go, Nick," said Bonnie, giving him a mug of hot fresh tea.

"Thank you, Mrs Hopps," said Nick with a warm smile. He knew that Bonnie's tea was her special blend, and she treasured it and would only brew it for someone she really loved. It made him feel all the more welcome in the Hopps family household.

"Well, Nick," said Stu, shuffling the cards. "Ready to take us on?"

"Ready when you are, Mr Hopps," said Nick, sitting at the table and ready for a lively game of bridge with Mr and Mrs Hopps and Judy.

Nick ran in the meadow, his arms open, feeling the wind and smelling the flowers in full bloom. The sky was blue, the clouds fluffy. He was as happy as he had ever been. In the distance, someone was running towards him.

"Nick!"

It was her. Judy. Nick ran harder, eager to get to her. She was wearing a yellow ribbon around her ear, which flew about behind her in the wind.

They were getting closer, he could almost see every detail of her beautiful face. When suddenly…

Nick lost his footing. A loud rumbling made his body shake, and the ground beneath him opened.

He couldn't scream. He couldn't utter a sound. He fell…and fell…

"OOF!"

Nick landed on the floor. He was in his pyjamas, beside the bed, in the guest room of the Hopps household, in Bunny Burrow.

But the rumbling was still there.

"Huh?"

Nick put his ear to the ground. It was faint. Very faint. It was almost as if he was imagining it, but it was there.

It moved. Nick followed it…out into the corridor, past the kitchen…into the living room…to the front entrance…and then it was gone.

He kneeled there with his ear to the ground. Did he imagine it?

"If you're looking for the kitchen, slick, it's the other way," said a familiar voice behind him.

Nick stood up and turned around to find Judy standing in the corridor in her purple nightgown. She had a glass of water in her paw and a curious look on her face.

"Do I need to ask?" said Judy.

Nick chuckled a little and walked towards her.

"Thought I heard something," he said.

"Something like?" asked Judy, putting her arm around Nick's waist and leading him to the living room.

"I don't know," said Nick. "Rumbling?"

"Your tummy must really be your driving force if it's taken you this far," giggled Judy as she sat with him on the sofa.

"Har har," said Nick. "Didn't you hear anything?"

"All I hear is a little voice in my head. Two, actually," said Judy, edging closer to him. "One is saying: 'Kiss him'. The other is saying: 'Midnight snogging on the sofa is for teenagers, you're better than that, Judy'. And quite frankly, I don't know which voice to listen to."

"Well, let the single-minded little voice in my head pick for you, then," said Nick, embracing her on the sofa and kissing her passionately, placing the thoughts of strange midnight rumbling sounds in the back of his mind and concentrating on the more pleasant midnight snogging while trying not to make too much noise and alert the parents.

The skins of apples were tricky to remove in one piece, in long strips curling like springs, but Nick got the hang of it after his twentieth try. Bonnie instructed him expertly as they peeled basketfuls of apples for sauce. She really appreciated having an apprentice around. It made the day go by quicker when she had someone to talk to and teach new things. It was like having a big overgrown son who had everything yet to learn.

"There you go, just relax your paw and let the apple turn as you slide your finger around," said Bonnie, watching approvingly as Nick skinned an apple completely in one go. "Very good, Nick."

The kitchen counter was lined with all the necessary elements to make the Hopps Family Farm Homemade Applesauce. Skinned and cored apples were piling up and there was just about enough for the first batch to start cooking.

Stu and Judy walked into the kitchen for a sip of carrot juice. They were both wearing hats and gardening gloves. They removed their gloves and placed them on the counter near the backdoor to the yard as they walked in.

"So, how are the geraniums this morning?" asked Bonnie as she poured her husband and daughter glasses of carrot juice.

"Looking good. The greenhouse was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself," said Stu with his thumbs in his overall straps, smiling proudly.

He had taken out a loan from the Stoat Farm Bank and purchased an extra two hectares of land near the bottom of his farmland. He decided to build a greenhouse for growing flowers all year round. It turned out great, and now the Hopps family could grow flowers in addition to all their other comestible products.

"This year's going to be a bountiful one," said Stu happily as he looked at his fields full of delicious vegetables and fruits and his shiny new greenhouse. The sight of a farm so full and fertile and rich with healthy produce was a symphony to a farmer bunny's heart. They all felt it.

Even Nick began to feel inside him the joy of seeing the farm so lush and full. He felt he could really become fond of life here in Bunny Burrow. It was a mixture of tranquillity, simplicity, hard work, cooperation…and family. Above all else, it was about family.

That evening, after supper, the family was gathered in the living room. There was a quaint fire crackling merrily in the hearth and everyone sat on a big circle. Stu took a wind-up duckling with a bowtie and placed it in front of him, making it face outwards into the space in the middle of the family all gathered around.

"Okay, everyone," said Stu. "It's time for Sunday What We've Learned Today."

"What we've learned on this day to the duckling we'll say! He shall quack, walk and pick, and where he stops, that bunny is it!" recited the whole family.

Stu wound up the duckling and let it go. The little toy duck quacked and walked…and it stopped at Peter's lap.

"What I've learned today," said Peter, Judy's brother who was her age. "I learned to repair the chain on the tractor with big brother Tom. That way when it becomes loose again, I can fix it in a jiffy."

"Very good, Petey!"

Everyone applauded. Peter wound up the duckling and it waddled quacking for a while, then stopped at Joey's lap.

"What I've learned today," said Joey, Judy's younger brother. "I learned to catch apples while big brother Mark climbs the tree and tosses them down. And now we can gather them twice as fast."

"Alright, Joey!"

Joey wound up the little duckling and let it go. It waddled in a straight line and stopped right in front of Nick.

Nick picked up the duckling and smiled, looking at the whole family.

"What I've learned today," said Nick. "I learned how to peel an apple in one go. And to make the skin dangle like a spring and go boing-boing!"

All the little bunnies giggled and laughed.

"Very good, Nick," said Mrs Hopps approvingly.

Nick wound up the little duckling and it walked in a beeline and stopped in front of Isabelle.

"What I learned today," said Isabelle. "I learned how much fun it is to do my chores when Uncle Nick helps me. He helped me pick the apples that were way up too high for me, and he flew me up and I could reach all the apples!"

"Aww…"

"Very good, honey."

The whole family applauded. Nick smiled warmly. Isabelle wound up the little duckling and it waddled in a wobbly line and stopped in front of Bianca.

"What I learned today," said Bianca. "I learned how much fun it is to have an uncle who is so nice and helps everyone in the house, even mommy and daddy with their chores. I didn't know mommy and daddy needed help with their chores, but Uncle Nick helped them. He's the bestest uncle in the whole wide world."

Nick felt his eyes become damp. He tried hard to keep it in, but in vain.

The duckling waddled towards Maggie, and she stood up and walked across the space in the middle, directly at Nick.

"I learned that everything is more fun when Uncle Nick is with us, and everybody is extra happy when he is here, mommy and daddy and big sister Judy, and I hope he will always be our uncle forever and ever."

And with that she hugged Nick as best as she could, being so small.

Judy saw it first. Big tears rolling down his cheeks. His lip trembled. His eyes closed, letting the tears stream, abandoning any effort to keep them from leaving his eyes.

"Awwww…" she said, hugging him around the waist and snuggling close to him.

Stu patted him on the back gently. Bonnie held his paw. The little bunnies all walked up to him and hugged him as best as they could. Soon the fox was surrounded by fuzzy bunnies, all of them showing their affection in a way he never imagined he'd ever deserve in his life.

"Thank you…everyone," were the only words he could utter, his voice shaky and filled with emotion.

"You spend more time with us, Nick, and you'll end up just as emotional as a bunny," said Judy, kissing his cheek sweetly.

For once in his life, Nick could not think of any witty retort. He just smiled and gave thanks to the forces that had driven him and Judy together, and for being where he was, the way he was.

At last, harvest day arrived! Everyone was up bright and early. Gloves and hats and overalls and all the necessary essentials were ready. Judy looked at

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