Moon rabbit

⏱ ~5 min reading

They say, they say, there is one little inhabitant on the Moon. Not a person, not a star - but a white fluffy rabbit. His fur is soft, like the first snow. His eyes are pink, like the petals of an apple blossom. His ears are long, long, with a silver border. And his paws are in soft silver boots, because it is cold on the Moon at night.

His name is simply Moon Rabbit. He doesn't like other names. He says, "I can hear everything when you think of me anyway.".

He lives in a small round hut made of moonstone. The hut stands by a large silver lake - at the very edge of the side of the Moon that is turned towards the Earth. On the roof grow three blue bells. They never wither, because they are watered by the dew from the stars themselves.

The rabbit doesn't eat carrots. But he doesn't even know what they are.

Do you know what he does? He makes milk. Not ordinary milk, but magical moon milk.

Every evening, when the children on Earth go to the bath, brush their teeth and climb into their warm pajamas, the Moon Rabbit is already at work. He sits down by his silver pond, takes a large silver cup (exactly like that little thimble in Grandma's) and begins to scoop. The milk in the cup is warm, light, and smells of vanilla and a little bit of a honey hut.

When the circle is filled to the brim, the Rabbit carefully gets up, approaches the very edge of the Moon and begins to pour. In a thin, thin stream. Straight into the sky.

And something strange happens to that milk. While it is flying down to the Earth, it transforms. It becomes silvery-silvery rays. Thin, delicate, like a spider web of morning dew. And these rays quietly fall on the windows of sleeping children. They seep through the glass. They drip right onto the pillow. And from there they fall into dreams.

You, my little one, don't know this. But every good night you have is his work.

The rabbit is very attentive. He stands on the very edge of the Moon and looks down. He sees - somewhere in the city, in a blue room, a girl with pigtails is sleeping. She tried hard today, she put away her toys. The rabbit smiles, pats the cup with his paw - and gives her more milk. Let her have a cozy dream about a warm blanket and a kitten by her side.

He looks further - in the village, in a white hut, a boy is sleeping. He had a hard day today, he cried because he had a fight with a friend. The rabbit narrows his pink eyes, takes the smallest silver cup, scoops it up especially quietly and sends the boy a very delicate portion. With a lullaby. The lullaby enters his sleep and whispers: "Don't be sad, little one. Tomorrow everything will be fine.".

He looks further - in a house on the edge of the forest, in a wicker crib, a very tiny baby is sleeping. He is not even a month old. The rabbit is especially careful here. He does not pour milk from a mug - he extracts it drop by drop. Each drop is like a pearl. And he sends them right over the cradle to lie down like light, light silver fluff.

If you woke up in the morning kind, calm, with a smile - it's him. The rabbit nodded with his long ears and said: "Today you deserve a wonderful sleep." And if someone had a bad dream - the Rabbit immediately sees it and sends a few extra drops. Like a soothing injection of affection. The bad dream then melts gently, like sugar in warm tea.

The rabbit works every night. No days off. No breaks.

Only once a year does he rest. That is when there is a lunar eclipse - when the Moon hides in the shadow of the Earth. Then the Rabbit settles down in his hut, puts his paws in the warm down jacket and sleeps by himself. He sleeps all night.

But the children are not left without milk, don't be afraid. The rabbit is wise. A week before the eclipse, he starts to cook more - he has stockpiled whole barrels of it. And on the night of rest, this milk flows out of the lake by itself, rises to the edge of the Moon by itself and drips down by itself. That is why, they say, dreams are especially vivid on such nights. Because there is more milk than usual.

And in the morning, when Rabbit wakes up, he goes to the edge of the Moon, looks down - and sees millions of smiling children's faces. And he feels all warm and cozy in his tummy.

“It’s okay,” he says quietly. “Have another good night.”.

And he gets back to his work.

And they say that Rabbit has a little helper. Very tiny. This is Zorenya. White, round, like a snowball. Zorenya flies from hut to hut and checks if all the children are in their beds. If someone is still awake, Zorenya quietly sits on the windowsill, blinks her pink eyes and whispers:

"Lie down, little one. The milk is already poured out.".

And then the sun on your eyelashes becomes heavier. The blanket is warmer. The pillow is softer. And sleep itself, like a kitten, nestles in your heart.

Rabbit and Little Star have been friends for a long time. Once Little Star fell from the sky and got tangled in moon dust. Rabbit picked her up, shook her, poured her some warm milk from a mug — and Little Star got better. Since then, she has stayed with him. He helps her. He sees who needs special care.

Do you know what else is interesting? They say that on very, very rare nights — when the sky is clear, without a single cloud, and the moon is full — the Rabbit himself descends on a thin ray to the very Earth. Not to everyone. Only to those children who are especially lonely. He sits by the crib. He quietly touches the cheek with his paw. And then everything immediately becomes fine with the child.

But he does it imperceptibly. In the morning you won't even remember. You'll just feel like someone loved you all night.

So if tonight, before you close your eyes, you look out the window and see a little white speck on the moon, know that it's him. Moon Rabbit. He's already taking his silver cup. He's already scooping milk. He's already thinking about you.

Sweet dreams, my little one.