GIMMEE, GIMMEE, GIMMEE!
(Dusty Doesn’t Want to Share)
"Why are my people bringing that tree in the house?" Dusty didn’t understand as he sniffed the sharp tang of a fir tree. I always thought trees belonged in a forest.
It was the Christmas season and Dusty watched all the activity in bewilderment. What he hated the most about this time was how the furniture got moved around. He had all his little rabbit-trails memorized and then they got blocked by chairs or some other thing. It made him so annoyed that he thumped his hind foot and then he felt better.
Lovely songs played (although to bunny ears they were a trifle loud), as Dusty hopped down hall to see what was happening. He had just settled down for a nice snooze when all the commotion happened out in the living room. Being a bunny, he was very curious and needed to see what they were doing.
Dusty stopped in his tracks. His people set out a big basket of hay and they were putting all sorts of animal toys around it. I hope those animals don’t eat too much hay. I want it and it’s mine! What’s she doing anyway?
He hopped over to the basket, pushed some of the animals away and sat down. He sat frowning but felt better since now he could watch how much they ate. Come to think of it, I’m pretty hungry myself. Mmmm. That hay tastes good. He nibbled some that hung over the edge.
He felt the need to investigate further. It was definitely a mystery. He became tired after all the activity, so he decided to take another nap. That’s something else bunny rabbits are good at. Bunnies are very happy when they have lots of food and take lots of naps.
When he woke up, he looked around and realized where he was. Dusty was not happy about this whole situation. There were entirely too many critters very close to his hay. And the worst was, someone was on top of the hay! What’s this? Why, it’s a little person. What’s he doing in my hay? He didn’t know about Baby Jesus.
He was insulted that someone would sit on his food. In the animal world, many animals sit, stand or lie on their food to tell others that the food belongs to them. And here was this little person wrapped in white on top of his hay! Who does he think he is?
Dusty Guards His Hay photo by Crystal J. Ortmann
Well, he couldn’t allow this other guy to take his hay, so he butted his way through the animals and nudged baby Jesus right out of the basket. Then Dusty climbed into the basket and took another nap. He wasn’t a selfish bunny—it’s just what rabbits do to protect their own things.
“Ahh,” he thought, “it’s all mine. Gimmee, Gimmee, Gimmee.”
He was happy because he kept all of his hay and pushed Jesus aside to do it.
Sometimes, though, children and grown-ups do the same thing. We want lots of things at Christmas and either push Baby Jesus aside or forget we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday as we receive our presents. God wants us to share and be willing to give others things that will make them happy.
Dusty Takes Over the Manger Scene Photo by Crystal J. Ortmann©
You can read more about giving and receiving in Luke 6:38 . Although Dusty doesn’t understand about Baby Jesus, we can and we can make room for Him in our hearts.
