*****
As Flopsy stepped outside of her home, she took a deep breath. The air was fragrant with the many flowers that grew all around her front yard. The rabbit took a moment to enjoy it.
Cottontail Pines was well-known for its flowers. Many of the animals liked to decorate their cottages with them which made the town a very colorful place to live. Flopsy’s house was no exception. Not only did her front yard have rows of pretty flowers, but many of them were used to decorate the frame of her house. There was special consideration paid to her bedroom window which she had done herself. She always made sure that those stayed particularly fresh.
The young rabbit began making her way down the cobblestone path through Cottontail Pines. She had a very particular way of walking. She made it a point to lift her feet as high as she could as to not accidently trip over her large ears. It really was not as bad as she thought, but she had a few accidents growing up. She did not want to risk falling onto her nose.
“Oh! Hello, Flopsy!” called the voice of an old lady.
Flopsy waved over to Mrs. Peggy, the elderly rabbit who was sweeping her front porch. “Hello! How are you doing?”
The old woman replied, “Very good. Thank you very much for helping me with those cookies the other day.”
“It was fun! Invite me back over any time. Next time it will be brownies, I hope.”
“We’ll see, Flopsy. We’ll see.” She went back to her sweeping.
Further down the path, Flopsy saw Mister Rupert, the possum. He was working on his flower garden with his eight kids. The rabbit called out, “Hello, Mister Rupert! Hello, kids!”
The man rubbed his pink nose and adjusted his glasses. “Flopsy! Good to see you again! These flowers you helped me plant sure are turning out nicely!” He asked his children, “Aren’t they turning out great, kids?!”
The little possums all jumped up and down with their watering cans. “They’re the best ever! Flopsy is the best!”
The rabbit blushed, but she still gave a sweet smile. “It was my pleasure! Just let me know if you need any more help!”
Mister Rupert nodded. “I just may do that!”
A short while later, Flopsy saw a certain skunk boy stomping up to her. He looked really angry, but that was normal for him. She asked, “What’s the matter, Blacky?”
The skunk pounded fist into palm. “My parents don’t respect me! Doing chores on an off day is like still having school! I told them that I just wanted to relax, but I still had to take all the trash out and stuff. It makes no sense.”
Flopsy cocked her head a little. Blacky always seemed to be making a big stink over one thing or another. She said, “You don’t seem to have any chores now. Did you want to come with me to Oak Pass?”
Blacky gasped. “Isn’t that where we go to school?!”
“I’m not going to school. I’m going to see Mister Hooty about me being a part of the Summer Jamboree. I think he wants me to be in the parade.”
Blacky’s spirit picked up. “That’s great! You are pretty young to get to walk in the parade. I wonder if you’ll get a good spot.” His mood suddenly darkened. “I never get to be in any parades, and if I did, no one would probably notice me.”
Flopsy continued on down the path with Blacky. “I think that if you were in the parade, everyone would at least hear you.”
The skunk did not disagree. “I would at least try to get their attentions. The whole point of being in a parade is to be seen by other animals.”
The rabbit giggled. “I would make a special effort just to see you, Blacky.”
Blacky sighed and crossed his arms. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“You know that’s not true. Stop being so grumpy.”
The two stopped when they came across Oak Pass. Here was the giant oak tree where they were taught their lesson from the wise owl, Mister Hooty. The teacher was nowhere to be seen, but Flopsy noticed that Goober was waiting for her near the tree. His back was turned, and she assumed that he had not seen her yet. The bunny formed a mischievous grin.
Goober was only minding his business while waiting for Flopsy, when she suddenly jumped from behind and imitated a roar, “Rawr!”
Goober immediately panicked and ran straight into the oak tree in all his scatterbrained confusion. Flopsy covered her mouth in shock as the brown bunny plummeted to the ground holding his nose.
The lop-eared rabbit got down to help him. “Goober! Are you all right?!”
The dazed bunny whined, “Ouch! My nose! Why did you sneak up on me like that?!”
“I was trying to scare you!”
“But it made me run into the tree!”
“I know that, Goober, and that’s why I feel really bad about doing it! I didn’t think you’d panic like that!”
Blacky walked up and both rabbit and skunk helped Goober to his feet. She rubbed his nose and frowned. “It will be all right, Goober. It looks like you didn’t hit the tree that hard.”
The skunk added, “I thought about telling her not to do it, but then I thought how funny it would be and—.” Flopsy interrupted his speech with a well-placed pop to his shoulder. Blacky grumbled, “Well, he shouldn’t have been so skittish. He’s got no backbone.”
The voice of Mister Hooty suddenly came from above. “I saw the whole thing. Flopsy was just playing a joke, but Goober should have been more careful about his surroundings.”
Everyone seemed to straighten up when they saw Mister Hooty; although, Blacky just crossed his arms and said, “I’m glad that I’m not a troublemaker.”
Flopsy casually rubbed Goober’s bruised nose as she answered the owl, “I’m really sorry. I never wanted him to get hurt.”
Mister Hooty nodded. “I believe you, Flopsy. Thank you for coming to visit me on an off day. I suppose you are wondering why I wanted to see you.”
The rabbit stood as straight as she could. “Yes! I heard it was about the Summer Jamboree! Am I going to be in the parade?”
The owl appeared to smile at her response. “You will most certainly be in the parade.”
Flopsy hopped up and down as Goober and Blacky clapped for her success. She shouted, “I knew it! I always wanted to be in that parade! I hope everyone in Cottontail Pines sees me!”
The owl held up a wing of caution. “Hold on, Flopsy! I don’t think you fully understand.”
Flopsy returned her gaze upwards. “What do you mean? Am I not going to be in the parade?”
“Yes, Flopsy, but not in the way that you think. You have been doing a splendid job around Cottontail Pines. Everyone has been sending me letters about how nice you have been to them. You have sure been very busy around town, haven’t you?”
Goober spoke for the girl with his signature raised finger, “I don’t know of many others that have dedicated more of their time to helping others.”
Blacky added, “She’s such a show off. I do good things once in a while, and nobody has written any letters about me.”
Hooty corrected, “I have gotten at least two letters about you, Blacky. Please, stop whining about it.”
Flopsy finally spoke, “I just love Cottontail Pines. I think it’s really a beautiful place to live, and I wanted to give back to the people who make it so great.”
The owl proudly placed his wings together and said, “And it is for this reason that you will be given the title of Summer Princess in this year’s Summer Jamboree.”
Flopsy did not answer. How could she? She was in absolute shock. No one has ever been titled the Summer Princess at her age in Cottontail Pines history! Her large, wide eyes could only sparkle as she slowly was coming to terms with it.
Becoming the Summer Princess meant being admired and praised for the entire day of the jamboree. Not only that, but she would get to lead the parade and get to wear the prettiest dress for all to see. She would walk about the festival talking to everyone in town, hugging all the happy children, and spreading flowers and good cheer to all. She would b
e the most adored bunny in all of Cottontail Pines and would always be remembered as one of the many princesses of the event for the rest of her life.
Mister Hooty fluttered down before the rabbit. “Flopsy? Are you still with us?”
The bunny muttered breathlessly, “The Summer Princess?”
Goober poked her in an effort to bring her back to reality. Blacky was a little less thoughtful and just popped Flopsy on her head. The rabbit gasped and looked at her teacher. “Do they really want me to be the Summer Princess? I don’t know what to say. This is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.”
The owl placed a wing to her shoulder. “You absolutely deserve it, Flopsy. You are a very good person. Now, all you need to do is show up tomorrow at early afternoon so that we can rehearse for your duties as Summer Princess. Can you make it, Flopsy?”
“You bet I can! I’ll be there even earlier if you want! There is no way I would miss this!”
“Then, I will see you there. Congratulations, Flopsy.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Flopsy was still frozen. Goober and Blacky had to help turn her around and lead her away. The three all went to Donut Park to talk about what had just happened. Flopsy was happy to meet another friend of hers there. It was Gumdrop the mouse.
Gumdrop was a shorter girl than Flopsy, but they were equals when it came to friendship. The mouse adored the bunny in many ways. She was well-known for stopping by Flopsy’s room just to brush her fur.
Flopsy nearly tripped over her ears when she saw Gumdrop at the swing set. “Gumdrop! You won’t believe what just happened!”
The mouse jumped from the swing into the dirt and asked, “What’s going on?!”
“I’m gonna be the Summer Princess! Mister Hooty just told me! Oh, my gosh, Gumdrop!”
“Flopsy! That’s so incredible! The dress with all the flowers at the head of the parade: you’re gonna be so pretty!” Mouse and bunny took each other’s hands and jumped all about. Blacky and Goober just stood there feeling out of place. They eventually just decided to leave.