Run rabbit, run!
Following his A Meadow Awakens post, Harry - stall holder at Daniel's original Greenwich market stall - continues his tale of the DM Meadow creatures ....
"Over at the far side of the meadow a line of trees shadow a section of the field: here the mist is yet to lift, and it is as though it was still night. A shadowy four-legged figure stands motionless in the darkness, its bushy tail hidden in the dense flora as he scans the sunlit reaches of the meadow. He licks the dew from his whiskery chin as he plans his move. The night provided few spoils for this hungry red tailed beast, but dawn is for the opportunist, and an opportunist this young red fox certainly is. There's no need for him to sniff the air: he knows rabbits are very likely to be on the menu, and more importantly he knows where to find them.
He stealthily starts making his way to the sunny side of the meadow, silently, edging cautiously through shadow: unnoticed except by a pair of crows who excitedly watch overhead in an ancient gnarled oak tree; they know to pay attention when they spy a fox, for there could well be spoils for them. As he slinks between bracken and cow-slip his red coat briefly becomes ablaze as it is kissed by the suns rays, before shadow plunges him back into obscurity.
The rabbits are now tantalisingly close, and the fox salivates as he moves within pouncing distance. There are at least a dozen of them in full view grazing on a patch of clover, but looking a few yards to the left of the group the young fox can't help but notice the largest pair of rabbit ears he has ever seen, stood all on its own behind a bush. Getting over this distraction he refocuses his attention on the patch of clover with the more manageable prey, and with one paw hanging in the air, he delicately takes one last step forward.
Suddenly one of the rabbits lets out shrill squeak. The party of grazing rabbits instinctively know a fellow alarm call when they hear it, and - with no need to be told twice - they start scampering away down various burrows in a flash. The fox panics: he must act quickly, and plan B with the big ears is now looking like the only option: and so with cat-like agility the fox diverts his assault left of the disappearing bunnies and leaps over the bush to take on the rabbit of all rabbits…"
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