There was a rabbit who lived in a thicket by the side of the road. He loved Ms. Carol’s flowers, but she did not return the love.
She liked her flowers just fine the way they were, you see, but the rabbit loved to nibble on them because they were delicious.
One day, the rabbit was munching away when Ms. Carol walked out on her porch carrying a BB gun.
“OK, varmint, that’s all the flowers you’re going to eat in one lifetime.” She took aim and fired.
Fortunately for the rabbit, she didn’t aim quite perfectly, and the BB only skipped a pile of mulch into the rabbit’s face. This was alarming enough, however, and the rabbit jumped into the air and raced away as only rabbits can race, never to return.
A few days later, Ms. Carol’s puppy looked into the empty yard and mournfully back at her.
“I miss the rabbit,” the puppy whined.
“Don’t you start,” she replied. The flowers were pleased, though, and lived happily ever after, or at least for the rest of the bright sunny summer.