In the heart of the Whimsical Woods, the air turned crisp and the leaves began their dance of vibrant colors. It was Autumn, Benny’s favorite season, but there was something bubbling in his little bunny heart today. His friends had gathered for a grand announcement, and they were looking right at him.
“Benny! Benny! Benny!” they all cheered, their eyes shining with excitement.
“What’s happening, my friends?” Benny asked, twitching his fluffy tail.
“We’re going on an adventure,” chirped Penny the Sparrow. “We’re going to explore the Caves of Gloom!”
Benny’s heart raced. He peered into the worried eyes of his friends. Oliver the Owl had just hooted, “They’re called the Caves of Gloom for a reason. It’s dark, it might be scary, and who knows what could be lurking in the shadows?”
Benny felt a chill run down his spine. “The Caves of Gloom? Who would want to go there?” he thought, pressing his ears down. What a different day this was turning out to be!
His friends erupted in laughter as if his thoughts were the silliest thing they’d ever heard. “I would like to be brave,” he whispered to himself, though he just couldn’t seem to think of a single thing that might encourage him to try.
Finding Courage
That night, Benny rolled and tumbled, trying to find the tiniest bit of courage to navigate this shadowy expedition. Finally, he made a small promise to himself: “I will try. I will fetch up the courage to join the others, even if I feel afraid.”
The next day, when he met his friends, they cheered louder than even at the announcement. “Have you changed your mind? Are you coming?” they all shouted.
Benny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. He wondered as he did so whether a sense of wisdom might come with old age. His grandmother had once told him that gradually, as a bunny grew older, he ceased to mind things and they ceased to mind him.
So off they went.
As they walked, Benny felt many strange feelings fluttering inside of him. Terribly afraid, still he felt a wee bit bold. “If you please,” he said, holding back the leash of his imagination, “I will tell you of all the horrible things I think I’m going to see.”
The others laughed again. Benny felt a little bolder, but still he asked himself, “What will the inside of the caves be like?”
They stopped for lunch underneath a tree but had scarcely begun to nibble before they saw two young deer approaching them out of the forest.
“Benny!” cried the eldest of the deer. “Do come and have lunch with us under the great cork tree.”
He was so glad to see his cousin that the courage for which he had been on the lookout that morning quite unexpectedly passed its head into his heart.
“So many cousins are coming on this expedition that I do believe it is going to be a wonderful success, even though it is sad to think of poor little Malty the Mouse having lost his head! I’d love to come under the old cork tree!” exclaimed Benny.
And that’s what happened: the expedition was a great success, though a little black mouse made a supper for the bear that night.
When Benny returned to his friends that same evening, quite late, he felt he had done and seen all the horrible things he wished to do and see, and a little more. One thing seemed not to have happened, though! In his own mind and with himself he had failed utterly. Failure sometimes seemed so sad, but it came often enough to the best of the best.
He’s a brave Bunny now; and all bunnies like to be called “Benny Brave,” for that’s what his friends decided any creature was sure to be, when Benny stood in front of them recommending him.