The rabbit originally planned to go to Crystal Town, but he mistakenly got on the wrong bus. As a result, when he arrived, it was Old Wood Village.
“Oh dear! Old Wood Village is the tenth place I wanted to visit,” the rabbit scratched his ear. “However, since I’m here, I’ll just change the order with Crystal Town.”
Old Wood Village had a peculiar smell, somewhat moldy, a bit stinky, and something else the rabbit couldn’t quite identify.
Old Wood Village was filled with wood everywhere. There were tables missing a leg, wobbly chairs, doors without handles, cabinets with peeling paint, and bookshelves of various heights, wooden bowls, spoons, chopsticks, and many other wooden items.
“It really lives up to its name, Old Wood Village,” the rabbit said, blinking.
“Hey! Hello, rabbit,” a voice called out to the rabbit.
The rabbit searched among the pile of wooden items for a long time before noticing a wooden puppet.
“Hello, little puppet.”
“No, you should call me your great-great-great-great-grandfather…” The puppet said angrily.
“But how many ‘greats’ should I add?” The rabbit counted on his fingers but couldn’t get it right.
“Because I am a very, very old puppet.” The rabbit took a closer look. Indeed, the puppet was quite old, with a forehead full of wrinkles, a toothless mouth, and even a twisted old tree branch as a cane.
“Do you like it here?” the puppet asked.
“A little bit, but also a bit…” the rabbit said softly, because he couldn’t stand the peculiar smell.
“Hehe.” The puppet nodded. “Let’s sing a song.” He raised the twisted cane above his head and began to sing.
“In a faraway place,
There is a village where old wood lives.
Ah…
Ah…
A village where old wood lives,
A village full of old wood!”
The old puppet sang softly. Suddenly, the tables, chairs, doors, and cabinets all stood up. Wooden spoons tapped on wooden bowls, doors linked arms with cabinets, chairs and tables joined arms, and even wooden drawers began to jump open and shut.
“Oh! This is so much fun,” the rabbit laughed joyfully. He suddenly remembered things from long ago.
Back then, his grandfather used to tap on the table with wooden chopsticks while singing opera, his grandmother used to tap on a small bowl with a spoon to coax him to eat, his other grandmother used to pull open drawers to produce delicious sunflower seeds, and his grandfather used to take storybooks from the bookshelf with a creaking sound… back then, the rabbit also liked to swing on the handle of the wooden door.
“Hmm!” The rabbit sniffed and smelled that peculiar scent again. However, this time it was neither moldy nor stinky. Instead, it had a hint of… happiness.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
