A little bunny named Snowball lived with his dad in a cozy hole under a pine tree. They didn't have a mom - she left last year. Dad is now both dad and mom. All autumn he taught Snowball: where to go, what to eat, how to hide from the fox.
Winter has come. There is a lot of snow. Snowball and dad were walking in the morning, looking for bark. Suddenly - a scream. A little squirrel flew out of the pine tree, something happened to it. Dad ran to save it. "Snowball, stay here, I'll be right back!"«
Snowball sat down under the fir tree. He waited. A minute. Five. Ten. And then a blizzard began. Suddenly, as it happens in winter. The wind whirled the snow, the trees swayed. Snowball didn't know where to look.
Dad was gone. Sniezhko waited a little longer. Then he got up. He looked where Dad had run. There were no traces — they had been swept away.
Snezhko set off on his own. For the first time in his life, he went into the storm alone. He jumped through the snowdrifts. He called out, «Dad! Dad! Where are you?» His voice was thin, no one heard it—it was drowned out by the wind.
He wandered for a long time. It was already dark. He no longer knew where the hole was, where the pine tree, where the spruce tree was. He cried. He sat down in the snow. "I'm lost. Completely lost.".
Suddenly, something shone through the snow. Not moonlight, but something else—warm, golden. Snezhko raised his head. Someone in white was walking towards him. Tall, in white and gold robes, with a mitre on his head, with a staff that softly glowed.
Snezhko wasn't scared. Because it suddenly became warm. That's what happens when someone is kind nearby.
“Are you Sniezhko?” the old man asked gently.
"Yes," whispered the bunny.
"I am Saint Nicholas. Dad is looking for you in the other direction. Come on, I'll take you to him. Hold on to my robe.".
Snowball grabbed the edge of his white robe with his teeth. The saint left. Strangely enough, the wind seemed to have died down around them. The snow was falling, but it didn't block the road. There was like a tunnel of silence between them and the blizzard.
They didn't walk long. Suddenly, through the snow, Snowball saw a figure—long rabbit ears, restless movements. Dad!
“Dad!” Snowball shouted and started running.
"Snowdrop! Son!" Dad ran up, hugged him with his paws, and pressed him to his chest. He was shaking. Snowdrop was shaking. They were both crying.
"I've been looking for you everywhere, son. I screamed and screamed. I thought I'd lost you. Say thank you to whoever brought you.".
Snezhko turned to thank him. But the Saint was gone. Only the trace of his crutch in the snow. And a slight warmth in his chest.
Dad and son were returning home, dad carrying Snezhko on his back. He found the way again. At home they drank warm mouse soup, warmed their paws. And Snezhko whispered quietly: "Dad, isn't mom waiting for us too? Somewhere?"«
Dad was silent for a long time. Then he said, "She's waiting, son. She's always waiting. It's just that not all of us can see her now. But she loves us—just like the one who brought you to me today. Love always brings you home.".
💛 The one you love hasn't disappeared. He's just waiting for you to find him.