Once upon a time there was a little white rabbit with two small grey ears that hung down either side of its face. It was very early in the morning in the middle of Autumn when the Little Rabbit was hopping its way through an empty field. The nights had already cooled down a lot and mist clung to the ground in the orange sunrise. The Little Rabbit wore a small black top hat and a woolly red scarf was wrapped around its neck. The scarf was so big and long that, although it had wrapped it around twice, the scarf still dragged behind the Little Rabbit along the floor.

At the end of the field was a forest. A little in front of the rest of the trees stood a big, round old plane tree as if it was their leader. An owl sat on one of its branch. The owl had a beautiful brass monocle in his left eye that enlarged it quite significantly compared to his right eye. It also had a shiny, tall top hat on its head. Together with his impressive ear tufts it all served to make him look suitably strict and impressively wise.

It had been a busy night and Owl’s big eyes blinked heavily and unevenly, as he slowly surrendered to his own sleepiness. That is, until he noticed something white and red and black approaching him. He lifted his heavy head to have a better look. Once he could make out the form of the Little Rabbit, Owl sat up straight and ruffled himself awake.

‘Hellooo,’ he said to Little Rabbit in a screechy voice. The great feathered creature tipped his hat. ‘HOOhoo!’

‘Gooday, sir! Gooday,’ Little Rabbit answered a little startled. It hadn’t noticed Owl sleepily sitting up in the tree. It quickly took off its own hat and held it between its two front paws, as was considered good manners.

‘Wheeere are we goooing? HOOhoo!’ Owl asked. He drew out many of his words in a manner of Great Importance. Except for the quick and involuntary ‘HOOhoo’ at the end of his sentences.

‘Quite undetermined, sir! Quite undetermined,’ Little Rabbit said truthfully playing with the rim of its hat. Owl’s natural frown grew even deeper with confusion, intimidating Little Rabbit quite some more.

‘Yooouuu do not knooow? HOOhoo! But yooouuu seeem hasty,’ Owl said confused. ‘HOOhoo!’

‘Oh yes, sir! Quite sir,’ admitted Little Rabbit. ‘Quite the haste we have.’

This did not help Owl very much.

‘Weeeeee? HOOhoo!’ Owl asked. ‘I dooo say, yooouuu seem confuuused. HOOhoo!’

‘Not at all, sir! Not at all,’ Little Rabbit replied confidently.

‘Yooouuu mean tooo say I am confuuused? HOOhoo!’ Owl said, disgruntled at being thought of as misunderstanding a simple creature like a small white rabbit. ‘I dooo not confuuuse. HOOhoo!’

‘Oh no sir! No sir!’ Little Rabbit quickly agreed. ‘Indeed, we weren’t meaning to imply you was, sir. Not that you was, sir.’

Owl grumbled irritated: ‘Then whooo is this weee yooouuu speak of? HOOhoo!’

‘That is us, sir-… I mean me, sir! Me, sir,’ Little Rabbit corrected itself quickly. ‘Excuse us our grammar, sir. Excuse our grammar.’

Owl was not much impressed with this answer. His eyes slowly began blinking heavily again and there was a moment where Little Rabbit thought perhaps he’d fallen asleep. It continued to finger his hat nervously, wondering if the great feathered creature had done talking. Suddenly Owl shook himself awake once more and resumed his questioning.

‘Hooow will yooouuu know yooouuu have arriiived? HOOhoo!’

‘We’ll know sir! We’ll know,’ Little Rabbit said confidently. ‘Once we get there. Once we get There.’

‘Hmpf,’ Owl huffed. None of this seemed very sciencetific. He had begun think this little rabbit a very disagreeable fellow. Having had quite enough of all of his undetermines, his loose grammarness, and his vagueishness, Owl tipped his hat once more to dismiss Little Rabbit with a disapproving frown. Little Rabbit nervously nodded its head in polite greeting, placed the top hat back on its head, and quickly hopped on its way. It nearly tumbled over his long red scarf that seemed to trail longer than it had at the beginning of the field.

The sun slowly rose to light the way through the trees of the forest and the beautifully coloured leaves. Making its way quickly through the forest, the conversation with Owl had taken away some of the determined spring in the Little Rabbit’s hops. The forest itself was bustling with life, however. Industrious spiders were mending their dew-filled, intricate spider-webs. Birds were singing brightly as they flew to and fro, gathering everyone and preparing for the Long Journey. Many other forest animals were also busy preparing for winter; filling up their pantries and checking their stores. In the distance Little Rabbit could see a very round hedgehog busily clearing out his home. He had a lavender bowtie around his neck and was wearing a pink apron around his waist.

By the time Little Rabbit came up level to his little hole, the round creature was catching his breath on a small wooden crate, wiping his forehead with a big blue handkerchief. He noticed Little Rabbit passing.

‘My dear fellow,’ he said with a deep breath. ‘Could I entice you with a cup of hot chocolate? I dislike drinking on my own.’

Little Rabbit stopped and removed its hat once more. Hedgehog’s black button nose and small onyx eyes looked extremely friendly as his blue handkerchief dabbed across his forehead once again. Little Rabbit felt quite at ease around him.

‘We’d love to, sir! We’d love to,’ Little Rabbit said politely with a smile. ‘But we’re in quite a haste. Quite a haste, you see.’

‘Indeed, I do,’ Hedgehog answered agreeably. ‘And where are we off to?’

‘That is still much undetermined, sir. Much undetermined, sir,’ Little Rabbit answered bashfully. ‘But we’ll know once we get there. Once we get There, you see.’

‘Well, if it’s still much undetermined, I am sure it can wait for a cup of coffee,’ Hedgehog reasoned pleasantly. ‘After all, a fellow must keep his spirits up in order to get Anywhere. What better way to do so than with a nice sweet brew, and perhaps a small bite to eat? There, you see, it has been much determined you shall join me for a spot of brunch.’

Hedgehog rose, took the apron from his round belly, placed it on top of the wooden crate and led the way inside his small home. Little Rabbit, feeling Hedgehog’s reasoning were hard to argue with, followed him in.

Inside Hedgehog’s house, Little Rabbit set its top-hat on a side table and looked around in wonder. It was a small but cosy sun-filled home at the bottom of a tall beech. Although many of Hedgehog’s things lay spread outside, the rooms still contained enough beautiful curiosities for the Little Rabbit to look its eyes out. Bustling around his little kitchen boiling the water and arranging cups, the table was soon set with a delicious looking ginger-honey cake, carrot cookies and some fresh fruit. In front of them also stood a big pot of dark coffee and two small steaming cups. Hedgehog indicated for Little Rabbit to take a seat at the wooden kitchen table.

‘There we are, much better,’ Hedgehog said, as he took his seat with a satisfied sigh. He eagerly grabbed a big piece of honey cake. ‘Now tell me all about yourself.’

‘Not a lot to tell, sir. Not a lot,’ Little Rabbit admitted a little awkwardly as it joined Hedgehog. The end of his long scarf gathered on the ground behind them in a big heap. ‘Just passing through. Passing through, is all.’

‘Yes, you mentioned something like that,’ Hedgehog said, swallowing a big bite before he spoke again. ‘What are you leaving behind?’

‘Leave?’ Little Rabbit said confused. ‘We’re not leaving anything. We’re going, sir. Going, you see.’

‘Well, my dear fellow,’ Hedgehog said putting down his fork and leaning back. He took his cup by its ear and folded his small arms around his big belly. ‘It is an intrinsic value of going that it must be preceded by leaving.’

‘It must, must it?’ Little Rabbit asked, his eyes widening. Hedgehog very much seemed like the type of fellow to be right about such things.

‘Indeed, it must,’ Hedgehog said, taking a sip of his coffee which nearly burnt his tongue. He quickly put the cup down and continued, ‘And if a fellow does not know what he leaves behind, it can be no small wonder he does not know where he is headed. And if he does not know where he is headed… well, then… how will he know he has arrived?

‘You see, my dear young friend,’ Hedgehog continued, his arms still folded around his big belly. ‘You say you will know once you are There. But how can you be sure you have not already passed it? Or worse, have taken a wrong turn along the way. It would be dreadfully difficult to find your way There if you had taken a turn without knowing you had done so.’

The Little Rabbit put a carrot cookie in its mouth and munched on it in Great Thought.

‘So, your first point of business ought to be to find out what you are leaving so that you may know where you are headed. Once you know this, it becomes very plain to see whether you had not already passed it or taken a wrong turn. Retracing your steps is such a dreadful waste of time and energy, you know.’

Hedgehog tried another sip of his coffee which had now cooled down enough.

‘Thus, I repeat my question. What are you leaving?’ at this Hedgehog filled his cheeks with another piece of cake and looked at Rabbit expectantly.

Poor Little Rabbit was quite at a loss of what to say for it wasn’t entirely sure what the correct answer was. Its brow knitted in concentration, not wanting to disappoint Hedgehog who was helping so kindly. As Little Rabbit contemplated what it was leaving, Hedgehog finished the rest of the ginger-cake, poured himself a second cup of coffee and burnt himself again.

‘I suppose we’re leaving the Meadow, sir! The Meadow, you see.’

‘The Meadow!’ Hedgehog sat up, ears perked. ‘Wonderful! Pray tell me, what is it like? I am infinitely curious to find out more about the Meadow. Unfortunately, I have not yet found the opportunity to venture into it myself.’

Relieved to find it had given Hedgehog a correct answer, Little Rabbit began telling all about the colourful wild flowers filling the Meadow in spring; about the tall grass underneath clear blue skies in warm summer days, and the way it would jump and play in the thick snow in winter with all its rabbit brothers and sisters. Every so often Hedgehog would interject with an ‘Wonderful!’ and a ‘Marvellous!’. They talked until Little Rabbit had told many stories about the Meadow, the cake and cookies had been eaten and the coffee turned cold. It was then time for Hedgehog to finish his big clean and for the Little Rabbit to continue its journey. It took his top-hat, picked up its long red scarf and wrapped it around twice more while the remainder dropped in a big heap on the floor. Hedgehog wrapped his pink apron round his big belly again and together they stepped back outside.

Little Rabbit felt a whole lot brighter having shared its happy memories. And yet, as Little Rabbit hopped onwards its heart felt a little heavier thinking about leaving his brothers and sisters, as well as its beautiful Meadow home. As it hopped on, the red scarf continued to trail along behind the Little Rabbit in a long track.

Soon, the Little Rabbit began to distinguish a lake. Coming closer, it could see the other side of the lake was overgrown with trees, though on this side there was a clearing near the edge. It noticed a big rock next to the lake on which sat a green frog. She wore a green tweed coat and a brown tweed cap. On the floor next to her lay a beautifully carved wooden cane. Little Rabbit quickly removed its top-hat and approached the frog quietly.

‘Excuse us, ma’am. Excuse us,’ Little Rabbit said tentatively as the frog turned around and tipped her hat.

‘How do you do,’ she croaked with a heavy voice. Smiling politely, she indicated Little Rabbit to take a seat next to her. Little Rabbit put its hat down on the ground and took a seat on the big rock, its red scarf draped to the floor behind.

‘Very well, thank you. Thank you, ma’am,’ Little Rabbit answered. ‘And you, ma’am? And you?’

‘Dreadful,’ answered Frog with a deep melancholic sigh. ‘Mourning the beauties of Summer, contemplating the end of Youth, and the slow fading of Colour. Ah, what cruelty ends the boisterous frolicking in the lake only to replace it with endless days of silent grey!?’

Little Rabbit wasn’t sure how to reply to this. They sat in silence for a few moments until Frog inhaled deeply in preparation for a wonderfully melancholic sigh and looked up into the trees. She held her breath as her gaze swivelled left and right across the gold and ruby tree tops that sparkled in the warm rays of the sun.

‘Although,’ she said, her voice rising away from despair. ‘Melancholy was not made for bright days such as these! Colour has not yet faded, Autumn boasts of new riches, and the frolicking may last another glorious day!’

Little Rabbit was pleased to see Frog’s spirits had suddenly lifted.

‘I say, what brings a creature lingering in the throes of Youth to this part of the Woods?’

‘We is from the Meadow, ma’am. The Meadow,’ Little Rabbit answered proudly. ‘And we is on our way there. Our way There, you see.’

‘Indeed! Therein lies the Destination!’ Frog said much infected with the enthusiasm of her young friend. ‘By-the-by, where is this There, if you don’t mind my asking?’

‘We are still very much in the process of figuring that out, ma’am. Still figuring that out,’ Little Rabbit said. It hadn’t forgotten its encounter with Owl, nor its lesson with Hedgehog. It did not want to confuse, nor waste time and energy. Passing There unknowingly or taking a wrong turn somewhere along the way were to be avoided.

‘Have no fear, my young Friend,’ Frog said encouragingly. ‘With Passion and Determination as your guide, you will find yourself There before long.’

‘Thank you, ma’am. Thank you,’ Little Rabbit said, its spirits lifted by Frog’s encouraging words.

‘We all find it in the end,’ Frog continued, there was a hint of melancholy creeping back into his voice. In the middle of the Lake, a duck was proudly swimming along. Behind her trailed four little yellow ducklings in a neat row. A fifth yellow duckling had a little more trouble keeping up as he kept being distracted with shiny dragonflies darting overhead and colourful leaves drifting down.

‘Have you been there, ma’am? Been There?’ Rabbit asked with big round eyes.

‘There…,’ Frog answered, her voice once again deep and heavy with melancholy as she continued gazing over the Lake. ‘And back.’

‘Back?’

‘Oh yes,’ Frog assured it and took another dramatic pause. ‘Destiny is a cruel mistress that takes pleasure in carrying some back to where they started.’

The Little Rabbit hadn’t considered coming back. It looked out on the water and thought about it with a frown of confusion. The fifth duckling had stopped trailing his mother all together and was closely examining a snail that was rowing across the Lake on a big water lily leaf.

‘But you, my young Champion,’ Frog asked. Her voice was bright once more. ‘Tell me, why have you ventured on this journey There?’

‘Why, ma’am?’

‘Why, yes! One must have Good Reason of going, or how is one to take reigns of Destiny!?’

Reaching the side of the lake, Mother Duck looked back at her offspring and did a double take when she noticed she had missed one. Looking around frantically she spotted him still in the middle of the lake. Under loud quacking she rushed over to him and drove him back to join his siblings. On the big rock, Little Rabbit kept turning the word ‘why’ over in its head. Finally, it replied: ‘Because we must, ma’am. We must! We has no choice, you see. We felt it quite in our bones, ma’am. In our bones!’

‘Ah, yes, the Bones,’ Frog nodded dramatically. ‘How is one to oppose the Bones? The very pillars of Nature. To ignore their will would be Foolish. When they tell us it is Time, we must heed their call. It is then we take our long Farewells and, as bittersweet tears roll across our cheeks, we take solace in their Wisdom.’

Little Rabbit wasn’t quite sure what Frog had meant, but the Lake was peaceful with the warm rays of the sun shining down, the beautiful autumn leaves, and the gentle splashes of the water. It all allowed Little Rabbit a moment to contemplate a little deeper.

After its Bones had told Litte Rabbit it was time to go, it had set out on his journey knowing that he would get There eventually. Since then, Little Rabbit had begun to wonder why its bones had decided it was Time, where they were leading to, and whether they would ever bring the Little Rabbit back to the Meadow. Its loved the Meadow, with all its brothers and sisters dearly, and missed its presence very much. Little Rabbit continued thinking many other interesting thoughts when its peace was suddenly interrupted.

‘Well, good luck with it all chap,’ Frog said cheerfully. ‘Got to be of now, no time to waste on a Glorious Day!’ She picked her cane and hopped away energetically. Little Rabbit wondered where Frog was going. She hadn’t been particularly helpful. Although feeling encouraged, Frog had also left Little Rabbit feeling more confused about it all. Little Rabbit also hopped down and took up its top hat once more. It looked around which direction it was best to go. Before it made up his mind, however, a thought struck it: Where to next?

It seemed like an awfully big question for such a little rabbit as itself. There suddenly seemed to be so many different directions in which it might go next. Now that it had seen the end of the Meadow, the beginning of the Wood and the Lake from up close, Little Rabbit suddenly realized what a vast place this world was. It was also not at all sure whether it truly liked this vastness and did not perhaps much more enjoy the size of the smallness of the Meadow. It looked at all the choices that lay in front of him:

To his right was where Frog had disappeared into the Wood.

In front of him lay a whole new world still unexplored but it was much darker and more overgrown than where he had been so far.

To his left were trees through which Little Rabbit could see new fields.

Behind him was the road back.

Carefully considering its options, a little white rabbit hopped in the direction it knew it had to take. And then it hopped forward once more. And as it hopped, the long red scarf continued to grow, trailing ever farther behind.