This is an original tale by yours truly, OmLaLa the Machiavellian. There are multiple TRP lessons hidden within this parable and it's message is open to your interpretation. I'll leave it up to you, the RPers, to decide what this parable’s really about. Best of luck.

I now give you the sequel of “Such is My Nature”.


“Such is Our Nature” by OmLaLa


Once upon a time, there was a rabbit named Bella.

Bella lived in a hovel tucked away in a garden. She’d lived there as long as she could remember.

The garden was owned and maintained by the Farmer.

The Farmer was slow, old and feeble, which meant that Bella could eat from his vegetables without fear of being caught.

And the vegetables were plentiful. The Farmer would constantly replenish the garden with seeds every day. Bella didn’t quite know how farming worked, but she didn’t too much care. She was happy just eating the "fruits" of his labor.

Bella also enjoyed the protection and shelter provided by the garden’s fence. It did well at keeping the Wolves at bay.

All and all, compared to most rabbits, Bella lived both happily and comfortably.

Every now and again, on the days Bella spent out in the open, the Vultures would stare at her hungrily from the fence posts. Bella didn’t worry too much about them though. For birds they were awfully slow and clumsy.

Bella found the Vultures amusing if anything. Sometimes she'd tease them, pretending to be sick or injured just to watch them fumble towards her.

“She’s MINE!” “No, she’s MINE!” they’d swabble, tripping over their feet and their wings and each other. And as soon as they got close enough, Bella would dash back to her hovel, crying in laughter.

“Another day, fellas!" she'd scoff.

But as much as Bella liked the food and protection of the Farmer’s garden, she'd often peer out into the fields beyond, dreaming of the wondrous places it held. Sometimes she could catch a glimpse of an Apple Orchard far off in the distance.

She'd seen other rabbits heading there, so surely those apples must be delicious.

But she knew she was not fast enough to outrun the Wolves. Not yet.

But as time passed, Bella became faster. Much faster. So fast in fact, she felt assured she could sprint passed the wolves.

And so one day, while the Farmer was away, she sprinted off for the Apple Orchard.

The Wolves took notice and ran after her. One Wolf came close to catching her.

“Come with me… little rabbit,” panted the Wolf. “I can... take you…. somewhere... far... better than some…. stupid Orchard.”

But Bella wasn't stupid.

“You are a Wolf,” snapped Bella, “There is nothing you can provide me that is better than an orchard!”

The Wolf was very displeased.

“H-How… do you… know that?” wheezed the Wolf, “I’m so much… different than… the other Wolves.”

“A wolf is a wolf is a wolf.” huffed Bella.

“It’s in a wolf’s nature to be crafty and sly and it’s in a wolf’s nature to try and catch rabbits. I refuse to go anywhere with you.”

The Wolf, defeated, gave up on the chase and solemnly returned to his pack. Bella'd never felt so victorious.

Soon after escaping the Wolf, Bella came upon the Apple Orchard.

It was a vast and plentiful place, with apples falling every minute.

The Orchard offered no protection like the fence in the Farmer’s garden. But Bella was okay with that. She felt she'd be fast enough to outrun any wolves that might linger.

There were also dozens of other rabbits about. But Bella didn’t mind that either. Certainly there were enough apples for all of them.

However, Bella what did want was her own stash.

“Orchard?" Bella cried out. The other rabbits fell silent.

"I’d like to ask a favor of you.”

The Orchard stirred.

“Ask.” The Orchard bellowed, its voice echoing deep throughout its branches.

Bella hesitated. Never had she met such a foreboding presence. She straightened herself up and tried once more.

“While I’m very grateful for the apples your providing us...” Bella gulped and continued, “…could you possibly drop a few apples down just for me?”

The Orchard became silent. The Wind rustling the leaves was the only sound heard. The other rabbits began to stare. Bella grew more anxious by the second.

“No.” The Orchard finally boomed.

“My apples fall when they fall. The Wind decides when they fall. The Wind is controlled by no one.”

Bella pondered this and replied.

“Couldn't you just make more apples? Or make them faster? And it’s not as though you’re using them.”

The Orchard grew still once again. The other rabbits shook their heads. ‘Be happy with what you get, Thumpalina’ one of them snickered. A few others giggled.

The Orchard stirred once more.

“An Orchard does not change for a rabbit. A rabbit adapts to an Orchard. If you are unhappy with the fruits I provide, you are free to leave at any time. There are no walls here.”

The other rabbits giggled.

The Orchard paused momentarily, then rang out once more.

“Here you are given a surplus of my fruit. However many the Wind decides that are not claimed by the others. In turn, the rabbits provide the spreading of my seeds. This is our coexistence. Such is our Nature.”

And with that, the Orchard fell silent once more.

For the next few weeks, Bella pondered what the Orchard had said to her.

At first, she'd felt rather ungrateful to the Orchard. But as time passed, she felt her requests were more than reasonable.

Every day she had to compete with the other rabbits for apples. And although she enjoyed apples much more than the Farmer’s vegetables, she didn’t like having to work for them.

Why couldn’t she be the only rabbit?

She’d decided to ask the Orchard.

“What would make one rabbit more beneficial to me than a dozen rabbits? A dozen rabbits will spread my seeds faster. One rabbit has it's limitations. Moreover, should I choose but one rabbit and that rabbit leaves this Orchard, what have I left to spread my seeds? More rabbits assures the future of my trees.”

What a crock of nonsense, thought Bella. She didn’t care about “coexistence” or stuff like that. She wanted her easy life back.

She was also getting quite sick of the Wolves.

She was quicker than them for now, but with every passing day she grew slower and slower. Soon would come the day where she couldn’t stay in the Orchard without being caught by the Wolves.

She thought back to the Farmer’s garden. If only this place had a fence too. Then she could live here forever.

"Why can't the Orchard have a fence around it?" She asked.

“I am no protector of rabbits. That is not in my Nature.”

Bella sighed. The Orchard continued.

“The Wolves exist to catch the slower rabbits. Rabbits slowed by age are caught by Wolves. The younger, faster rabbits can only reside here so long as they are equipped enough to escape the Wolves and to spread my seeds. Such is our Nature.”

What a load of hooey, grumbled Bella. She wouldn’t be caught by some Wolf. At least, as long as she could help it.

But one night, while desperately trying to escape pursuit, one of the quicker Wolves almost caught her. She barely managed to escape into her hovel just in the nick of time.

Bella swore silently to herself. She was no longer fast enough to stay in the Orchard. She had grown too old, too slow.

While she always had the option of returning back to her hovel in the Farmer’s garden, she’d recently heard a rumor spreading amongst the other rabbits.

As its told, just over the hill, there sits a magnificent Strawberry Patch, stretching for miles and miles, all protected by a massive stone wall.

Bella couldn’t bear to pass up such an attractive opportunity.

Surely the Farmer’s garden could wait.

The next morning, Bella sprinted with all her might over the hill and came upon a massive stone wall protected by a heavy wooden gate. Just as the rumors had said.

“Strawberry.. Patch,” Bella panted, “I’ve come… to ask… a favor.”

The Strawberry Patch stirred beyond the wall.

“Ask.” The Patch triumphantly roared.

Bella wasn’t fazed by the Patch’s mighty voice. She’d grown old and time wasn’t on her side.

“Could you please let me inside? I’d like to partake of your fruit.”

The Patch response was swift and unwavering.

“You have no home here. You have grown slow and feeble, requiring my walls for protection from the Wolves. Yet you can provide me no benefit in return.”

Bella was shocked.

“Surely I can spread your seeds, as I’ve done with the Orchard?”

“With my walls offering such protection from the Wolves and my fields bountiful, any rabbit would desire a home in me. As it stands, I could possess the most agile and vigorous rabbits in the area. Why would I choose you over them?”

Bella grew desperate. Maybe sympathy could get her inside.

Bella lowered her head and began to weep.

“B-But I’m just a small, frightened rabbit. I-If I stay out here much longer, I-I'll surely be caught by those terrible Wolves. You wouldn’t want that to happen now, would you?”

The Patch healthfully chuckled in response.

“The Wolves exist to catch slow rabbits. Rabbits slowed by age are caught by the Wolves. Only the most agile rabbits are offered my protection and fruit, as they can carry my seed farther than the others. Such is our Nature.”

She'd heard that somewhere before.

But Bella didn’t have time for this. The sun was going down and the Wolves would be out soon.

Bella used what little strength she had to sprint back to the Farmer’s garden. Home sweet home.

But when she arrived, the gate was locked. The Farmer has never locked the gate before, she thought. Why would he start now?

Bella noticed something moving inside the garden. Out of her hovel popped another rabbit.

“You’ve taken my home!” cried Bella, desperate to get in.

The other rabbit chuckled.

“I saw you leave from this garden months ago. I was growing old and slow. I envied this this garden for quite some time. So as soon as you left, I moved in.”

This is hopeless, panicked Bella.

Exhausted and desperate, Bella picked a random direction and hoped that in time she’d come across another garden like the Farmer’s.

But after miles and miles of running, another garden never came. They were all locked, all occupied, all desolate.

She was hungry. She was tired. She was weak.

And then the Vultures came. She could hear them bickering overhead.

The Vultures landed nearby and approached her. Bella chuckled morbidly to herself.

“Had to wait until I was old, feeble and worthless to finally catch me, huh fellas?” Bella scoffed.

The Vultures shrugged.

“Such is Our Nature.”

THE END