The Runaway Bunny

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears

I hid from Him . . .

           ~Francis Thompson, “The Hound of Heaven”

Margaret Wise Brown is the author of several simple, deceptively profound books for children. One of my favorites, Goodnight Moon, Carolyn and I have literally read into tatters over the years, intoning its gentle, calming words over our children and grandchildren.

Recently I came across another of her books, one entitled The Runaway Bunny, in which the author has tapped into rich imagery, or so I believe. Something about it tugs at our hearts, evoking in us an inexplicable longing for someone to love us with deep and enduring affection.

In case you’ve never read the story, Runaway Bunny, as you might expect, is about a little rabbit that decided to run away. 

“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.”

“If you run after me,” said the little bunny, “I will became a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you.”

“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother, “I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”

“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny, “I will become a rock on a mountain, high above you.”

“If you become a rock on the mountain, high above me,” said his mother, “I will be a mountain climber, and I will climb to where you are.”

And so it goes.

If the bunny becomes a crocus in a hidden garden, his mother will become a gardener and find him.

If she finds him, he will become a bird and fly away.

If he becomes a bird, she will be a tree to come home to.

If she becomes a tree, he will become a sailboat and sail away from her.

If he becomes a sailboat, she will become the wind and blow him where she wants him to go.

If she becomes the wind, he will join a circus and fly away on a trapeze.

If he flies away, she will be a tightrope walker and walk across the air to him.

If she becomes a tightrope walker, he will become a little boy and run into the house.

If he becomes a little boy, she will become his mother and catch him in her arms and hug him. No matter what the little rabbit does, his doggedly persistent, ever-­pursuing mother will not give up or go away.

“Shucks,” says the bunny at last, “I might as well stay where I am and be your little bunny.”

“Have a carrot,” says his mother.

This is David’s cry : “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:6–9).

This is the relentless love of God, whose strong feet follow after, “with unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, . . .  and a Voice beat, more instant than the feet . . .Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee, Save Me, save only Me?” (Francis Thompson, “Hound of Heaven”).

~David Roper