> > The Language of the Heart > > Soapy Smith is a twenty-four-pound calico rex rabbit. A > rex rabbit's coat lacks the stiff guard hairs of other breeds, > resulting in a fur texture that is as soft as a cloud. People > look startled when they first touch him and remark how soft he > is. I've noticed he seems to make everyone who meets him a > little softer, too. > One day, Soapy Smith and I visited a shelter for battered > women located in a bedraggled section of the city. The women in > the shelter looked at me through downcast eyes. No one smiled a > greeting, and they appeared uninterested in Soapy's carrier. > Everyone seemed tense and ready to flee. One little girl in > particular moved like a wisp in the background. Never raising > her eyes, never reaching out, she drifted in and out of the > gathered group. The staff informed me that she had been there > for over a month and had not spoken the entire time. Nothing > they tried had any effect. Her mother said she had talked at > one time but not in recent memory. I didn't want to imagine > what could have happened to rob this little girl of the natural > curiosity and enthusiasm so natural to childhood. > Spreading a blanket on the floor, I sat down and opened > Soapy's carrier. As the silent child circled past me, I told > the group that Soapy would come to talk to them if they sat on > his blanket. Several children did this, including the silent > girl. In a short time, Soapy emerged from his carrier and > slowly hopped from one child to another. Unlike visits at > schools where the first touches produced squeals of delight, > this visit was unusually quiet. After touching Soapy, these > children looked down and sighed softly or smiled into their > hands. Soapy continued his rounds, and the children and their > mothers gradually began to talk about Soapy and ask questions. > I chatted with the women and children as I kept one eye on > the little girl. She sat rigidly at the edge of the blanket, > legs held stiffly out straight in front of her. She was staring > hard at Soapy. It appeared that he kept making eye contact with > her. He would hop from child to child, each visit taking him a > little closer to the girl. I began to wonder if he was pausing > to give her time to watch him. During all other visits we had > given together in schools, his usual behavior was to hop around > the circle letting each person pet him. When he got back to me > he would wash his face and then start the circle again. > That day, I watched as Soapy finally worked his way toward > the girl. She didn't reach out to him or encourage him in any > way. Rather she sat tensely, just staring. > Finally Soapy came to a stop about two inches from her > thigh. He quietly reached out and laid his chin on her knee. I > was astonished. While a common behavior for dogs, this is not a > behavior exhibited by rabbits, especially not by this rabbit. > The child did not reach out to pet Soapy. Instead, she > slowly leaned toward him. When her face was within inches of > his, she carefully reached out and circled him with her arms. > So softly that no one in the room could hear, she began to talk. > Folded around the rabbit, she pillowed her head on his back and > whispered to him. Soapy remained motionless. > I looked up and noticed that the shelter workers had > stopped talking. Every adult in the room froze in place. Time > seemed suspended. Then quietly the child unfolded and sat back > up. Soapy sat up too, reached forward and briskly licked her > knee. She did not smile. She did not reach out to him, but the > rigidity of her back relaxed, and her shoulders rounded into a > comfortable slope. The little girl stood up and walked over to > her mother and began to suck her thumb. > The little girl reappeared when I was preparing to leave. > She reached her hands out and looked me directly in the eye. I > held Soapy out to her. She wrapped him in a big hug and pressed > her face against him. Suspended from my hands as he was, I was > concerned that he would begin to struggle. Instead he reached > out his head again and laid it on the child's shoulder. His > breathing slowed and he closed his eyes. As quickly as it > happened, the little girl released her hug and stepped back. As > she turned away, I thought I saw the beginnings of a faint > smile. > The rabbit in his cloud of soft, warm fur had touched > something deep in the child - something that had died from too > much hard experience. Soapy's innocence and trust appeared to > kindle those very same qualities in the little girl. > Numerous times, I've seen how the loving presence of an > animal can heal where words have no effect. It seems the > language of the heart is simple after all. > > By Maureen Fredrickson > Program director for the Delta Society > Excerpted from Animals As Guides for the Soul by Susan Chernak > McElroy (c) 1998, from Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's > Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marty Becker, D.V.M. > and Carol Kline. > > »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§« You're Just Jealous Because The Voices Are Talking To Me Richiele Sloan ICQ #63829109 (Missi) »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«

Hankie please~! <sniff-sniff> Thanks Missi. I loved this story. kath > The Language of the Heart >>>>> > Finally Soapy came to a stop about two inches from her > > thigh. He quietly reached out and laid his chin on her knee. I > > was astonished. While a common behavior for dogs, this is not a > > behavior exhibited by rabbits, especially not by this rabbit. > > The child did not reach out to pet Soapy. Instead, she > > slowly leaned toward him. When her face was within inches of > > his, she carefully reached out and circled him with her arms. > > So softly that no one in the room could hear, she began to talk. > > Folded around the rabbit, she pillowed her head on his back and > > whispered to him. Soapy remained motionless. <<<<