Jane wanted to have a perfect sunny picnic. She grabbed her large wooden basket from the kitchen shelf. Inside the basket, she laid a soft velvet cloth to keep everything safe. "I am ready for a grand day," Jane said to herself. She wanted to ask her friend Gwen to join her under the big oak tree.
Jane went to the kitchen to pack some treats. She baked a fresh blueberry muffin that smelled wonderful. She put the warm muffin inside the basket, right next to a red paper napkin. Jane also found a small bag of walnuts to snack on. She even tied a bright red ribbon to the basket top to make it pretty. Everything was neat and ready.
Jane put on her blue helmet to ride her bike to the big tree. As she walked outside, she noticed that a shiny brass button on her pocket was not tight. She did not want to drop it, so she stopped to fix it. Just then, a wild rabbit hopped out of the green bushes. The rabbit was quick and curious. He sniffed at the edge of the basket.
"Stop!" Jane yelled. But the quick rabbit grabbed the bright red ribbon that she had tied to the basket top. The rabbit hopped away toward the garden fence, trailing the long ribbon behind him. Jane had to follow him! She did not want the rabbit to get hurt, and she wanted her ribbon back.
Jane slowly walked toward the fence. She did not want to make the rabbit afraid. She saw that the rabbit had stopped beside a big cactus in the garden. He was looking at a tiny insect on a leaf. Jane bent down in the grass. She gently took the ribbon back from the rabbit's paws. The rabbit did not run. Instead, he sat still and looked at Jane with big, bright eyes.
Jane smiled and sat down right there in the grass. There was no need to ride to the big tree. She set her picnic basket down. She broke off a bit of her muffin to share, but the rabbit chose to munch on a green leaf. Soon, Gwen arrived and joined them. It was the best picnic ever, even if they had a wild rabbit as a friend.
