*****
Around noon, Flopsy was at Goober’s house. She had told him about what happened, but his reaction to it was not what he she had expected. The brown bunny explained, “It sounds to me like she found a hero to look up to.”
Flopsy whimpered, “But I thought I was her hero.”
Goober raised a finger. “You most likely are; however, she has never met anyone like Rocky Road before.”
The lop-eared rabbit complained, “She was drawing him, Goober! Pretty soon her entire wall will be covered with his face!” She seemed apologetic when she saw that he was recoiling a bit.
The brown rabbit composed himself and answered, “Forgive me if I am wrong, but might you be getting a little jealous of Rocky Road?”
Flopsy huffed with annoyance. “Jelous?! Me, Jelous?! That’s silly! I love Gumdrop! I want her to be happy!”
“Then what is wrong with her drawing a few pictures of her new hero. I don’t see anything wrong with looking up to someone. Even I have a hero.”
The girl cocked her head. “You have a hero? Who is it?”
Goober proudly replied, “Mister Hooty. He’s my biggest inspiration. I think a lot of animals could learn from his wisdom. I’d probably draw pictures of him if I was good at it.”
Flopsy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I didn’t just guess that.”
Goober continued, “Rocky Road isn’t staying here for long, and Gumdrop probably just wants to learn everything she can from him before he leaves. I think you may have let yourself get a little out of control on this one.”
The lop-eared rabbit began to sink down in her seat. She really seemed to be considering what was said. Had Flopsy really gotten jealous so fast and easily? The revelation came out in words, “Oh, my gosh, Goober. I’m a monster!”
Goober chuckled. “No, you aren’t a monster! You’re just selfish!”
“But I don’t wanna be selfish! I love Gumdrop! I want her to be happy even if she isn’t there to brush my fur in the morning… even if she isn’t always talking about how awesome I am!”
Goober seemed perplexed, “Does she really do that to you?”
Flopsy nodded. “Ever since we met.”
The brown rabbit sighed. “Well, in any case, you should just be her friend and support her. Rocky Road is no Mister Hooty, but he is still a great role model from what I’ve heard of him.” He raised a finger again. “Remember that a friend should always be supportive.”
Flopsy nodded in agreement. “And never selfish.”
*****
The next day came, and Rocky Road was in Oak Pass saying his goodbyes to the animals of Cottontail Pines. “I have traveled far and wide,” the mouse went on to say, “but I can’t say I have seen finer flowers than in Cottontail Pines. I imagine that I will speak of them in high regard to many of the other villages I come across.” Everyone was astir from that announcement. No one would have ever thought of their own town as something to remember.
Gumdrop was in the front row. She had stars in her eyes for her new hero, and Rocky stopped for a moment when he saw them. He said, “But before I go, I must mention a lovely mouse who gave me a wonderful place to stay while I was here. Gumdrop, could you please come on the stand with me?”
Flopsy–who had mingled into the crowd–watched as her best friend stood up on the stand with her new hero. It was an odd sight because Gumdrop looked extremely nervous to be standing before so many people; however, when Rocky placed a hand on her shoulder, she seemed to calm down.
The adventurer said, “Hospitality is not missing in Cottontail Pines. This lovely mouse and her parents not only provided me with a room, but also listened to me ramble about my tales into the wee hours of the night. She also told me many wonderful things about your fair town. I am sure that you are all very proud to have her as a resident.”
Everyone–including Flopsy– clapped which made Gumdrop blush deeply. She was not accustomed to praise.
Gumdrop handed the adventurer a drawing of him that she had made. “You can have this. I drew it this morning. I hope you like it.”
Rocky Road gazed at the drawing and smiled. “I will keep it with me always. Thank you very much, Gumdrop.” The girl mouse blushed some more and made her way back into the crowd.
Rocky finally announced, “It is time for me to leave! Maybe, I will return someday with some new tales of adventure! Goodbye, everyone!” All the animals waved as he set off to the border with Mister Hooty as an escort.
Gumdrop watched from where she stood until he was out of sight. She jumped a little when Flopsy touched her shoulders. “Oh, Flopsy! I… I guess I was a little distracted these last few days.”
The bunny smiled and waved her paws. “It’s okay. Rocky Road was a pretty awesome mouse–just like you, Gumdrop.”
“Do you think I’ll ever be brave like him someday?”
Flopsy snickered. “I think you’re that brave right now. I have never seen you let anyone push you around. Even Wily the fox is no match for you.”
Gumdrop hugged her friend. “Thank you, Flopsy.” The bunny hugged her back happily.
The mouse peered up to her friend and asked, “Do you think you can come over to my place for a while so I can brush your fur? I got a lot of things I wanna chat about.”
Flopsy nodded and began walking with her. “What kind of things?”
Gumdrop excitedly said, “Well, did you know that Rocky Road actually met Fang the wolf once?!”
“He did?!”
“Yep! Of course, he couldn’t fight him or anything, but he was still able to hide from him.”
“How’d he do it?”
“Well, he covered himself in some blueberries he found. It totally masked his scent, but he was blue-colored for days! It was a really funny story.”
Flopsy laughed, “That sounds hilarious! What other adventured did he have?”
“Oh, there’s like a million of them!” Gumdrop and Flopsy proceeded to the house, and Gumdrop told story after story of the great adventurer, Rocky Road, as she brushed her friend’s fur. Flopsy listened to every word knowing that her best friend was happy.
The end.
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