9/23

Photo+from+Pixabay+%0AEdited+by+Poppy+Pelinka

Photo from Pixabay Edited by Poppy Pelinka

Ava Krohn

Slaby 3
Allegory Assignment

9 March 2023

 

9/23

Down in the fox den there were some enraged foxes speaking with raised voices at one another. A wise sly fox named Dexter spoke loudly so the group could hear him, “Gentlemen, gentlemen, we are gathered here today to talk about a very serious topic.” The animals stoped speaking with each other and turned to listen to the fox. “As you all have noticed, the rabbits are much more loved than us foxes.”

 “Yeah!” they all shouted. The foxes were screaming and chanting with excitement. There were a couple dozen foxes in the cramped den. Each fox was different in their own way. Fur white, orange, or red. Eyes brown with a few yellow and orange. Faces proud, angry or scrunched in a scowl.


“We must stop this at once!” Dexter said with a loud booming voice as he looked over the crowd.

 “Yeah!” they all screamed. They jumped up and down and bumped into each other.

 The day had ended and the foxes started to think of a plan. They soon came up with an agreement. They were going to sabotage their enemy’s village. They were to do this on 9/23, International Rabbit Day this year. They were to go to the barn and destroy it. Then they were going to destroy the house next to the barn. A third attack was to be made where all the rabbits lived. The location of the final attack was never announced, only a few select people were to know where they were going to attack, for that destination was the most powerful.

 Time flew by fast and it was now the morning of the planned attack. The foxes were excited and waited in anticipation for what was to come later that day. There was quiet chatter among them as Dexter and his pack set out to the first destination. 

 Dexter and his pack started tiptoeing through the grassy fields to get to the farm. The grass was tall, up to their ears. They were hidden perfectly, only sometimes would the bright orange fur pop up. They were so quiet while trotting you could hear a pin drop. They made it to the border between them at 5:54am. They continued tiptoeing through the fields but this time they were on the enemy’s territory. 

 The foxes decided to attack the barn because they knew that was where the rabbits would commune every day. The barn was a big space that could fit up to hundreds of rabbits. Every morning at dawn and at dusk all the rabbits would gather together and have fun. They would play and laugh, they would meet new friends and they would talk about their wonderful day that they had. The foxes despised how happy they were. They wanted all the happiness for themselves. Maybe if they were more happy they would be more loved.

 They had arrived at the barn and set to work. The foxes looked around for anything they could use against the unsuspecting animals. They found a tractor at the side of the barn, so they decided to use it. It took three foxes to man the machine, one behind the wheel, one pressing the gas, and one being the eyes. The foxes started driving towards the barn. The wind, blowing in their different colored fur. Everyone was quiet in anticipation, waiting for the monstrous machine to hit the building. When the clock hit 8:46 am, the foxes crashed into the barn killing all three of them. 

 The foxes that were watching cheered, proud of their work. They had hit a very important building in the rabbits lives. The barn was very dear to the rabbits, they held it close to their hearts. Now the barn was on fire and flashed an unmistakable message. Look what we can do. We’re mad and angry that you get to live happy lives while we suffer, depressed. It was a little extreme, but this was what they thought. They thought they were depressed all the time while the rabbits got to be happy. 

 They looked around more to find another object they could use to hit the second destination with. They found yet  another tractor, smaller but still effective. Three more foxes manned that one. It took them more time to move the tractor from the side of the barn to the house. The three new foxes didn’t know what they were doing and almost ran all the others over. They quickly turned the wheel and headed straight for the house where they knew some rabbits were staying, cuddling, and being loved. The fox down at the gas pedal pushed it down so hard the small tractor went flying forward straight to the little house. The time was 9:03 am when the little machine hit the house. The impact on the house was so powerful the little tractor exploded killing all the foxes in it. The remaining had foxes watched in amazement as the house went up in flames from the force of the explosion. They watched as the flames danced around the house engulfing it in smoke. They could feel the warmth of the fire on their faces and smell the smoke that filled the air. 

 Some rabbits had been notified of the second crash, they didn’t want to jump to conclusions and they knew they had to remain calm. It could have just been a coincidence. What if it was an accident? But they knew better than to think a second hit was a mistake. They gathered together and set forth to the field.

The foxes were now on the move to the village. They trotted happily through the grass. They were content with what they had accomplished so far. When they arrived at the village they once again looked around for something they could use. This time though, they came prepared, they knew of a fallen tree near the rabbits homes. They went out to where the dead piece of wood was and set five more foxes to push it. At first it went well but then they reached a hill and they almost fell back but quickly stood their ground and continued. At 9:37 am the foxes had pushed the log over the homes of the rabbits destroying part of their village. It was very tiring pushing the heavy piece of wood. All of the foxes had fallen lifeless from exhaustion.

 The last of the foxes set out to the final secret destination, only five of them left. They were more than ready and very determined to strike. They held their heads high walking in unison, smiles on their faces. Some of them started jumping full of glee. 

 The foxes got to a very large carrot field where they found a sea of their enemies. They were surprised by what they had discovered and started to cautiously move forward. They were confident in themselves because they were the predators. They always defeated the prey. When the time struck 9:57 am the rabbits charged towards the foxes and started to fight back. The animals were running at each other ready to take on the other species. The foxes were cocky, they knew they were gravely outnumbered but thought they would win.

 At 9:59 there was news spreading that the house had collapsed. The burning building had turned to dust and crumbled under the flames that continued to grow. The house was sure to have left plenty of smoke to pollute the air. A loud crash could be heard for miles from the time the house hit the ground. 

 The battle was still going on in the carrot field. Foxes and rabbits were wounded, two predators already laying lifeless among the growing crops. The foxes started getting worried, they were drained from the amount of fighting. At 10:02 am the rabbits had defeated the foxes in the carrot field. They had used their strong teeth and teamwork to win against the sly foxes. It was about 300 rabbits to 15 foxes in the beginning and now only 250 rabbits had remained on the corpse-filled field. Bodies from both sides spread across the meadow. The rabbits were cheering and shouting in victory. They had defeated the beasts.

 At 10:28 am there was another loud noise coming from the direction of the farm. The barn had collapsed. The rabbits looked in the direction of noise and stopped cheering. They dropped their heads in sorrow. The little animals started to slowly walk towards the farm, weary of what they knew they would find. 

 They saw the huge cloud of smoke from hundreds of miles away. The layer of dust and smoke and debris scattered in every direction. As they got closer they could see the bodies of the foxes in the machines. When they looked closer they discovered the bodies of their friends and families. A few sobs were heard as they got closer and closer to the wreck. 

All of the rabbits had gone home, if they could, when the sun started to set. The ones who had tragically lost their home stayed in others. Some very few had to stay in the woods, in the wild. Everyone was scared, terrified of what had happened that day. They were scared of what was going to happen next. They were afraid of all foxes now. It didn’t matter whether they knew what the other foxes had done or not. They were all bad. They all had the thought that rabbits were terrible animals and that they wanted to kill them. 

The next few hours went by extremely slowly, with all rabbits in fear. They were waiting for another attack to happen, but it never came. They were to forever live in fear. Every year on the 23rd every September they were going to be panicking, distressed and worried. Worried that this was going to happen again. Worried that they were going to lose more loved ones.

 At 8:30 pm the leader of the rabbits spoke out.  “What happened today was an act of terrorism. We all know the foxes have hated us for a long time, and they decided to act on it. They killed our loved ones.” As he spoke tears fell from the beaded eyes of the rabbits. There was fear, panic, sadness, anger and despair is their eyes. 

 He went on and on about the attacks that had happened that day. The barn was a sort of symbol for the rabbits, for their economy. The barn was a symbol of welcoming and love, a place where they would go to talk about their days and relax after the tiring day they had had. It was a symbol of how they lived. Freely. Not that the foxes didn’t live freely or that any other animal didn’t live freely. Not even that they can’t live freely without the barn, they can, but it represented how the rabbits could play and have fun and get together in one place. It was a special place for them, where many families started. In a second, it was gone. Never to be seen again. It could be built again but it would never be the same. It wouldn’t be the same walls that they laughed in. It wouldn’t be the same soil that the young ones would roll and play on. The rabbits didn’t know what to do. The leader of the rabbits said that in its place there was going to be a memorial. For the barn, the house and especially for all of the loved ones lost on that dreadful day. 

 “There are special people in our lives who never leave us, even after they are gone,” he had said. The whole memorial was about keeping the memories of the rabbits and the buildings alive. They were going to remember this day for the rest of their lives and generations to come.

 

Authors Note

 This story is an allegory of 9/11. The foxes represent the Muslims while the rabbits represent Americans. The barn and the house represent the Twin Towers, and the village represents the Pentagon. 9/11 was a very tragic day for everyone. It caused many people to live in fear of Muslims for the rest of their life. Some even resent them and blame all Muslims when it was only a select few who were involved in the attacks that day. In my story everything represents what happened on the day of 9/11. I chose the day 9/23 for this story because it is important to rabbits. This year September 23 is International Rabbit day. 9/11 was an important date to America cause 9-1-1 is the phone number you call if you’re in trouble. People aren’t really sure why they picked that specific day to attack, if that was even the reason, but this is what I believe. I chose to write an allegory on 9/11 because to me it is important. The day had a huge impact on America and the world and is a big part in our history.