Christopher Cilantro was a curious bunny. He lived on the edge of a wide river. Christopher often sat at the edge of the river and imagined huge fields of clover on the other side. His greatest wish was to cross this river.

His friends laughed when he talked about this. They told him he was crazy.

“There’s nothing on the other side, silly. Everyone knows that,” said Penelope Bunkins.

Calypso Poppy agreed. “She’s right, you know. Just over that bend, the whole world stops. If you tried crossing it, you’d fall right off the edge.”

Christopher ignored them and went right on dreaming. His mother had always told him that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, so long as you believe in yourself. She never laughed when he talked about wanting to cross the river. “If anyone can do it, you can,” she said, kissing him on the top of his head.

One evening, Christopher sat in his usual spot, staring out at the water. To his surprise, he heard a voice and turned around to see Queen Isabella Rex sitting in the hollow behind him.

“I have heard you wish to cross the great river,” she said softly.

Christopher had never spoken to a Queen before. His voice shook when he replied. “Y-yes, ma’am,” he stuttered, bowing his ears to show respect.

“Then you should cross it,” she said regally. “Do it for the glory of Bunland. When you have done it, return to me and tell me of your journey and I shall reward you with a glorious treasure.”

With that, she hopped away into the night.

Christopher ran home and told his mother the whole story. She was most impressed. Queen Isabella didn’t leave the royal warren very often.

“I’m going to do it. I’m going to cross that river,” he announced, finally.

His mother nodded. Inside, she was worried about him, but she knew how important this was to him. She knew he was a smart bunny. She was a smart bunny too and did not believe the others when they said the world stopped in the middle of the river.

Christopher began making his plans. He discussed them with his best friend, Leonardo DaParsley. Leonardo was a great inventor. He had recently perfected the litterbox and was anxious to start on a new project. He had noticed sticks and twigs floating on the water and decided he could use this information to help Christopher fulfill his dream. “If we tie a bunch of sticks and twigs together, Christopher, maybe you can sit on them and float to the other side.”

It seemed like a good plan, so they started collecting twigs. When they had a pile of them, they got some yarn from Christopher’s mother and tied the twigs together so they made a shelf big enough for Christopher to sit on. They tied a piece of yarn to one corner and pushed it out on the water to test it. “We did it! It floats!” Leonardo exclaimed, pulling their craft back to shore.

Christopher was thrilled. He tied it to a tree and looked at Leonardo. “It needs a name,” Christopher said.

“Let’s call it the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria,” Leonardo said eagerly. Leonardo’s family was very good at giving names to things. Everyone in his family had at least three names. Christopher agreed and they set off to tell Christopher’s mother the good news.

“Be careful, Christopher,” she said, as she helped him pack his backpack with carrots and parsley for the journey.

The night before his trip, Christopher was so excited, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get to sleep. His mother made him a cup of chamomile tea and he was soon sound asleep, dreaming of his great adventure.

When the sun came up the next day, Christopher was ready to go. His mother had made him a lovely breakfast, so he felt strong enough to do anything. She gave him a kiss as he headed out the door.

Christopher made his way to the edge of the river. To his surprise, a dozen bunnies were sitting there, waiting for him. News travels fast in the bunny world. It’s the big ears.

Some bunnies, like Leonardo, had come to cheer him on, but most of the bunnies were there hoping to see him fail. Christopher ignored them and marched straight to the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria. Leonardo held one end of the yarn while Christopher pushed it into the water. Leonardo held it close to the shore and Christopher hopped on, careful not to tip it over. When he was safely on board, Leonardo let go of the yarn and gave the craft a nudge with his nose to get Christopher going in the right direction.

The voyage had begun. Christopher heard the jeers and cheers of the bunnies on the bank fading as he drifted farther and farther away. He didn’t look back. His mother had also taught him to always keep his eye on the prize. He couldn’t see anything but water in front of him, but he believed in his heart there was land on the other side, so he kept looking to the horizon.

After a while, Christopher realized he couldn’t see his home anymore. He couldn’t see anything but water all around him. He started to think maybe those other bunnies were right, maybe there was nothing on the other side. He started to get a little bit frightened. He started to think that maybe he should turn back. But he’d gone this far, he decided to keep going just a little bit longer.

The sun was beating down now. It was very hot and there was no shade. Christopher felt really scared now. A branch floated in front of him. He used it to help move his craft a little faster. He suddenly realized that it had leaves on it, leaves of a sort he’d never seen before. He was amazed. He knew this branch had not come from his side of the river. That could only mean one thing.

Christopher craned his neck and looked as hard as he could into the distance. There it was. Land! He saw a tree. He got very excited. He laid down flat on his tummy and used his feet to kick the water and move the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria faster and faster. At long last, Christopher arrived at the shore of the new world. He’d made it!

Christopher sat on the shore and ate his carrots and caught his breath. He was anxious to begin exploring. When he’d rested a bit, he hopped away from the river to see what this new land had to offer.

Christopher discovered beautiful fields of clover, just as he’d imagined. He found other bunnies lived on this side of the river. They spoke a different language and had customs he didn’t understand, but Christopher was a polite bunny and did not try to impose his ways on them. He decided this new land was big enough for everyone to enjoy. He found some space the other bunnies weren’t using and claimed it in the name of Bunland.

After a few days’ exploration, Christopher returned to Bunland to tell everyone the good news. The voyage wasn’t so scary this time. And it seemed to take a lot less time now that he had learned to paddle with his feet. As he neared the shore, he was so anxious to get home and tell his mother about his adventures that he slipped and fell right into the water. Much to his surprise, he did not sink to the bottom. He used his big feet to paddle himself and the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria to shore. He arrived at his mother’s house, dripping wet. She ran to him and kissed his nose then gave him a big towel so he could dry off. They sat at the table and he told her all about New Bunland.

Like I said, news travels fast in Bunland. Within hours of his return, Leonardo appeared at his door, with their friend, Carrots Vespucci. Leonardo was thrilled that the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria had made it safely back. He had already designed improvements and was anxious to start marketing boats to other bunnies.

As for Carrots, he was a very artistic bunny. He wanted to know all about this new land Christopher had discovered so he could draw a map. Christopher was happy to tell Carrots everything he’d seen. Carrots drew while Christopher talked. It didn’t take him long to draw a fantastic map. Christopher was very impressed.

“So what shall we call this new place?” Carrots asked Christopher.

Christopher shrugged. “I don’t know. Why don’t you come up with a name.” Leonardo’s ears perked up. Christopher shook his head. “Not you, Leonardo. You named the Nina Pinta di Santa Maria. It’s Carrots’ turn to pick a name.” Christopher was afraid Leonardo’s idea for a name wouldn’t fit on the page.

Carrots thought for a bit then wrote right across the middle of the map. He decided to use his favorite word. He named the new land Carrotica.

The next day, Christopher and his mother went to visit Queen Isabella. Christopher brought her some flowers and leaves he’d collected in Carrotica, to prove to her that he’d been there. She was thrilled at his discovery and offered to give him anything his heart desired.

Christopher shuffled his feet nervously. “All I want, ma’am, is some property in Carrotica, so I can build a nice warren."

“Done,” said Queen Isabella. She drew up papers giving him a nice big space. And she threw in a huge bunch of carrots and carrot seeds to help him get going.

A week later, Christopher and his mother, along with some of their friends, made the trip across the river to their new home. A lot of the other bunnies still thought they were crazy, but Christopher figured that was their loss. He was excited to start his new life in the new world.

Beaker's Bedtime Stories