!”

The farmer laughed evilly, and then walked into the house and closed the door. The older man was still talking to himself as he put the rabbit in a cage, and Talli in a jar, with holes poked into the top so she could still breathe.

“I’ve never caught a pixie; I bet she’ll fetch a grand price at the market tomorrow. I wonder what I should do for this dinner tonight… barbecue? Fricassee? …” He rambled, leaving them to their cages.

Jibs curled up in fear in the corner of the cage. He didn’t want to be anyone’s dinner!

Talli on the other hand was knocking against the glass of the jar, trying to tip it over and get free. She wasn’t about to be sold on the market to anyone!

After a while, she got the jar to tip over and roll off the table. As it hit the floor, it shattered, and she was able to fly free. Then, she flew over to the cage where Jibs was trembling in fear. Talli tried and tried to lift the peg that kept the cage closed, but it was too heavy.

It was after several minutes that she found the second door, located on the top of the cage. Talli flew up to the top of the cage, and found this latch much easier to open. She threw the large door open at the top, and called down to Jibs.

“Jibs! You have to hop out! Hurry before the farmer comes back!”

The rabbit tried a couple of times before finally able to reach the edge of the door, able to finally climb out. It was then that the farmer came in, scooping the rabbit up into his arms again. Talli flew away before the farmer could catch her again.

“Hey! Don’t run away, little rabbit! I have dinner all prepared for you! I hope you like the salad I prepared.” The farmer said as he carried the bunny into the dining room.

The farmer sat Jibs on the table next to a large salad made of grilled corn, lettuce, cabbage, and carrots. Jibs looked up at the farmer. So… he wasn’t going to cook him? Jibs was very happy about this, and inched over to the salad. He began to nibble on one of the cabbage leaves and found that it tasted great! The little rabbit continued to eat until he was completely full. The farmer smiled, eating beside him as well.

Once dinner was done, the farmer took the rabbit back to the cabbage patch.

“Please come back and have dinner with me again, little rabbit!” The farmer said, petting Jibs.

The rabbit hopped away happily. Jibs was definitely going to have to come back to eat with the old farmer again sometime!