In her final year of school, a rabbit from the wrong side of the tracks got a new teacher who told her that he loved her no matter what and that he knew she had the power to choose whatever kind of life she wanted for herself. She challenged the teacher again and again, but no matter how 'bad' she tried to be, the teacher balanced appropriate discipline with genuine heartfelt loving kindness.
Whenever she was upset, he challenged her to look at her part in creating and nurturing the upset, and he encouraged her to take care of herself on a daily basis by doing those things that she loved, like hopping, running, and reading inspirational literature. (The Velveteen Rabbit was one of her favorites.)
Eventually, the rabbit learned to trust herself more and to worry less about what other people thought she should be doing with her life. But even though she was popular with the other animals (after all, her daily running and jumping had made her the star of the track team), there was a part of her that still knew she was horribly inadequate and she felt the loving teacher was wasting his time on a worthless ball of fluff like her. No matter how fast she ran, she still cringed inwardly when she saw the birds who flew with such grace and the fish who swam like, well, fish.
Then one day, the unthinkable happened. She stepped on a thistle and hurt her lucky foot; she could no longer run. What little value she felt she had in the world had been taken away by one tiny thorn. The rabbit cried and cried until she was empty, and it was then that she heard a new yet oddly familiar voice inside her mind - still, small and as clear as a bell. It whispered, 'Your value is not in your speed.'
From that moment on, the voice stayed with her wherever she went. As she watched the birds fly high above the playing fields, the voice whispered, 'Their value is not in their wings.' When she saw the fish swimming laps in the pool, the voice said, 'Their value is not in their ability to swim.' When the rich old badger who helped to support the school came by, the voice said, 'His value is not in his wealth.'
And the rabbit could see that it was true - the birds' value was not in their flight, her teacher's value was not in his teaching, and her value was not in her speed, or in her ability to hop, or even in the way she could twitch her nose and make everybody laugh. And that thought made her laugh and laugh until once again she was empty, and the voice spoke again inside her mind.
'Now,' the voice said, 'we can begin ...'
