The Rabbit and the Porcupines is a fable about friendship. Specifically, the struggles that come from a friendship with someone who is very different from you. Are some friendships worth the extra effort? If one person hurts you, does that mean someone of the same personality type will hurt you too? Are some personality type pairings doomed to fail? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below after reading the story.
As part of my One Word focus for 2020, I am writing some fables and short stories throughout the year. This is my first one. I hope you enjoy!
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A rabbit befriended a porcupine. They had fun laughing and playing together, but the porcupine kept accidentally poking the rabbit with his quills. The porcupine was apologetic at first, but over time he became less and less careful with his quills. He was frustrated that the rabbit kept getting hurt by him. His turtle and armadillo friends never complained. He decided to end their friendship, believing that a rabbit and porcupine just aren’t meant to be friends.
The rabbit hopped away droopy-eared (and still aching from the quill wounds) until another porcupine approached her. She hesitated at first but believed there had to be a way for a rabbit and porcupine to be friends. So she decided to give it a try. It went well at first. They tried to learn how to best play to avoid quills stabbing the rabbit.
One day a coyote attacked, but the porcupine spiked up his quills and shielded the rabbit. The coyote yelped and ran off with a pokey nose. The rabbit thanked and praised the porcupine for his help.
However, over time the porcupine grew tired of having to protect the rabbit from coyotes. He had enough of his own problems to deal with.
One day the rabbit ran to the porcupine in a desperate attempt to escape the jaws of another coyote, but the porcupine puffed up its quills at the rabbit and abandoned her to fend for herself. She barely escaped with her life.
Days later, while hopping along, the rabbit heard rustling in a bush. She curiously investigated but jumped back when she heard a voice from inside say to stay away. She asked why. A porcupine emerged and told her he was afraid of hurting anyone with his quills. The rabbit couldn’t argue that. She admitted she was nervous too because of her past experiences with porcupines.
A loud gurgling grumble came from the rabbit’s stomach. The porcupine offered to give her some of his food as long as she kept a safe distance from him. She cautiously accepted, intrigued by this friendly and mindful creature.
Little by little their trust in each other grew and their fears dissipated. Their kindness and consideration for the other gently guided them in learning how to safely play together. They realized a porcupine and rabbit can make amazing friends if both are willing to humbly learn and put in the effort.
I hope you enjoyed my first fable of the year! I made this month’s theme about friendship because of Palentine’s Day on February 13th. If you, like the rabbit, have been abandoned by a friend, then check out this post: A Letter of Encouragement When a Friend Abandons You.