My dad came home with a little gray speck with long ears. It barely fit in his hand. He showed it to us, and all my sisters and I surrounded it and shouted for joy.
"How beautiful!, give it to me daddy, I want to hold it"
"Give it to me, what a beautiful bunny!"
"It's a female", he told us very patiently.
We had to have it to calm the impatience and energy of five little girls who liked animals, because we had learned from him and because we were very curious to see the bunny up close. My mother, who was watching from afar with a smile on her face, approached us and asked.
"Who gave you that rabbit, Rafael?"
"That one was given to me by my friend Efrain, her rabbit gave birth to five bunnies, and he can't keep them at home".
Meanwhile, we were caressing her, and she was looking at us with her big gray eyes.
"How soft and how delicious she smells!" I had already gone ahead to grab her and hugged her, holding her close to my face. She remained very calm.
"Put her on the floor!", my big sister ordered me. "So she can walk"
When we put her on the floor, our dog Pelusa had come closer to sniff her, and she started to jump up and down exploring the place, and we followed her.
"We have to give her a name."
"Right daddy!, I think Grisecita is nice", my older sister had already chosen it, and we all liked it.
The days following her arrival at home were very happy and fun. We would come home from school to pick her up to hold her and pet her. She was very tender, and we liked to feed her lettuce and carrots.
And Grisecita grew up quickly. She liked to gnaw everything in the house that she could bite because she was free to roam wherever she wanted, from the bedrooms, the living room, the kitchen, her favorite place and a small cement patio that had the apartment where we lived because it was on the first floor. But we had to be careful not to leave her alone for fear of the cats that entered through the edge of the walls, because there was no roof.
But one day we didn't realize that Grisecita had gotten out through a hole in the wall with a pipe for the water drainage. We started to look for her in the gardens with our hearts in our mouths, thinking that some cat could have killed her or that a person grabbed her and didn't return her. There are many people who only think of rabbits as tasty meat.
We found her that same day hiding under some bushes and took her home, happy that nothing bad had happened to her. Pelusa helped us in this search, her sense of smell told us where she was. As a precaution, the holes in the yard were covered and opened only when necessary.
Her life as we watched her grow and change was wonderful for us. When she approached us she moved her ears and nose, as a greeting, and she made a sound with his teeth.
Before she was a year old Grisecita was a big and long rabbit with a shiny and abundant fur, but as she had grown in size, so had her appetite and need to gnaw and everything within her reach from clothes baskets, shoes, chair legs had suffered from the ravages of her teeth. She also left her droppings all over the house. It was not possible to get her used to do it in a litter box like cats. And my mom was already a little annoyed. For her that was a problem even when we helped her clean up.
One afternoon after lunch, my mother gathered us together and told us what she had discussed with my dad, as she usually did.
"We were talking about Grisesita, and we want you to understand that she has a life here that is not the best for a rabbit".
I interrupted her. "But we love her very much, and she loves us"
"Let me finish, daughter. I know you love her very much, but she needs to live in a natural environment, where she can run, jump, dig, eat herbs and have children. This is not possible here."
My older sister assumed her leadership among the sisters and asked.
"Where are they going to take her, that she can have all that and not be eaten?".
"Your dad has a friend who has a farm with lots of animals, including rabbits, and he told him he could have her there. We would take her there on Saturday."
That was a very sad moment, we all cried and hugged Grisecita, and it was hard to understand why she could not stay in our house.
The day we took her to my father's friend's farm, I remember that I had her in my lap and I held her very tightly and kissed her. I didn't want to leave her and the drive, which lasted about an hour and a little more, was very sad.
The place where we left our beloved doe was beautiful and Mr. Luis, I found him to be very nice and an animal lover. That reassured us. He took us to the place where Grisesita would be, it was a fenced area where there were chickens and ducks and several rabbits of black and white colors, some with spots and others brown, but none of them were gray. There were several fruit trees and a small pond.
We put Grisecita on the ground, after giving her a kiss and saying goodbye. She stood still for a moment, just wiggling her ears and nose, and then with long hops she approached the other rabbits. At that moment, I realized that she was in the right place and that she was going to be as happy there as she was in our house, if not happier.
After a few months, my dad informed us that Grisecita had 6 bunnies. That was good news that made us all happy.
Una pequeña mota gris
Mi papá llegó a la casa con una pequeña motita gris de largas orejas. Apenas le cabía en la mano. Nos lo enseñó y todas mis hermanas y yo, lo rodeamos y gritamos de alegría.
—¡Qué hermoso! Dámelo, papá, quiero agarrarlo.
—¡Dámelo a mí!, ¡qué bello conejito!
—Es una conejita, —nos dijo con mucha paciencia.
Había que tenerla para calmar la impaciencia y energía de cinco niñas a las que le gustaban los animales, porque eso habíamos aprendido de él y porque sentíamos una curiosidad muy grande por ver a la conejita de cerca. Mi mamá, que veía desde lejos la algarabía con una sonrisa, se acercó a preguntar.
—¿Quién te dio esa conejita, Rafael?
—Me la regaló mi amigo Efraín, su coneja parió cinco conejitos y no los puede tener en su casa.
Mientras tanto, nosotras la acariciábamos y ella nos miraba con sus ojos también grises.
—¡Qué suave y qué rico huele! —Yo ya me había adelantado a agarrarla y la abrazaba pegándola a mi cara. Ella se mantenía muy tranquila.
—¡Ponla en el suelo!, —me ordenó mi hermana mayor. —Para que camine.
Al ponerla en el piso, nuestra perra Pelusa se había acercado a olerla y ella comenzó a dar pequeños saltos explorando el lugar y nosotras siguiéndola.
—Tenemos que ponerle un nombre.
—Cierto, papi, yo creo que Grisecita es bonita, —mi hermana mayor ya lo había escogido y a todos nos gustó.
Los días siguientes a su llegada a la casa fueron muy alegres y divertidos. Llegábamos de la escuela a buscarla para cargarla y acariciarla. Era muy tierna y nos gustaba alimentarla con lechuga y zanahoria.
Y Grisecita fue creciendo rápidamente. Le gustaba roer todo cuanto conseguía en la casa que pudiera morder, porque ella era libre de andar por donde quisiera, desde las habitaciones, la sala, la cocina, su lugar predilecto y un pequeño patio de cemento que tenía el apartamento donde vivíamos por estar en planta baja. Pero había que tener cuidado de no dejarla sola, por miedo a los gatos que entraban por el borde de las paredes, porque no había techo.
Pero un día no nos dimos cuenta de que Grisesita se había salido por un hueco que había en la pared con un tubo para el desagüe del agua. Comenzamos a buscarla por los jardines con el corazón en la boca, pensando que algún gato la pudiera haber matado o que una persona la agarrara y no la regresara. Hay mucha gente que solo piensa en los conejos como una carne sabrosa.
La encontramos ese mismo día, escondida bajo unos arbustos, y la llevamos a la casa, con la alegría de que no le hubiera ocurrido nada malo. Pelusa nos ayudó en esta búsqueda, su olfato nos indicó dónde estaba. Como precaución, se taparon los huecos del patio y se abrían solo cuando era necesario.
Su vida mientras la veíamos crecer y cambiar era maravillosa para nosotras. Cuando se nos acercaba, movía sus orejas y su nariz, como un saludo, and hacía un sonido con los dientes.
Antes de cumplir el año Grisecita era una coneja grande y larga con un pelo abundante y brillante, pero así como había crecido en tamaño, también lo había hecho su apetito y necesidad de roer y ya todo lo que estaba a su alcance desde las cestas de ropa, los zapatos, las patas de las sillas habían sufrido de los estragos de sus dientes. Además, dejaba los excrementos por toda la casa. No era posible acostumbrarla a que hiciera en una caja de arena como los gatos. Y mi mamá ya estaba un poco molesta, para ella eso era un problema, aun cuando las mayores la ayudábamos a limpiar.
Una tarde, luego del almuerzo, mi madre nos reunió y nos comunicó lo que había hablado con mi papá, como generalmente hacía.
—Estuvimos conversando sobre Grisecita queremos que ustedes entiendan que ella tiene acá una vida que no es la mejor para un conejo.
Yo la interrumpí. —Pero nosotras la queremos mucho y ella a nosotros.
—Déjame terminar, hija. Yo sé que ustedes la quieren mucho, pero ella necesita vivir en un ambiente natural, donde pueda correr, saltar, cavar, comer hierbas y tener hijos. Acá no se puede.
Mi hermana mayor asumió su liderazgo entre las hermanas y preguntó.
—¿Para dónde se la van a llevar, que tenga todo eso y no se la coman?.
—Tu papá tiene un amigo que tiene una granja con muchos animales, entre ellos conejos. Él le dijo que podía tenerla allá. La llevaríamos el sábado.
Ese fue un momento muy triste, todas lloramos y abrazamos a Grisesita, y nos costaba entender porque qué no podía quedarse a vivir en nuestra casa.
El día que la llevamos a la granja del amigo de mi padre, yo recuerdo que la tenía en mis piernas y la sostenía con mucha fuerza y la besaba. No quería dejarla y el trayecto, que duró como una hora y un poco más, fue muy triste.
El lugar donde dejamos a nuestra querida coneja era hermoso y el señor Luis, me pareció muy simpático y era amante de los animales. Eso nos tranquilizó. Nos llevó al lugar donde estaría Grisesita. Era un área cercada donde estaban las gallinas y patos y varios conejos de colores blancos y negros, unos con manchas y otros marrones, pero ninguno de color gris. Había varios árboles frutales y un pequeño estanque.
Pusimos a Grisecita en el suelo, después de darle un beso y despedirnos de ella. Ella se quedó por un momento quieta, solo moviendo sus orejas y su nariz y luego con largos saltos se acercó a los otros conejos. En ese momento me di cuenta de que estaba en el lugar adecuado y que allí iba a ser tan feliz o más que en nuestra casa.
A los meses mi papá nos informó que Grisecita había tenido 6 conejitos. Eso fue una buena noticia que nos alegró a todos.
La traduccion al inglés la realicé en www.deepl.com.
Thank you very much @theinkwell 🫠
Best regards
A necessary, and compassionate ending. That rabbit could have ended up in any number of places, but a friendly farm was the right place.
You capture this experience of youth so that we can all share it. Those of us who had pets as children can relate. A lovely story, @popurri
Thank you very much @agmoore.
I'm glad you liked this experience I shared.
They are unforgettable memories and left me with very valuable learnings about love and respect for animals.
Best regards 🐇
Awww, how cute... I really relate to how messy pets can be if they're not potty trained. Our cat also did the same with her pooping anywhere she felt like it. That was really a tough year for us, but thankfully she learned later on. It was kinda sad that you ended up sending her away, but that was really for the best. Thanks for sharing such a cute read, @popurri!
Hello @ridgette
Thank you very much for your comment.
It is true, they go through a learning and adaptation process and one has to be prepared to help them.
It hurt me a lot that she was taken away, but then I understood that it was the best thing for her.🐇
Greetings 🫠
It was really hard to part ways with the things that've been dear to you, but yeah—it's for the best, and that's what really matters. You're welcome, @popurri. Greetings as well!
Your story made me feel the excitement, happiness and sadness of the children when they had Grisecita and still had to leave her. It reminds me of when we had to put our dog down. One of the saddest moments of my life.
Hello @terjix
Saying goodbye to your dog must have been very sad. We would like them to be with us for many years and it hurts to part with them.
I really appreciate your comment.
Best regards 🌼
This is interesting to read. I love the ending. For some species of animals, there is no place like a natural habitat or something very close. It was a pleasing decision for all.
Hello @lightpen
That's right, Grisecita could have continued her life with us but it wasn't for the best.
Thank you very much for your comment.
Best regards 🌻
You shared a very nice experience with us. I remembered a rabbit that my mother gave us when we were children. I am glad that she was able to go to a farm and enjoy its natural environment.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Excellent Friday.
Hello friend @rinconpoetico7
I'm glad my story brought back the memory of your bunny.
It was a pleasure to share this experience. I thank you very much for your comment.
Regards and happy day 🌻
Sometimes, it's better to let go of something than to keep holding on to them.
I am glad Griscecita grew well and even gave birth as a result of not giving in to your emotions.
@popurri
I really liked your comment. Thank you very much.
That's right, you have to accept and let go.
Greetings @medemausi 🌼
You're welcome @popurri
What a story,@popurri71. I was moved by the emotional journey you and your sisters went through when realizing that letting her go to a farm was the best choice for Grisecita. I love the shower of lovs and respect for Grisecita.
Thank you very much @marynn
I loved your commentary, the way you describe letting Grisecita go as an act of love.
A hug and happy day 🌷
Thank you so much dear friend @popurri, sending a big hug your way too ❤.