Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Death Of A Rabbit




My daughter and I took her children for a walk. My grandson was 6 or 7 and my granddaughter was 4 or 5. We walked through their neighborhood looking at flowers and watching for animals and birds.

As we usually did, when we returned to their house we made a tour of the back yard. In the spring we watched as the flowers came up through the soil then grew and bloomed. We smelled all smells and tried to identify where they came from.

On this day it was autumn. The leaves were falling from the trees at a record pace. The flower beds and the grass were covered with fallen leaves. Sometimes we would startle a rabbit back there but we did not see any that day.

Until my grandson went, "Oooooh" in a sympathetic tone. My daughter and I realized at the same time that he was starting to reach for an animal. We both yelled at him to stop. He looked at us, startled.

We quickly went over to him. There lying in a flower bed was a dead rabbit.

We explained to him that whether the animal was sick or dead we did not know what was causing the problem. You cannot just touch any animal you do not know because it could cause injury or illness to you. He seemed to undeerstand.

My daughter did not want to leave it lying there. I told her to go get a shovel and we would dispose of it. She was worried about my grandson being upset. I told her that was why we always held a funeral for animals when she was growing up. It is a way to say goodbye and it showed the finality of the animal being gone.

My grandson loved the idea of a funeral. He went and found an old shoebox. When we asked where we should bury the rabbit he chose a spot under the bushes right in front of the house. He wanted to conduct the ceremony so we let him.

We dug a hole and my grandson placed the box containing the rabbit carefully into the hole. We covered the box with dirt and tamped it gently down. Then my grandson started to speak.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to say goodbye to our friend, the rabbit." I stood in total shock. He had never been to a funeral so I could not understand where these words were coming from. My daighter and I looked at each other in amazed amusement.

He continued with his little tribute about how we did not know the bunny but we felt bad that he was dead. Then he knelt to say a prayer. I started to choke a bit with laughter. He looked like such a little angel with his hands pressed together looking toward the sky imploring that this little bunny rabbit be taken to a better place. Finally there was an "Amen".

My daughter and I started to go inside. I was actually halfway up the steps. Then my grandson stood at attention and put his hand to his forehead in a salute. His other hand formed into a loose fist and was placed at his mouth. Through that hand we heard, "Phtt, phtt, Phhhhhttt...". He was playing Taps!

I was choking trying to keep from opening my mouth and laughing out loud. Tears were running down my face. I did not dare look at my daughter because I knew I would not be able to contain myself. So I stood there not able to breathe with tears all over my face, turning red.

At the end of Taps, my grandson sweetly said a soft goodbye. "Goodbye, little bunny rabbit." It was over.

I jerked myself into the house so I could breathe and laugh without hurting his feelings. When my daughter came in shortly after she was laughing almost as hard as I was while berating me for leaving her out there all alone.

Bugs Bunny was the culprit. My grandson had seen a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which a funeral was held. He had practically memorized the whole thing. Thanks a lot, Bugs!

24 comments:

  1. It was funny, I'm sure!
    I think it's important that children learn to deal with death since they are very young. Losses are part of our lives. The earlier we learn to deal with them, the better it will be when we grow old and losses become almost a routine.

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    1. While it is difficult for a small child to understand death it is better to say goodbye to an animal. I believe in a proper goodbye.

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  2. Hilarious! It is amazing how much young children take in. A great family memory, Emma.

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    1. Children never cease to amaze. Perhaps that is why I enoy being around them so much.

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  3. real good, love this story. i had a house that I called a section in my garden a pet cemetery since we placed a lot of road kill and a couple pets there.When I first moved there I dug up a shrub finding the previous owners dog, a long time before.I asked the neighbor who had been there all her life and she remembered the service for Ginger. I replaced the bones back where I found them and said another goodbye to a pet I never knew.

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    1. Replacing the remains was kind of you. Not all adults remember the value of someone else's pet.

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  4. Hello Emma,

    Very hilarious but I appreciate your wonderful grandson who has a heart of gold.

    Best wishes

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    1. I cannot believe that he is now a grown man. It was a priceless moment.

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  5. Your little grandson was so sweet to give this tribute to that fury soul and you and your daughter handled this situation beautifully!
    I sure can see the spot you were in, Emma. Knowing how serious he was and yet seeing the humor, too. If he did see your tears he probably thought that you were feeling sorry for the little bunny.

    Wonderful memory for you, your daughter and grandson~

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    1. My problem is that I see humor in almost everything. But that was one of the hardest times I had trying not to laugh at the wrong time. My grandson was so serious and that only made it funnier to me.

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  6. I suppose one had to be there for it to be funny because, given his age, everything he did conveyed such extraordinary intelligence and compassion. It's a shame that, as they grow older, boys are taught that some of their best qualities are things to be ashamed of.

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    1. It was funny because we were totally caught off guard. We had no idea that my grandson would know how to deliver such a moving eulogy. Fortunately my children and grandchildren have retained their senses of humor.

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    2. I used to be a funeral director, and would sit in the back of the chapel during funerals with other funeral directors. They would tell jokes, which was unsafe to do around me because I couldn't avoid laughing out loud.

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    3. I do not believe I ever actually told a joke at a funeral. But the family gathering after is a time for remembering the deceased. Many times that includes funny stories about them. It is the way we deal with the tragedy of loss. And laughter is good for the soul.

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    4. Funeral directors attend funerals everyday and see corpses and people in grief everyday. Maybe it is for this reason that they tend to tell a lot of jokes, but I simply couldn't keep from laughing out loud, which, of course, was unthinkable.

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    5. Out loud is the only way to truly enjoy a laugh. Keep laughing.

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  7. This story is a scream. Except of course the bunny:)

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    1. It brings tears of laughter to my eyes every time I think about it.

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  8. This is such a lovely story. He's a cute and feeling boy.

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    1. Usually the first deaths a child has to deal with are the deaths of pets or other animals. I feel that learning to cope with those deaths by performing a funeral. It is a way to say that final goodbye.

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    2. You know, my dear friend, such funerals are also an expression of respect for, and a recognition of the dignity of, other species. Even as an adult, how can anyone lose a beloved pet and not dispose of the remains of that pet with a feeling of solemnity whether any words are spoken or not.

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