"The world is a cruel, merciless place," Mrs. Margaret began telling the class of naive young rabbits. She was one of the Elder Rabbits in charge of instilling a necessary amount of fear into the youth. "We all remember the story of Bonnie's mother, Frances, don't we?"
Though Bonnie had never actually gotten the chance to know her mother herself, she'd been told the tragic tale so many times that it'd been engrained into her mind like a legitimate memory.
"Yes," Bonnie replied quietly, "You've told it plenty of times, we don't need to hear it again." The other rabbits snickered behind her.
"ACT-ual-ly, I can't seem to recall the story you speak of, Mrs. Margaret," one of the rabbits claimed mockingly, "could you tell us again, please?"
Bonnie winced silently and bowed her head as Mrs. Margaret began reciting the tale to the class.
"Well," she began, "Frances had always been an interesting character. She stumbled upon the Society of Rabbits when you were just a kit," she nodded at Bonnie. "You are the splitting image of her, Bonnie," she added with a wink.
"You mean Frances was a freak, too?" one of the classmates teased as the others giggled.
Bonnie had grown used to the constant teasing. She'd always been self-conscious. One day, when she had caught a glimpse of her reflection in a nearby brook, she took note of her appearance. The other rabbits were lean and nimble, allowing them to weave quickly through the forest during their daily grazings. Bonnie, on the other hand, was much larger and very clumsy. Her massive ears and feet made keeping up with the other rabbits quite difficult.
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"Now children, that's not very nice," Mrs. Margaret said, holding back a slight smirk. As the rabbits settled back down, she continued.
"She was a very mysterious individual. When she and little baby Bonnie arrived here they were freezing and soaking wet. I remember poor Frances being covered in scratches," Mrs. Margaret shook her head. "When we asked what had happened and which part of the woods she'd come from, she refused to tell us. The other Elder Rabbits and I figured it must have been too traumatizing to recall, so we tried not to pry."
Bonnie had been too young to remember any of this, but she shuddered at the thought of what her mother must have endured.
"Over time, Frances began to open up, but never about her past," Mrs. Margaret continued. "She was a free spirit, always opposing our values and our rules. Every day she would ramble on and on about 'seeing the world' and the importance of freedom," Mrs. Margaret chuckled, "We started to realize that maybe Frances hadn't been traumatized by her last Rabbit Society at all--perhaps she'd been banished for disobeying the rules!"
The class burst out in laughter chanting, "Criminal! Criminal! Bonnie's mom's a cri-mi-nal!"
Bonnie closed her eyes to hold back tears. Mother was not a criminal, she repeated to herself. She may not have known her well, but Bonnie refused to believe that what Mrs. Margaret was was saying about her mother was true. "My mother was not a criminal!" she exclaimed.
"How would you know, orphan?" a classmate sneered, inspiring a new chant.
"Orphan! Orphan! Bonnie is an or-phan!" they sang.
Mrs. Margaret interjected just as Bonnie's big brown eyes began to well up. "Class! That is enough!" she demanded. The rabbits quickly quieted down and Mrs. Margaret began again.
"Frances was a brave woman, I'll give her that," she confirmed, "but it was that same bravery that cost her her life!" Mrs. Margaret paused for a moment to collect herself. "I remember that day so clearly. She and I had been teaching a class of young rabbits, just like I am doing today. I remember stressing the importance of being cautious and fearful, and explaining why we must only leave our burrows during dusk and dawn to avoid the Predators while we graze. Then, out of nowhere, she began speaking nonsense," Mrs. Margaret shook her head. "She began advocating for the 'freedom to graze without fear'. She believed it was unfair that the Society of Rabbits had to live the majority of their lives underground while all the other forest animals got to roam freely."
One of the rabbits spoke up, "I'm sorry Bonnie, we were wrong to call your mother a criminal," he began. "She's not a criminal--she's a hippie!" The class burst out in laughter once more as Bonnie covered her face with her large ears.
"Would you let me finish?!" Mrs. Margaret scolded. "I don't tell this story so you can tease Bonnie. I do it to teach you a lesson and to explain why we live the way we do. Now, let me finish."
"Frances eventually got fed up with living underground. She insisted that, rather than teaching our youth to live in fear, it was the Predators who needed to learn to respect us." The class suddenly grew very quiet, for they knew what happened next.
"So, one day, Frances disobeyed our Rules of Grazing and crept out of the burrow in broad daylight. She wanted to 'make a statement' and negotiate with the Predators. The Elder Rabbits and I watched cautiously from the entrance of the burrow, terrified of what would come next."
Mrs. Margaret leaned forward, "I remember watching her creep forward into the sunlit clearing. After several moments of nothing happening, I began to think perhaps she was right. But then, out of nowhere, a massive hawk appeared in the sky, circling hypnotically. We tried to call out, but she ignored us. She just sat there, waiting! The Elder Rabbits and I contemplated rushing out there to bring her back, but we couldn't risk leaving the burrow exposed."
Mrs. Margaret sighed. "As the hawk grew closer and closer, its claws poised and ready, the fear took over us. We could not stand to watch any longer, so we sunk back into the burrow out of view." Mrs. Margaret looked over at Bonnie who was now sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, Bonnie," she said softly. "This is why fear is so important," she explained, turning to the class. "This is why we, the Society of Rabbits, created the Pledge. Let us recite."
