Nora Finds the Shy Bunny

A free bunny bedtime story, written for ages 7–9 and ready to read aloud in about 3 minutes. Tonight's hero is Nora.

At noon, Nora stood among forty-two rabbits in Fernpatch Forest. Today was the Summer Hop Parade. Button, the youngest bunny, would carry the blue pennant. One of his ears was white. The other was cinnamon brown. “I practiced my wave,” he told Nora. He gave the smallest wave in the whole forest.

Nora walked with Button toward the parade clearing. Their path passed a maze of tall sunflowers. At the entrance stood a wooden arrow. It pointed left toward the clearing. Nora brushed a beetle from the arrow. The loose board spun around and pointed right. “Oops,” she said. A drum went boom-boom from the clearing. Nora hurried toward it and forgot to turn the arrow back.

Soon the rabbits lined up beneath the oak trees. White tails twitched. Long ears bobbed. Nora took her place behind the pennant carrier. But Button’s place was empty. So was the tall pole with its blue cloth. “Has anyone seen Button?” Nora asked. Every rabbit shook its head.

Then Nora remembered the spinning arrow. Her stomach gave a small flip. Button must have followed it into the sunflower maze. “I pointed him the wrong way,” she said. Nora ran to the entrance. The flowers stood higher than her head. Yellow petals brushed her shoulders as she stepped onto the right-hand path.

“Button!” Nora called. “The parade is this way!” There was no answer. She tried again at the first turn. “Button!” Only leaves rustled. Nora reached another bend. The paths looked almost the same. Then she stopped. Loud calls were fine for bold rabbits. Button was shy even when he felt happy. If he was worried, his voice might not come out at all.

Nora knelt and pressed one hand to the warm ground. Rabbits did not only call with their voices. They also thumped messages with their feet. Nora stamped once with her heel. Thump! “Button,” she said gently, “you did nothing wrong. I spun the arrow. You don’t have to shout. Just give me one little thump.”

For a moment, the maze stayed still. Then came a soft bump from the path on Nora’s right. A sunflower leaf trembled. Nora hurried around one bend. Button sat in a sunny dead end, holding the blue pennant tight. “I thought everyone would be upset,” he whispered. Nora crouched beside him. “They’re waiting for you,” she said. “And I’ll tell them the arrow was my mistake. Will you march beside me?” Button’s cinnamon ear slowly lifted. “Beside you?” he asked. “The whole way,” said Nora.

Nora led Button back along the path. At the maze entrance, she turned the arrow left and pushed it firmly into place. Then she told the waiting rabbits what had happened. No one fussed. They cheered when Button raised the pennant. Nora stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “Ready?” she asked. Button took one deep breath. “This way to the parade!” he called.

The drum went boom-boom, and the Summer Hop Parade began. Button waved the blue pennant high. Nora marched beside him through the clover. Behind them came forty-two rabbits, hopping in a bright, bouncy line while Button’s cinnamon ear stood proudly in the sun.