Posted by Gobnait on February 21, 2000 at 00:41:28:
In Reply to: More stories for your enjoyment posted by Gobnait on February 21, 2000 at 00:36:41:
The Rabbit who loved the Sun
Once upon a time, there lived a rabbit. He lived as most rabbits do, hopping around, nibbling grass, trying to avoid the wolves. But this rabbit was different. He was bold and courageous, perseverant and passionate. He spent most of his life living in the woods near here, helping the many members of his family to find their living.
And finally one day, he wandered onto the great open plains. And he saw there a wonder that he had never before seen in full: The Sun.
She was bold, filling the world with Her light. She was courageous, wandering the vastness of heaven alone. She was perseverant, keeping to her heavenly track and letting no cloud or mountain stop her. She was passionate, flaming like nothing the rabbit had ever seen.
And his heart was utterly given to Her.
He jumped, as high as he could, higher than any rabbit had jumped before, trying to join Her in the heavens. But no matter how high he jumped, he fell always back to earth. Thinking hard and long, as no rabbit but he could, he decided to scale the vast mountains in the distance to be closer to his Love. He set off to the mountains, neither eating nor drinking nor sleeping. And he scaled the mountains, although there were fearsome creatures there, far worse than the wolves in the woods of his home. And still he went on, until he reached the roof of the world.
And there he saw that he was no closer to his Love, and yet he tried to jump higher to join Her. And again, he fell back to earth each time he tried.
He came back down to the plains, his desire for Her still sating his hunger but his thirst becoming overwhelming. He went to a pond in the northern plains, and as he bent to drink, he saw Her! She was there, in the pool! He lept in, only to splash the water out of the pond and stir up the mud on the bottom. And yet, surely, surely, here was a clue.
Obviously, this pool was not big enough to hold Her, only to reflect a small part of Her. Could there be other waters in the world, greater waters, where he might find Her? He wandered many years, so long that any rabbit but he would have died and been reborn so often as to lose track of his first self.
But he finally found the ocean west of all the lands. And the Sun was approaching the horizon, and She noticed his gaze. And She blushed bright red in pleasure at the love of the rabbit. And She beckoned to him with long, firey arms across the water.
He looked, and he could see the vast trail of Her light across the water before him. He stepped out onto that road of light. And the light held him up in the water with the love of the Sun. But the western ocean is vast, indeed, and the Sun could not stop in Her track through the heavens.
Even as the rabbit ran to Her, She slipped beyond the swells of the sea to where no one but She has ever gone. As Her light faded from the sea, the rabbit suddenly found himself drowning. But the Lady Lyria took pity on the rabbit. She saved the rabbit from the darkening sea and cast him up into the heavens, where he became the moon.
You can still see his form on the face of the moon.
But the rabbit, alas, did not know what happened and did not see his new form. He continues to chase westwards after his Lady Love, and She goes ever before him, not knowing that the rabbit is who follows. They say if the two will ever be joined, the power of their passion will sear the face of Thera and leave all as dust.