This story was inspired by our bunny, Fern, and her first experiences with snow.

The air felt oddly cool as Fifi made her way to the front door of her family’s warren. It wasn’t a horrible soggy cold, like when it rained. No this was a dry crisp cold. Fifi twitched her nose and blinked as the chill tickled her nostrils and made her sneeze.

She thought about going back down to her family and getting her brother Fawn to come out with her, but thought better of it. Fawn would never let her live it down. He would tease her for being a silly girl and tell all the other boys and they would laugh at her. It was bad enough being called Fifi, without giving the boys something else to tease her about. On top of that Fifi’s mum and dad called each years litter the next letter of the alphabet, so Fifi and her brothers and sisters all had names beginning with F. All the other bunny families that lived in daisy meadow thought it was a bit odd. Fifi sighed to herself, as strange as her parents were she did love them and knew she was one of the luckiest bunnies in the whole meadow.

Mustering up her courage Fifi stuck her nose out her family’s warren and was shocked by how bright it was outside. It was late evening and should have been dark and gloomy out, just what Fifi’s large brown eyes were designed for. Instead it was dazzling and Fifi had to blink a few times to allow her eyes to adjust after the darkness of the warren.

“Where has all the grass gone?” Fifi asked herself as she looked at the blanket of whiteness before her. Her first thought were the human machines that Mrs Tompkins had told her about when she first moved to the meadow. They had arrived one day and taken away all the grass and dug large holes until it wasn’t safe for the Tompkins family to stay in their home anymore. While Mrs Tompkins said she was lucky to find the meadow, she still missed all her old neighbours, who had also been forced to move and ended up goodness knew where.

Fifi shivered and thought about heading back down into the warren to tell her dad about what had happened, but something stopped her. She hadn’t heard any disturbance during the day, while she was asleep with her family, and there was something else dirt was brown, not white.

She looked out at the whiteness that now covered the meadow. Twisting her large ears around, as she stood motionless, listening for the slightest sound to tell her what had happened. But there was nothing to hear, the meadow was as silent as it was white.

Carefully Fifi lifted her front paw and placed it on to the whiteness. Shocked by the crunch it made she pulled her paw back and nearly tumbled backwards down her burrow. Fifi gave herself a shake to regain her composure and checked behind her to make sure no one was watching.

Sure she was still alone Fifi turned back to the meadow. This time she was prepared for the sensation as she carefully placed her paw out onto the crunchy white stuff. It was most bizarre as the ground crunched and sank slightly under her paw. She felt the cold through the thick fur on her paw, but it wasn’t wet like when the rain had been. Feeling brave she slowly emerged from the warren and stood, a little gingerly, on the crunchy, cold ground beneath her. Her legs had sunk into the whiteness and she had to stand on her tiptoes to keep the strange, cold, white stuff from touching her tummy.

From her new vantage point, out of the warren, Fifi still couldn’t see any sign of the grass. Though mercifully there was still no sign of any human machinery, but where was the grass? Determined to be brave Fifi pushed off with her powerful back legs and hoped forwards. Taking great care as she landed, not wanting to sink into the white stuff anymore than she had to. The springiness of the ground as she landed was kind of fun and Fifi couldn’t resist doing another big hop.

Soon she was bouncing around the meadow, kicking up her back legs and spraying clumps of the white stuff, which stuck to her paws, as she went. Her concerns about what had happened to all the grass temporarily forgotten. That was until she stopped for a little snack and got a mouth full of crunchy, white coldness. Quickly she spat the prickly stuff out and coughed for good measure. Her eyes wide with worry Fifi looked around, her little heart beating ten to the dozen in her chest, both from exertion and her concern at the lack of grass. She was just about to run home and get her dad when she saw it. Where she had been running and bouncing she had squished the white stuff down and a few blades of green grass were now poking through.

Looking down at her feet Fifi dug away a bit of white stuff. To her delight she found not only was the white stuff fun to dig in, as well as run through, but also buried underneath was the meadow completely untouched. Just to be sure she carefully nibbled a couple of blades of grass. Apart from being a little cold and slightly crunchy the grass was as delicious as ever.

Fifi was so happy at her discovery she did a huge bunny hop in the air, kicking out her back legs and twisting her body, spraying the white stuff all around her. When she landed she dug out some more grass and filled her hungry little tummy.

Once she was done Fifi looked around wondering what she should do next. She was always the first bunny up in the evening and usually she enjoyed this time to explore and stick her little head in all sorts of places it didn’t belong, without the rest of her family around to see her mischief. Tonight she had a different kind of mischief in mind.

Fifi made her way back to her family warren, careful to disturb as little snow as possible as she went. Once home she ran excitedly down to the chamber where her family were huddled up and just beginning to wake.

“Fawn, Frank, Freddie,” she called to her brothers. Bouncing up and down with naughtiness, as they were always so slow to wake up.

“Fifi what ever is the matter,” her mum asked.

“Something has happened to the meadow, it’s all white.” Fifi replied trying to seem a little concerned.

“White?” Fawn asked. He was the oldest of the litter and the bossiest.

“Yes, yes come and see,” Fifi turned round to head out. Pleased to see her brother didn’t even take time for a stretch before he followed her out.

Fifi lead the way and then stepped aside, as they reached the warren entrance, so Fawn could pass her. Freddie and Frank pushed their way past too, sure their sister was being silly.

“What’s happened,” she heard Freddie ask in a rather shaky voice and Frank stamped his back feet, which sent all three brothers tumbling back down into the warren.

“Whatever is going on?” Their dad asked, coming to see what all the excitement was.

“Dad! The world has turned white,” Fawn announced. “The meadow has all gone! What ever shall we do?”

Trying not to laugh Fifi followed her dad out of the warren, her three brothers hanging around nervously in the entrance.

“Come on boys,” Fifi’s dad said to his sons. “There is nothing to be afraid of. Look at your sister she’s not afraid.”

“B…but what’s happened?” Fawn stammered out, still huddling in the warran entrance with his brothers.

“It has snowed,” Their dad said chucking to himself.

“Snow,” Fifi thought to herself. She remembered her older brother Berry telling her about snow when she was still a little kitten. “My first snow!” she chuckled to herself jumping in the air and spraying her brothers with snow.