A lonely man named Tobias was sitting on a bench in the park. He was tired of being alone but couldn’t come up with a good idea to change that and make his life happy again.
He came to that park every day after work and just sat there looking into space and never really spoke to anyone because in his mind he had nothing to say.
He wasn’t an old man, just a lonely one, but he acted very old and groaned each time he started to stand up from that bench. Tobias walked slowly, just creeping along, and never noticed what was happening around him. It could be summer or autumn and he didn’t care. Back to that bench he’d go and he claimed that space for himself. Other people visiting the park were so use to him coming there every day, they never sat on “his” bench so it waited for him and he never failed to make his way there.
One day as Tobias inched along towards his bench, he noticed something taking a nap right in the middle of it. It was quite large and had fluffy fur all over it. The fur wasn’t pure white, but very close to that except it had black freckles running through it and so the object looked spotted, sort of. As he got closer to the object he realized it was a very large rabbit!! He bumped the bench to arouse the animal, but nothing happened. What should he do, he thought? This is my bench and this animal has no right to sit here. I’ve been here for several years now and no one takes my bench, he thought again, so this rabbit has to go! As he pondered his next move, the rabbit stirred and opened his eyes.
Hello, the rabbit said, how lovely to see you. My name is Theodore and I would be so pleased for you to join me here on my bench! Theodore started to uncurl his rather large body and when he was completely unwrapped from his sleeping position, Tobias was shocked! Theodore was nearly as tall as him and became even taller once his ears unfurled and into a proper position on top of his head.
Now mind you, it seemed very unusual to Tobias that he should be speaking to a beautiful rabbit with spots all over his white fur and ears that were probably a foot long, but he continued the conversation anyway. Why are you sitting on my bench, said Tobias, and Theodore looked at him as if he’d been stabbed or something even worse.
No, no, no, said Theodore, this has always been my bench, but I will gladly share it with you. Tobias noticed that Theodore’s fur was changing colors as he spoke, and now was a lovely shade of green with purple dots all through it! What’s wrong with your fur, he asked, and Theodore was stunned; why nothing! I do think it’s very beautiful, soft and silky, and is certainly a warm coat in the winter, so why you would say there’s something wrong with it is a bit of a shock to hear! But all at once Theodore took a good look at his fur and sure enough it was green!! Oh my goodness, he said, what could be the matter with my fur? Tobias tried to calm the rabbit, but now Theodore was standing up a distance from the bench and looked very nervous. In the next moment, his fur changed again and now he was orange with blue dots! The next thing Tobias knew, Theodore was gone! Poof, just like that, the rabbit had disappeared.
Tobias sat down on “his” bench and after he collected his thoughts a little realized he must have eaten something that disagreed with him and so Theodore was just a bit of his imagination that had come out because of indigestion. He sat there for awhile with his eyes closed, and suddenly heard another voice. He looked up and a woman was standing in front of him laughing.
Wow, you spoke to him didn’t you? She was giggling so loud that other people began to look at her and now also him. Why, whatever do you mean Tobias said, and his face was a little flushed. You spoke to Theodore, she said, and he got so flustered he ran off. What did you say to him?
I told him his fur was changing colors and the woman stopped laughing. Oh, no, you didn’t do that! Yes, I did. Was I wrong? Yes, the woman said. We can only hope he comes back tomorrow, and she turned and walked away.
Tobias had enough for one day and started to walk home. That woman had confused him and he had no idea if he made a bad mistake or not. As he walked, he heard a voice say to him, come back tomorrow and we’ll see what we can see, but until then goodnight from the keeper of the bench…I am Theodore. Rest well…