Week 7 Story: The Basket

There is an updated version of this story in my Portfolio!


Buttons sat on the grass and overlooked the forest. The forest was once a beautiful and wonderful place to live. As a bunny, she would hop around and nibble on the fresh grass and make friends everywhere she went. But then the drought came and drowned all of the plants of the water needed to live, taking the homes of all of the animals. Because of this, many of the animals that lived in the forest were forced to move away. Buttons teared up thinking of the fact that she would never see some of her friends again.

The sun began to set, so Buttons hopped to the oak tree where her family had burrowed a hole underground. Because their home was underground, they didn't have to move away, but it made it really hard to find food. Her parents told her that if the forest didn't start to grow again soon they would have to try and find a new place to live. Buttons laid down next to her sister and prayed to God that her parents would find food. She prayed for what seemed like hours until she fell asleep.

The next morning her sister Bug woke her up excitedly. "Buttons! Buttons! Come look!"

Buttons rubbed her eyes and sleepily followed her sister to the foot of the oak tree, where they saw a wicker basket. The two sisters peered inside and saw all of their favorite foods: carrots, broccoli, celery, and all of the leafy greens they could ever ask for. AND it was enough to feed the whole family for at least a week.

The sisters brought the food from the basket to their parents and they started crying. It was everything they had asked for. An enormous weight was lifted from their shoulders. The family treated themselves to more than enough food to fill their stomachs and then decided to save the rest for the next few days.

When Buttons woke up the next morning, she left the hole to get a drink of water from the creek, when she noticed that the lid of the basket was being forced slightly open from being so full. She peered inside and saw that all of the food they had eaten had been replaced and even more food was added. She jumped with joy at the abundance of food readily available for her family.

For the next three years, the bunny family woke up to a wicker basket full of food. They spent their days nibbling on the foods the basket gave them, hopping in the grass and swimming in the creek. Living without worry of running out of food was the best thing that ever happened to them.

Bibliography: PDE Epics: Mahabharata, "Life in the Forest"

Author's Note: 

This story is based on the "Life in the Forest" in Part C of the Mahabharata. In the story, the Pandava princes and Draupadi find themselves in a forest. One of the brothers stops and vents about how they had lost everything and he didn't know what to do. He prays to Surya as well as other gods for help, and they wake up in the morning to a cement pot filled with a never-ending supply of food for everyone to eat. They all live in the forest for twelve years relying on the cement pot. I used the same concept for my story but changed the princes into bunnies.

Two bunnies