One day, I visited a shelter with my pet rabbit Soapy. No one smiled a greeting, and they appeared uninterested. One little girl in particular moved like a wisp (纤弱的小东西) in the background. I was told that she had been there for over a month and had not spoken the entire time. Her mother said she had talked at one time but not in recent memory. I didn't want to imagine what could have happened to rob this little girl of the natural curiosity and enthusiasm so natural to childhood.
Spreading a blanket on the floor, I sat down and put Soapy on it. I told the group that Soapy would come to talk to them if they sat on his blanket. Several children did this, including the silent girl. She sat rigidly at the edge of the blanket, staring hard at Soapy. She didn't reach out to him or encourage him in any way. Rather she sat tensely, just staring.
Soapy circled around and finally came to a stop about two inches from her. He quietly reached out and laid his chin on her knee. I was astonished. While a common behavior for dogs, this is not a behavior normally exhibited by a rabbit.
The girl slowly leaned toward Soapy. When her face was within inches of his, she carefully reached out and circled him with her arms. Quietly, she pillowed her head on his back and whispered to him, so softly that no one in the room could hear. Soapy remained motionless.
I looked up and noticed that the shelter workers had stopped talking. Every adult in the room froze in place. Time seemed to have stopped.
The little girl reappeared when I was to leave. I held Soapy out to her. She wrapped him in a big hug and pressed her face against him. Soapy laid his head on the child's shoulder, his breathing slowed, and his eyes closed. As the little girl released her hug and turned away, I thought I saw the beginnings of a faint smile.
The rabbit in his cloud of soft, warm fur had touched something deep in the child. Soapy's innocence and trust appeared to kindle those very same qualities in the little girl. It seems the language of the heart is simple after all.
