Small Justice Achieved in Carrot War

So, I'm in the garden last night tying up tomato vines, and one of the kids who hangs out in the park (see Park Urchins entry below) comes over and says, "Excuse me?"

This is one of the nice kids, probably the most polite and least rotten of the bunch. Rotten only by association, really. "Hey Jacob" I say (I make a point of knowing all their names).

He shuffles his feet and shyly says, "Christian's rabbit got out, and we're trying to catch him." He points, and who do I see but the kid whom I suspect of carrot-napping, desperately trying to corner a rabbit beneath a bench in the park next to the garden.

"That's too bad," I say.

"Um, yeah," Jacob replies, and shuffles his feet again. "Um, can we have a carrot from your garden to catch him?"

Hmmmm. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you," I say. "Someone pulled up all my carrots. If someone hadn't pulled my carrots up, I might be able to help you. Too bad, huh?"

Jacob turns just a little red, and says, very quietly, "Yeah."

"But thanks for asking me," I say, meeting his eyes. "That's the right thing to do, you know. ASK."

Who knows if it will sink in at all? Maybe. Ten year olds aren't great at Cause and Effect. But maybe they'll think twice next time about asking if they want something from my garden.

Or not. But at least I felt a little bit better. When I finished up in the garden an hour later, Christian was still trying to catch his rabbit.