Once upon a time there was a very cheerful bunny who really didn’t like whining. But of course all the animals in the forest whined sometimes. The mole whined about a hallway that had collapsed, the squirrel whined because he had lost his nuts again, the toad whined because he had to take a detour and the parrot whined because no one wanted to talk to him anymore.
The animals liked to come to the bunny with their whining. After all, he was always cheerful and that made everyone happy.
The bunny really preferred to leave all that whining outside his door. But he didn’t want to abandon his forest friends either. So he came up with something clever.
He placed a whole row of little boots next to his door. His friends could then put their whining in there if they wanted to get rid of it.
But they could also express anger or sadness, for example, if that bothered them.
Some animals also put fun things in there, such as a good joke or a nice story.
En de laarsjes? Die worden elke keer op tijd geleegd, namelijk telkens als het konijntje zijn straatje schoon gaat vegen!
And the boots? These are always emptied on time, every time the bunny goes to sweep his street!
Credits
Saskia Barink is a Dutch children's author known for her imaginative and gently humorous short stories. Bunny Don't Whine was originally written in Dutch, and the charming detail of the street-sweeping bunny reflects the story's roots in Dutch everyday life and culture.
