First night at Granny Rabbit's

For the very first time, Nutmeg was going to sleep at Granny Rabbit's. Granny's burrow was at the far end of the meadow, behind the big hazel tree, and it always smelled of carrot soup.

When it was time to go, Mama crouched down in front of him. She put a kiss in the middle of his paw and folded his little fingers over it. "Hold on to that. I'll be back tomorrow morning." Nutmeg squeezed his paw tight. "Tomorrow morning," he said.

At Granny's, there was orange soup in a spotted bowl and a game of hide-and-seek among the roots. Nutmeg giggled. Then evening came, and the burrow went very still. Nutmeg looked at the round door. His throat felt tight. "I want Mama."

Granny Rabbit lifted him onto her lap. "You miss her. She'll be back tomorrow morning, my little bunny." Nutmeg opened his paw. The kiss was still there; he could feel it. "Tomorrow morning," he murmured.

Granny took a small yellow blanket out of a basket, worn thin at the edges. "This was your mama's when she was your age. She slept here too, in this very bed." Nutmeg rubbed his nose on it. It smelled of hay, and just a tiny bit of Mama.

He lay down on the bed of dry leaves with the yellow blanket pulled up to his ears. Granny hummed the owl song, the same one Mama sings, only slower and in a deeper voice. Outside, the wind moved through the hazel tree, shhh, shhh.

Nutmeg kept his paw closed against his heart, with the kiss inside. "Tomorrow morning," he breathed once more. His ears flopped down onto the pillow, and he fell asleep in the burrow that smelled of carrot soup.