“Bunnies Will Be Bunnies”

That forlorn looking topiary bunny sat on the long folding table at the garage sale here in the Palisades. I glanced right through his three-foot wire frame several times before I handed over two quarters and departed with my incredible deal.  

With Easter just a few months away, I knew I could find a use for him when the grandkids came over for our traditional brunch and Easter egg hunt.

The bunny lay nestled in the garage amongst some of my other yard sale treasures until closer to the holiday. I thought of using him as a fork and spoon holder, or a napkin dispenser on the buffet table, having peeps peep out of the holes.  But finally I decided to use the topiary frame for its intended purpose, and create a living sculpture. I tossed him in the front seat of the car and headed to my favorite nursery for instructions on how to get him in shape for Easter.

“If you start now, your topiary might be ready next year,” said the man at the nursery.

“Oh thanks!” I said. “I’ll take some tulips.”

“Don’t worry honey bunny,” I comforted my wire friend on the way home, “I’ll find a place for you.”

So yes, just like Jimmy Stewart, I found myself talking to a rabbit. My words took on a cheerful cadence as I sang rhymes – honey bunny, runny bunny, sunny bunny, funny bunny, money bunny. Ah…money, grandkids, money. “That’s it! Money Bunny! I got it. Now I just needed a plan. Excited, I sped home – not really, I was on PCH.

The idea evolved and began to take shape. My husband and I rolled dollar bill after dollar bill and poked them through the holes of the wire frame. Early Easter morning we hid brightly colored plastic eggs, assigning a different color for each grandchild. Each egg could be exchanged for a roll of the dice.

Whatever number showed up from the toss equaled the amount of money the player could pull from the bunny! Chocolate, jellybeans and marshmallow candies remained untouched. The kids gleefully clutched their fistfuls of cash. “Hallelujah,” echoed both parents and children.

Moral: Never pass up a forlorn-looking bunny. Never underestimate the power of multiplying. That initial 50-cent purchase turned into hundreds of dollars. As we all know – bunnies will be bunnies.