One cool morning in April, Abigail happily grazed in the pasture with her siblings. It was beautiful here. They lived where others vacationed.
Once summer would arrive, they would be able look out over the sea and watch the many tourists swimming, going for walks, or struggling with their coolers and umbrellas.
“Look, it’s them again!” said Henry, Abigail’s big brother. All the sheep turned their heads at the same time to see the family they had all become used to watching during the high season.
For generations, this family vacationed in the same place. They chose the exact same spot on the beach and the same beach chairs. When the sheep saw them, they knew that it must be the start of high season once again.
Abigail was dreaming about how nice everything was in summertime when her thoughts were interrupted.
“Hey, Abigail, you’re daydreaming again!” said her older sister Margaret. “You better watch that you don’t trip and fall into one of the ditches!”
In fact, this was one of the greatest dangers for sheep living here on the dike. Once they stumbled into a ditch that was muddy and narrow, it was almost impossible for them to get out on their own.
Abigail had seen a few sheep get stuck and they had had to wait for help from passersby or the shepherd.
“I definitely don’t want that to happen to me!” she resolved.
With her older sister’s warning in mind, Abigail was alert again. She took another bite and found that the grass was cold and still full of morning dew—a further reminder that summer hadn’t arrived just yet.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer,” she thought.
Just then, unrest spread through the flock of sheep. From a distance, they could see the shepherd arriving with his dogs.
“We’re probably going to the other side of the dike,” she heard a sheep say.
“Yes, probably,” grumbled another. None of them wanted to change sides because they would no longer have an unobstructed view of the sea.
With the arrival of the shepherd and his dogs, the hustle and bustle began. All the sheep were herded together in a large circle so that no one got lost.
In the commotion, Abigail was distracted by a red, shiny egg lying in a clump of tall grass. She could barely believe her eyes.
“Is that really there? Have the gulls been laying red eggs lately?” she thought in disbelief.
Abigail nudged the egg gently with her nose. It was much heavier and didn’t seem as fragile as a freshly laid egg.
When she raised her head again, she saw a bright yellow egg a few feet away. It was as yellow as the sun. She carefully stepped in its direction and heard a rustling sound behind her.
“That doesn’t sound like a bird laying colorful eggs,” Abigail thought to herself, grinning. Her curiosity was piqued. As she followed the trail of colorful eggs, she unknowingly moved farther and farther away from her flock.
She suddenly felt exhausted, so she turned around and was surprised to find that the other sheep were no longer there. She dashed up the dike, expecting to see them grazing on the other side. But there were no sheep on the other side either!
Instead, she saw the shepherd’s tractor and trailer driving away in the distance. Abigail realized that the flock of sheep must be going to a completely different meadow that was ready for grazing.
“How am I going to find them again?” she wondered. She knew every inch of this dike but she’d never been outside this area.
“Well, I’m sure they’ll be looking for me,” she thought. “And besides, I’m doing just fine on my own!” After all, she had grass and water and would be alright for a few hours.
Suddenly, she heard the rustling sound again. It was closer than before and it was accompanied by heavy breathing.
As Abigail turned to see what was causing the sound, a frantic bunny darted past her. He was carrying a basket full of colorful eggs.
“Hey, you!” called Abigail. “What are you doing with all those colorful eggs?”
The little bunny was startled. Abigail was much bigger than he was. Out of breath, the little bunny explained that he was in training with the Easter Bunny and had been given the task of preparing the Easter nests for the children by the sea. He was supposed to hide the eggs in tall grass so they would be harder to find.
“Oh dear,” Abigail thought to herself. She knew there were never any children on the dike, especially on such a chilly day.
“Are you sure you should be spreading the eggs here?” she asked.
The little bunny became even more agitated.
“Where else?” he said. “This is by the sea, isn’t it?”
Abigail nodded and thought about how she could help.
“I have an idea!” she said. They collected the colorful eggs in the bunny’s basket and headed for the other side of the dike.
The previous summer, Abigail had observed where all the tourists came from and where they seemed to live when they weren’t walking on the beach or swimming. She accompanied the bunny to a small residential area nearby.
A group of small houses and gardens were hidden behind tall hedges and rustling reeds.
“I’d say these were the green spaces the Easter Bunny had in mind when he sent you,” Abigail said with a smile.
The young bunny was very relieved and happily hopped from one garden to another, always taking good care not to be seen.
When Abigail could no longer hear or see the bunny, she made her way back to her dike. She fortified herself with a large portion of fresh grass and took a long drink of water from a ditch, which she was especially careful not to slip into.
Then she heard the hum of an engine and recognized the shepherd in the distance with the rest of her flock.
“There she is!” the shepherd called to his dog from afar, pointing at Abigail. The truck stopped at the edge of the dike.
“We can’t let this happen again!” he said firmly, running toward Abigail with relief.
He patted her head and said, “Gee, you gave us a scare! You can’t stay here all by yourself. There’s a storm surge forecast for the next few days. I’m taking you all to a safe meadow.”
Relieved, Abigail jumped into the trailer with the others. Of course, she kept her encounter with the young Easter Bunny to herself. After all, it was her Easter secret!
