ready. Judy looked at Nick and couldn't help giggling.

"Anyone who saw you now would say you'd been born and raised a farmer, Mr Wilde."

He was wearing heavy-duty overalls and a hat, a chequered shirt, gloves and a big smile.

"Then I got it right," said Nick smiling. "Picked it out myself, you know."

"Well done, slick. But there's something missing," said Judy.

"And that would be?"

"Hmmm…" Judy narrowed her eyes and walked closer to him, looking him all over.

Judy took a long, thin stalk of straw and put it in between Nick's teeth. Nick grinned and held the straw in his teeth at an angle, giving him the perfect farmer look.

"There," she said approvingly. "Oh, and one more thing..."

She stood on tiptoe, placing her paws on his chest, and kissed his cheek.

"Now you're all set," she whispered lovingly.

Nick beamed happily as Stu and Bonnie and the older bunnies walked into the barn where he and Judy were.

"Well, let's get started everyone!" said Stu excitedly. "John, you'll prepare the storage with Oakley. Manny, I want you and Cindy to start from the south end. Jay and Tam will start from the north end. Your ma and I will begin…"

But he was cut off by a loud voice. A voice that came from the fields, from someone running towards the barn.

"Pa!" yelled Peter.

They all turned to see him running towards the barn. There was desperation in his eyes.

"Pa! You'd better come see this!"

Everyone followed Peter. And what they saw would be forever ingrained in their memories.

"I…I don't understand," said Stu, looking at his carrots.

They were withered. They were brown. They were dead.

"They were fat and healthy yesterday," said Stu.

"Black rot, pa," said Manny. "Like in '67, when grandpa almost lost the farm."

"Should I get Doctor Philbert, Pa?" asked Peter. "Maybe he can help."

Doctor Philbert was the plant doctor. He lived not far from their farm, just a few miles before town.

"No, Petey, Doc Philbert can't help us," said Stu, his expression devastated, his ears limp…every fibre of his being in absolute shock. "They're dead."

The Hopps family checked every single carrot on their farm. They were all dead. Withered, brown, sickly-looking. Not a single one survived.

Stuart Hopps could not believe what was happening. He sat on the sofa in the living room, looking into empty space. His mind told him from time to time to wake up from this horrible dream. But then he looked out the window at his fields…and he realised this was not a nightmare, and there was no waking up from it.

"I just…don't understand," said Stu. "Everything was fine. They were ready to be picked…what could have happened…"

"Stu, honey bun," said his wife, holding his paw, trying her best to comfort him even though she too was disconsolate. "One year's harvest won't break us."

"The loan…" mumbled Stu. "I had everything tied in this year's crops. How am I going to pay the loan…"

"We'll manage, honey," said Bonnie. "Our savings…"

"I gave my savings to Terry…so he could pay his debt…what am I going to do now?"

Everyone was gathered around. The sorrow was heavy in the air. Their entire livelihood rested on a good crop. This was a catastrophe.

The heavy silence was suddenly interrupted by a loud horn honking outside.

"Oh…that's Gideon," said Bonnie. "Um…children, can you please carry the applesauce outside to Gideon's truck?"

The children did so in silence. Nick watched as they exited the room, their ears limp, their faces sad. He looked at Judy beside him. She had that same expression he had seen a year ago…one he thought he'd never see again…that night, in front of Chief Bogo…in the Rainforest District…

"I'll, uh…I'll go help with the applesauce," said Nick, walking out of the room. Nobody stopped him. Nobody answered.

Nick walked into the kitchen and grabbed two boxes of Hopps Family Farm Homemade Applesauce and walked outside with them. A pink-and-beige coloured van was parked in the driveway not far from the house. Gideon Gray, the baker fox of Bunny Burrow and Judy's childhood nemesis, was talking with Peter as he helped load the boxes into the back of his van.

"I…I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear that," said Gideon. "My grandma told me about the big black rot wave of '67. Took out the entire valley, almost starved the town."

Nick walked closer with his boxes and Gideon saw him. His eyes were wide with surprise. Clearly, foxes were a rarity in Bunny Burrow, and seeing one who wasn't from the town was an event.

"Officer Wilde!" said Gideon.

"Morning, Gideon," said Nick, giving him the boxes of applesauce.

"So glad to meet you at last," said Gideon, placing the boxes neatly in the back of his van. "I've heard so much about you."

"I've heard all about you too," said Nick.

Gideon's face twitched. He looked embarrassed.

"Uh, good things, naturally," said Nick quickly. "Judy tells me you're one heck of a baker."

"Ah, well…kind of runs in the family," said Gideon.

"Baker's boy, taking on the family business," said Nick. "Seems to be the way things are done in the countryside. I like that philosophy. It makes things a great deal simpler, let me tell you."

"Well, you've got so many choices in the big city, so I heard."

"Ah, it ain't all it's cracked up to be," said Nick. "But each place has its perks. Well, I'll be back, with more of the good stuff."

Nick walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the last two boxes of applesauce. He was about to walk outside, when suddenly he stopped.

He heard sobbing. Devastated, sorrow-filled sobbing. It was coming from the living room. He could tell it was Stu. He could tell he was disconsolate. And the sound of the father of the Hopps family breaking down like that…

"No," said Nick to himself. "Ain't gonna happen. Not while I'm around."

He made his choice. Quickly and quietly, he ran to the guest room and reached for his suitcase under the bed. He emptied the contents onto the bed and closed the suitcase. Then he carried it with him outside, along with the two last boxes of applesauce. Gideon was looking at the carrot fields, his expression puzzled and empathetic.

"Hey cousin!" said Nick, putting the last two boxes inside the van.

Gideon turned around.

"You heading to town?" asked Nick.

"Yup, gotta get these boxes labelled and shipped on the next train," said Gideon.

"Mind if I hitch a ride into town? I have some business I need to take care of."

"Sure, Officer Wilde! Hop in."

Nick watched in the rear-view mirror as the Hopps family farm disappeared down the road. He held his empty suitcase in his paws, with a single thought in his mind.

"So, how do you like it here in Bunny Burrow, Officer?" asked Gideon, trying to make conversation as he drove.

"It's like a second home to me," said Nick. "Or a first, depending on how you wanna look at it. I wouldn't mind retiring here after forty years or so. Maybe get a small farm, beside a creek, living out the rest of my days in peace and quiet. But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

"No, it's always good to have dreams," said Gideon. "I think most people here don't dream enough. Not that they need to, we're pretty content with our lives here."

"Yeah," said Nick, looking out the window at the farmland that extended as far as he could see.

"Shame about the black rot," said Gideon. "That's one thing that will put a dent in our peaceful living."

"Yup," said Nick. "I heard from several folks in the city that crops have failed in some of the farms that supply the grocery stores."

"It's the fourth farm I hear of here in Bunny Burrow," said Gideon. "The McCottons had their crops fail just a few days ago. The Joneses, Mirthworths, Hareingtons, and now the Hopps farm. Sure hope it doesn't spread any farther."

"You and me both, cousin," said Nick, taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly.

Gideon dropped Nick off in front of Barkley's Bank. With a determined look on his face, he walked into the bank and got in line. A few people stared. He stood out among the rest, as an outsider always does when in a small town.

"Can I help you?" asked the poodle teller when it was Nick's turn.

"Yes, I'd like to make a withdrawal," said Nick, taking out his wallet.

"Don't we all," said the poodle quietly.

Nick looked directly into his eyes and opened his wallet, holding it up. Then the poodle's face turned from mock and suspicion to utter shock.

"Officer!" said the poodle in a voice so audible everyone in the bank looked around at him.

"That's right," said Nick loudly, not bothering with niceties. "Officer Nicholas Piberius Wilde, Zootopia Police Department, account number 793074-92-8, I am withdrawing all but the minimum amount to maintain my account open, and step on it, buster…"

Nick paused.

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