the days grew shorter, and the chill of winter settled over the primal forest. Somewhere in the outer forest lived a small rabbit family of four, a mother and her three kits. They nestled within their burrow that was tens of meters underground. All of them had brown fur except one; among them was a kit with fur black as midnight and a pair of jet-black eyes that shone with intelligence. He was a foot long, a noticeable size compared to his brother and sister, who were just 6 inches long. Currently, only he and his siblings were in the burrow as their mother went out for food. It had been four days since his birth, and he had pondered many things: why was he here? What was his purpose? And what was he? But no matter how hard he thought, he found no answers.
While observing his siblings over the past few days, he had noticed how different he was from them, not just in color, but also in growth rate and ability. While they were struggling to crawl, he could already walk; while they were struggling to open their eyes, he could already see clearly.
These differences puzzled him, and he often wondered why he was so different from them.
Suddenly, a familiar fragrance wafted through the entire burrow, awakening him from his thoughts. His little face lit up with joy; it was the scent of fresh grass, something he loved very much. His heart raced with excitement as he realized his mother had returned. Eagerly, he hopped to the entrance of the burrow to meet her. At the entrance stood Mother Rabbit with her mouth filled with long green grass. She was huge, standing six feet tall and three and a half feet wide, with beautiful brown fur that glistened in the dark. Seeing him running eagerly to her, her eyes shone with motherly love as she moved forward to meet him. Upon meeting, he affectionately rubbed his head on her leg.
Mother Rabbit, knowing that he loved grass, offered some to him, which he quickly took with his small paws and shoved into his mouth, eating it with delight. After placing the rest of the grass in a corner, Mother Rabbit turned her attention to his siblings who had just woken up. She gently inspected each one, checking if they were okay. Upon seeing that they were in good condition, Mother Rabbit turned and gazed at him; confusion flashed within the depths of her eyes. She was a little bewildered about his uniqueness, but then she thought of something, and her eyes flashed with clarity.
Laying down beside his siblings, Mother Rabbit started feeding them her milk. Witnessing this, the little black rabbit dropped the remaining grass from his mouth and rushed to them. Mother Rabbit welcomed him with warmth in her eyes. There was only one thing he liked to eat more than grass, and that was milk, even though those were the only two things he had ever eaten.
After drinking his fill, he snuggled and fell asleep in Mother Rabbit's comforting embrace.
Seven days later, a soft purring sound stirred him awake. Blinking his eyes open, in front of him stood one of his siblings, his sister to be precise. She was staring at him in surprise; she was born just right after him, and seeing the size difference between them, she was astonished. He was now two feet long while she was just one foot long.
He stood up and patted her little head with his right paw. He could tell what she was thinking based on the look on her face. He had long noticed his abnormal growth rate, but he couldn't figure out why. Of his two siblings, he was particularly fond of her, as she was the only one who had shown any sign of intelligence.
As for the other, he usually lay about, seemingly unaware of the world around him.
Feeling hungry, he glanced at the area where Mother Rabbit stored food, which was now filled to the brim, overflowing with fresh grass. He made his way over there, and his sister followed closely behind. After munching down some grass, he sat down, savoring the taste.
As he sat there, he couldn't help but notice that today his mother was taking longer to return than usual. A sense of unease began to settle in his heart. He glanced over at his sister, who had fallen asleep beside him, her small body rising and falling with each breath. he made his way to the entrance of the burrow. Gazing up, he squinted his eyes; he could see tree branches swaying and an extremely bright light shining down from above. He longed to explore the outside, but his mother had warned him and his siblings multiple times not to leave the burrow without her.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, finally he caught the scent of Mother Rabbit. A few seconds later, he saw Mother Rabbit entering the burrow. He was excited, but his excitement was quickly replaced by concern when he saw her limping, with a painful expression on her face. He rushed to her, upon reaching her, he noticed patches of fur missing from her right leg, and there was a claw mark with blood dripping from there.
He gently rubbed his little head against her side, expressing his concern. Feeling his touch, Mother Rabbit licked his head, comforting him. She then purred softly, expressing that she would be okay and that she only needed some rest.
Mother Rabbit weakly limped towards the back of the burrow, and he followed closely behind her, his heart heavy with worry. After reaching the back of the burrow, she laid down, then closed her eyes. He could see a painful expression on her face, and he sat beside her. He wished he could do something to help her, stop her pain, but unfortunately, he didn't know how to.
He gazed at the entrance of the burrow, his eyes filled with curiosity and cautiousness. His siblings, as if sensing Mother Rabbit's predicament, one by one moved to her. They nuzzled against her and licked her fur, after awhile they all fell a sleep..