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In a quaint little cottage by the river lived a rabbit called Kirstie. She was a quiet young creature, at her happiest when tending the garden or running things up on her sewing machine. She was friendly with all the pets in the wood, but was rather timid, and tended to avoid large gatherings.

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Just before Easter, Kirstie looked up from Furstyles for Everypet to take a sip of chamomile tea. Now spring was well on the way, as shown by the flowers and plants flourishing in her garden, and Kirstie found she had a desire to renew and spruce up her appearance in some way. She was happy with her white fur but perhaps it was a bit—plain?

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The next day she went through the wood to visit the fur-stylist, a middle-aged otter called Norma. She showed Norma a page she had carefully marked in Furstyles for Everypet. The model was a white stoat with her ear-tips and tail-tip coloured a soft pink and with a few tiny streaks of colour in her fur.

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“I don’t want anything flashy or showy,” explained Kirstie anxiously. “It wouldn't suit me.”
Norma cheerily reassured her and gave her an appointment for the very next day.

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Kirstie turned up at Norma’s cottage at the set time, feeling nervous, but excitedly looking forward to her new look. She got comfortable in the fur-dresser’s chair and looked at the bottles of vegetable dye lined up like tiny soldiers on the counter.

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Norma explained the dyes were all made from natural ingredients such as beet­root, black­currants, rhubarb roots, herbs, elder­berries, saffron, walnut shells, carrot juice, chamo­mile tea and sage. The fur-dresser was unusually talk­ative and lively, and at one point made the bottles of dye rattle by bumping into the table.

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“Oops!” Norma said cheerfully, and carried on mixing the dyes. From time to time she took draughts of apple juice from a jug on the counter. She offered Kirstie some, but the young rabbit declined. The juice smelt a bit funny and in any case, she didn’t want to risk splashing her newly-washed fur.

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“Right, it’sh all ready!” declared Norma. “I’ll jusht get the bye­ing drush…I mean, the…what do I mean? Y’know, the…thing.” She groped amongst the tools on the counter and knock­ed a few to the floor. Kirstie felt alarmed but just then her attention was caught by a fan of maga­zines in front of her: Furstyle Monthly, Gorgeous Furstyles for You, and a very posh one called simply Fur. She reach­ed forward and pull­ed a couple of magazines towards her.

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Immersed in the glossy pages, Kirstie lost all track of time. She was dim­ly aware of a cold, bristly brush on her fur, not just on the tips of her ears and tail but all over. She vaguely assum­ed it was part of the whole process—perhaps fur conditioner? Quite some time later, Kirstie was jerked out of her engross­ed peru­sal by loud snoring. Startled, she looked round to see Norma fast asleep on the floor, the dye­ing brush still clutched in one paw. Alarmed, Kirstie looked in the mirror in front of her.

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Her shriek woke Norma from her slumber. Kirstie was no longer a plain white rabbit. Nor were there any subtle pink high­lights on her ears and tail. Her fur now boast­ed large, vibrant patches of turquoise, magenta and chestnut. One ear was bright orange, the other was pale blue and pink. She had multi­coloured daubs of dye on her face. And her fluffy tail was as cerulean as the summer sky.

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Norma struggled to her feet, stood swaying a little and then slid down the wall into a supine position. “Oh dear, I think those apples must have fermented. Oh, my head!” She blinked and focused on her multi­coloured customer. "You look lovely, dear!”
Kirstie burst into tears. “Wash it off, please!”

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Norma had by now grasped that some­thing was wrong. “Isn’t it quite what you wanted, dear? I’m afraid these dyes don’t wash off, but they’ll wear off in a few weeks’ time." Kirstie's heart sank. Easter was just a couple of days away, and now she would be the talk of the town, the Rabbit with the Rain­bow Fur. But she didn't want to upset Norma, who must have worked so hard. "Thank you," she said, forcing a smile. “It’s perfect.”

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She left the cottage and started on her way home. In just two days’ time it was the Easter Bonnet competition followed by the Egg Hunt. How could she possibly go to either looking like this? Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about all the work she had put into her Easter bonnet, all for nothing. The only place she would be for the next fortnight was her cottage, in her little bed, face to wall, sheet over head.

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"Wow!" exclaimed a passing squirrel. "You look like a walking Easter egg!" Other wood­land creatures began to gather, their eyes wide with wonder at Kirstie's new look. Some giggled, some stared, but all were intrigued. And as the whispers grew louder, an idea began to form in Kirstie's mind. If she had to be the Rabbit with the Rainbow Fur or the Cotton­tail with the Colour­ful Coif, she might as well own it!

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The next morning she felt better. It was egg-painting day. "All right," she said, her voice strong. "Let's paint some eggs!" After break­fast, she made her way to the village hall and taking a deep breath, opened the door. Quite a few pets were already gather­ed and were chatting happily. At Kirstie’s entrance, silence fell as they took in her trans­formed appearance. Kirstie’s courage started to fail and she was about to do an about-turn and leave when a young chick piped up: “It’s beautiful!” The animals cheer­ed and made admiring, friendly comments.

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Soon they were all huddled around the table, dipping brushes into paint and creating intricate patterns on eggs. The room was filled with laughter and chatter as the eggs trans­formed from plain to fabulous, much like Kirstie had. Kirstie realised that maybe this colour­ful mishap wasn't so bad after all.

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She devoted her time and energy to creat­ing some Fabergé-style eggs reflect­ing the splendid colours of her fur. All the eggs were left to dry over­night, to be hidden all over the wood very early the next morning by the hunt organisers.

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It was Easter Sunday, and it was time for the bonnet competition. Kirstie joined the other entrants, all who had donned home­made Easter bonnets. The air was filled with the sweet scent of bloom­ing flowers, and the sun painted the leaves in a warm, golden light.

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Kirstie couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement. Her fur might be a spectacle, but today, she was part of some­thing special. To her surprise and delight, she came third in the competition.

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Then it was time for the Egg Hunt! Together, they ventured into the woods, and hurried in differ­ent directions, finding eggs in the most un­expected places. Kirstie, with her rain­bow fur, became the leader of the pack, her vivid colours stand­ing out against the emerald backdrop.

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Kirstie couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as they exclaimed over her painted eggs, which had become the most sought-after prizes. Her fur-do may have been a mistake, but she had turned it into some­thing beautiful and memorable.

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The animals cheered each new find exuberant­ly, their laughter echo­ing through the trees. And as the last egg was found, a strange thing happened. Kirstie looked around at her friends and saw that their fur and feathers were a riot of colour from the paint and glitter they had picked up from the eggs. She realised she didn't feel out of place any more. In fact, she felt like she belonged more than ever!

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The animals gathered around her, their eyes shining with admiration. "You know what?" Kirstie said, her voice filled with a new­found confidence. "I think I might just keep the dye for a little longer."

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And so, as the sun began to set, painting the sky in hues of pink and gold, Kirstie hopped away from the egg hunt back to her cottage, her fluffy tail bobbing like a banner of blue.

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The other animals cheered, and the woods grew quiet as night­fall approached, leaving behind a memory of rainbow-coloured eggs that whispered of the day a simple white rabbit had become the Belle of the Easter Ball.

First Mate has enjoyed an Easter Story, but it is time to go home. Please select another pet as visitor, so they can also enjoy this event!