As I recall this story was written to a specific prompt.
This is too boring Christopher thought.
Christopher Rabbit was digging carrots with Alex and Alexandra Rabbit in the warm sun of a crisp, fall afternoon. It was the kind of afternoon that made Christopher want to play football. Christopher sat back on his haunches and looked around. Alex and Alexandra, Christopher's brother and sister, worked steadily, pulling long, orange carrots out of the cool brown earth.
Christopher looked into his own basket. A few carrots lay scattered about the bottom of the basket.
It's gonna take forever, Christopher thought.
Mother Rabbit had told her children that they must each pull a basket full of carrots today. When they finished they could have a special treat--carrot crumble pie.
A fly buzzed around Christopher's long ear. He watched it carefully out of the corner of his eye. Stealthily he adjusted his position. There! He caught it.
"Hey, you guys," Christopher called in triumph. "I caught this fly right out of the air. D'ya wanna see?"
"Christopher, why don't you get to work?" Alex said.
"Yeah, we're way ahead of you," Alexandra agreed.
Alexandra hopped back to look into Christopher's basket.
"Gee, Christopher, you hardly have any carrots at all."
"Lemme see."
Alex hopped back too.
"Boy, are you slow, Christopher," Alex said.
"Am not," was Christopher's reply. "I caught this fly right out of the air."
He let the fly go now and it buzzed out of his hand and into the pale blue sky.
"You're not going to get any carrot-crumble pie if you don't get working," Alex warned.
Alex and Alexandra hopped back to their baskets and began pulling carrots again.
Christopher imagined himself catching a whizzing football. It whistled past his long ear--thwamp--into his outstretched paws.
Christopher was still daydreaming when he smelled something delicious. His nose twitched as he recognized the aroma of freshly baked carrot-crumble pie. Christopher looked up. Alex and Alexandra were gone.
"Great!" Christopher thought, "We're done."
Christopher looked into his basket--a few carrots lay scattered in the bottom.
"How could Alex and Alexandra be finished already?" he wondered.
Christopher picked up his basket and hopped lazily to the house.
"Christopher, you're done," mother said, as she stepped out of the kitchen. Mother looked into Christopher's basket--then she frowned.
"Christopher, what have you been doing all afternoon? Your brother and sister came in with full baskets and yours is hardly started. You had better go back to the garden patch and try again."
Christopher could hear Alex and Alexandra whispering and snickering in the doorway.
Mother went back inside shaking her head.
"No carrot-crumble pie for you, Christopher Rabbit, not until you fill up that basket."
Christopher hopped slowly toward the garden. He could see the three pies cooling on the window sill. It wasn't fair that Alex and Alexandra would get pies and he wouldn't. After all, they liked pulling carrots, and they didn't have to miss their favorite game to do it.
Before Christopher realized what he was doing, he raced up to the window and snatched one of the carrot-crumble pies. He sprinted swiftly away, but as he ran he heard his mother call.
"Christopher Rabbit, you come back here this instant!"
Christopher ran and ran. He didn't stop until he was far away. Finally, he looked back. His house was out of sight, and no, no one seemed to be following him.
I out ran them, Christopher thought triumphantly.
Christopher sat down and quickly gobbled up the carrot-crumble pie. It was delicious; but when he was finished, Christopher didn't feel very well. Suddenly, he realized that he had to go home now, and he realized, with a pang of regret, that he shouldn't have taken the pie without earning it.
It was dusk now, and cold. Christopher shivered. He felt nervous as the shadows of the trees began to lengthen. He had never been out this late before.
Christopher's feet dragged as he began his trek homeward. He had never walked so slowly. It was dark when Christopher reached home. Lights glowed warmly through the windows, but Christopher paused, reluctant to go in. As Christopher opened the door, he realized what he had to do.
"I'm sorry, Mother," he apologized. "I'm sorry, Alex and Alexandra. You deserved the carrot-crumble pie for working hard, but I didn't." Christopher paused, "Mother, can I pull two baskets of carrots tomorrow to make up for stealing the pie today?"
"You did wrong today, but since I can see that you are sorry, and you have apologized, after you pick the two baskets of carrots, you'll be forgiven for stealing the pie."
"Thank you mother," said Christopher. He felt as if a heavy weight had lifted from his heart. "I can't wait to pick carrots!"
Everybody laughed.
By Sherri S. Crowley
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