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The cabbages were huge this year.
Their leaves were bigger than Cockles and Mussels had ever seen them. "I
wonder what made Tom’s cabbages so big this year?" Cockles said. The two
dogs stood at the edge of the garden, staring in amazement. Cockles held
his blue ball under one of his paws.
"Tom’s excited about them. He’s
going to take the biggest one to the fair this year. I think he’ll win.
I’ve not see any other cabbages this big anywhere on the island," Mussels
said.
As they stood watching, something
caught Cockles’ attention. "What was that?" he asked.
"I didn’t see anything. What are you
talking about? Where?" Mussels asked.
"There’s something moving in the
cabbage patch," Cockles said.
"Is it a crow? Is it a mouse? What
is it? I didn’t see a thing," Mussels replied.
Just then two tall, brown, furry
ears stood up straight into the air. "It’s a rabbit!" Cockles shouted.
"A rabbit? I see it. It’s going to
eat Tom’s cabbages. Och no, we can’t have that," Mussels said. He began to
bark loudly. Cockles started barking too. The rabbit stood up on its hind
legs and looked at the two dogs. Its nose twitched and its whiskers
wiggled up and down, but it didn’t move.
"He’s not afraid of us," Mussels
said. "We’re going to have to chase him out."
"Rabbits move quickly," Cockles
said. "I can’t run that fast."
"I’ll chase him. You just be ready
to pounce on him when he comes running out," Mussels said.
The two dogs crept around the sides
of the cabbage patch. Cockles stood off to the side, waiting for the
rabbit to come running out. Mussels started moving in between the
cabbages, searching for the rabbit. He walked around each huge cabbage but
didn’t see the rabbit. He stuck his head up. "Cockles, do you see him?" he
whispered.
Cockles looked around and shook his
head no. Two long ears suddenly poked up from behind one of the cabbages
very near to where Mussels was. "There he is," Cockles whispered and
pointed.
Mussels turned around and looked.
The ears disappeared as Mussels ran barking towards them. He ran through
the cabbages but couldn’t find the rabbit. "Where did he go?" Mussels
said, confused and irritated.
Cockles climbed onto a stone and
looked down on the cabbages. "I see him. He’s over there," he pointed.
Mussels crept slowly and silently
towards the rabbit. This time he wanted to catch him. He saw the rabbit.
It was ripping leaves off one of the cabbages and nibbling it. "Och no.
It’s eating Tom’s biggest cabbage," Mussels whispered to himself. He
started running and barking. The rabbit darted away. "Catch him," Mussels
shouted. "He’s coming your way!"
Cockles climbed down off the rock
and got ready to pounce. "I’ll get him. Don’t worry," he shouted back. The
cabbage leaves started wiggling and Cockles knew the rabbit was headed
towards him. "Here he comes. I’ll get him." He pounced and landed right on
the rabbit, except it wasn’t the rabbit. It was Mussels.
"Get off me," Mussels sighed. "Where
did the rabbit go? Did you see it?"
Cockles stood up. "He didn’t come
this way. I thought you were the rabbit."
The back door of the house opened
and Tom Maxwell came out. "Lads, I’ve come to pick my cabbage and take it
to the fair," he said and walked toward the cabbage patch.
"Och no. When he sees what the
rabbit did, he’s not going to be very happy," Mussels said.
Tom headed right for the biggest
cabbage. From the front it looked perfect but when Tom came around the
back of it, his mouth opened wide and he was surprised. "What happened to
my cabbage? Did you lads do this?" he shouted. He lifted it up. Leaves
were ripped off and big bites were taken out of it. "Naughty dogs. You
destroyed my biggest cabbage!" He put it down on the grass near the door.
"Come here," he said sternly to the two dogs. Cockles and Mussels walked
slowly towards him, their tails between their legs. "Lads, you know I’ve
been growing this all summer and how important it was to me. Now look at
it. You’ve ruined my prize cabbage."
He was about to scold them some more
when the rabbit came running out of the cabbage patch and headed for the
woods. Cockles and Mussels started barking and ran after it. A while later
they came back. "Och, it wasn’t you two after all. It was a rabbit. Sorry
lads. I shouldn’t have blamed it on you without proof. Forgive me?" he
asked. The two dogs licked him and all was forgiven. "Now, lads. I’ll have
to pick another cabbage. Will you help me pick another?"
They went into the garden and picked
another big cabbage. It hadn’t been nibbled and was almost as big as the
other one. Tom took it to the fair and won first prize. When he came home
he called the dogs. "Look what I won, first place. The ribbon belongs to
you lads too. Thanks for watching the cabbages for me. Now, for being such
good dogs, I’ve got a wee surprise for you. I stopped at the butchers on
the way home and picked you up a nice serving of corned beef."
Cockles and Mussels were very happy.
They feasted on the corned beef and then Tom let them lie inside the house
next to the fire. Mussels slept and Cockles chewed on his blue ball. That
night, they were all winners. |
