The Wedding: An eleven year old’s gorgeous Covid-19 short story

When one of Aoife Cashman’s beloved pet rabbits died at the beginning of the lockdown she was heartbroken. Chatting to her grandfather in Connemara, he encouraged her to write a story to cheer herself up, and so she did. Forget about the Owl & The Pussycat, wait until you meet Parnsip and Clover – two rabbits determined not to have their wedding plans thwarted by Covid-19. All drawings by Aoife Cashman.

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The Wedding

 

     

The planning

Thanks to Covid-19 we may have to cancel our wedding! said Parsnip

It was a Monday and Clover was making breakfast for Parsnip. When Parsnip just hopped into the kitchen, he stamped his back feet and said, “Clover, have you looked at good locations for our wedding?”. “Not yet,” Clover replied. “I will look at it later.” So Parsnip started eating his breakfast and listening to the breaking news on his iPad, about the Virus Covid 19, “Oh my God Parsnip,” said Clover. “Will it affect us? To stop spreading it you can’t socialise or do sports or any gatherings such as parties or weddings. Thanks to Covid 19 we may have to cancel our wedding!” said Parsnip.

 

Solving the Problem 

It was Tuesday morning and once again it was breakfast time. There was no sign of Clover; this was surprising as Parsnip was preparing her favourite dish, which, of course, was lettuce and pellets. Parsnip shouted aloud – “Clover, Clover where are you” Parsnip started searching for her, he looked all around but there was no sign of her. Then he heard sobbing and he found her amongst the ferns with her eyes in floods of tears.

Wise words

The wise old Owl said go and plan your wedding, Covid 19 restrictions will not affect rabbits: the lockdown only applies to humans

Come inside said Parsnip and enjoy your favourite dish and tell me why you are crying? “I am crying because I cannot go ahead and plan our wedding because of the virus”.  I was also disappointed and that’s why I went for an early morning walk, luckily I met one of my ‘surprise’ friends the wise old Owl.  I told him our sad story but the wise old Owl said go and plan your wedding, Covid-19 restrictions will not affect rabbits: the lockdown only applies to humans – “GO AND PLAN YOUR WEDDING”.

Venue and Guest List

They both agreed that in view of the Virus they should only invite local rabbits

So the next day Parsnip and Clover started looking for a venue.  A beach? No. A forest? No. “Then where will we have it?”, “Let’s have it here”. “Yes that’s a great idea!” said Parsnip.    They decided to get married on Sunday. They would also make a guest list, organise food, find someone to marry them, organise the after party and find something to wear. Firstly they organised the guest list. They both agreed that in view of the Virus they should only invite local rabbits. We know that Covid 19 does not apply to rabbits at this time but it’s better to be on the safe side said Clover. “Who should we invite?” “Definitely our parents and close siblings, Carrots, Broccoli and Lettuce”. “Who should we get to marry us?” said Clover. “The wise old Owl,” said Parsnip, “he has been a family friend for years.”

Final Preparations     

“Where are you getting your fur done?” said Parsnip. “Petals and I are using Rose the fur dresser.

Have you picked your bridesmaid?” said Parsnip. “Yes, I have asked my best friend Petals,” said clover.  “Who are you selecting for best rabbit” “I think I will ask Cucumber he has been dropping hints for some time,” said Parsnip. “Where are you getting your fur done?” said Parsnip. “Petals and I are using Rose the fur dresser, where are you going?”

“Cucumber and I will use Radish the fur barber.” “The music will be simple,” said Clover, “Carrots knows that a rabbit’s favourite music is classical, but you need a few dance lessons!” said Clover.

Finally, the menu, the starter will be a selection of fresh hay suggested Clover and main dish will be Carrots a la Bunny said Parsnip. And desert? How could you have a rabbit’s wedding without a lettuce salad said Clover and they both laughed.

 

The Wedding

“You may now lick the bride,” said Owl

All the guests arrived at 8.30 and settled down on straw blankets waiting for Parsnip and Clover to come. After a while Parsnip arrived and sat beside the wise old Owl who had made a special concession to marry them in the sunlight. A few minutes later Apple arrived with Clover and Petals dressed in their new furs. The Owl began the ceremony “Thank you all for coming here for this very special day that will unite Parsnip and Clover”. I would now like the parents to do a reading. After the readings it was time for the most important part of the wedding, the exchange of rings. “Carrots, Carrots” said Owl “Wake up! Where are the rings?” “I have them here!”

“Do you Parsnip take Clover to be your wife said Owl”. “I do” replied Parsnip. “Do you Clover take Parsnip to be your husband “said Owl? “I do said Clover”. Then they put on each other’s rings. You may now lick the bride said Owl.

The Reception

He said all the nice things he could think of about the couple and then called out, “Three cheers and raise your sweet grass to the couple.”

The guests mingled for a while and then the wise old Owl shouted aloud, “rabbits and bunnies take your seats in the dining area”. Everyone enjoyed the starter and the main meal which of course was Carrots a la Bunny. While they were eating desert they started the speeches. The Owl was master of ceremonies and he called the best rabbit Cucumber. He said all the nice things he could think of about the couple and then called out, “Three cheers and raise your sweet grass to the couple.”

 

Dancing until sunrise

The caterers cleared all the tables and they were now ready for dancing. Carrots assisted by Parsley commenced the music with a waltz. Parsnip and Clover were first on the floor with Parsnip showing off his new found dancing skills. After Clover and Parsnip’s first dance everyone came onto the dance floor and started dancing. Everyone danced the night away except for poor Colum the Easter Bunny, he was sleeping on his blanket after a long morning of delivering all the Easter eggs with a Garda escort. “This was the best night ever,” said Parsnip. “It was indeed” said Clover. They sat there watching the sunrise and an hour later they hopped onto their blankets and fell fast asleep.

 To set a good example to Humans Clover and Parsnip decided to postpone their Honeymoon in view of the ongoing contagion threat of Covid 19.

 

A note from Aoife

My name is Aoife Cashman, I live in Mallow, Co Cork. I am eleven years of age. I would like to thank my pet rabbit Parsnip for inspiring me to write this story and my grandfather John in Connemara for proof-reading it for me. Thanks to Covid 19, I have developed this story but I would much prefer if it never happened – that is, of course, the Virus!

My grandfather helped me to print my story into booklets which we are selling for €5 each with all proceeds going to the ISPCA – if you would like you can donate to the ISPCA here

Thank you for reading my story.