Deep into the park under the wide oak tree
lived a family of rabbits who were wild and free.
There ran a maze of burrows far under the ground,
twisting and branching for miles around.
Brothers, sisters and cousins ran through them at speed,
taking it in turns to take the lead.
Silver was the biggest, he was brave and strong,
he guarded the little ones ensuring nothing went wrong.
But then one autumn morning Silver felt tired and ill,
so he lay on the soft earth just quiet and still.
The other youngsters urged him to get up and play,
but Silver just lay there all through the long day.
So wise grandma rabbit decided it was time to take charge,
she was terribly clever, very old and ever so large.
She looked at young Silver and started to worry,
he needed a special medicine and they had to hurry.
The eager young rabbits gathered the things they'd need,
Bits of brown bark, damp lichen and an enormous red seed.
Grandma mixed them together to make up the foul potion.
It was green and smelly, but made with love and devotion
To start with the medicine made him feel so sick and weak,
his hair fell out and he was too ill to speak.
When the chill winter came, and his skin was still bare,
So he shivered and moaned in the freezing air.
Grandma worried because it was taking much too long
for Silver to recover, to get healthy and strong.
He needed to be warm to get completely better,
What she thought might help was a warm snug sweater.
Grandma had a good plan and she knew what she'd need,
with the help of the young rabbits it was sure to succeed.
Each rabbit then with the utmost care,
plucked at their tummies until they were completely bare.
Grandma spun the hair and then knitted all day,
whilst beside her Silver slept, quietly snoring away.
They wrapped him up warm and hoped he'd soon be well.
How long it would take Grandma couldn't quite tell.
Spring sunshine arrived and Silver began hopping around
when took off his sweater every heart started to pound.
Had his hair come back, had it started to grow?
They held their breath, they wanted to know.
Would his skin still be smooth, pink and bare?
but no it was not, there was thick spiky grey hair.
What of the rabbit hair sweater I hear you all ask,
making it had been such an incredible task.
Well you see grandma rabbit was getting so old,
and all winter long she'd also been feeling the cold.
So the all the young rabbits agreed it would be better
to let grandma keep the lovely warm rabbit hair sweater.
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