Asplenium scolopendrium — the hart’s-tongue, lit from beneath
i. The Burrow of Asplenium
You arrive at the first alcove and the rabbit is already asleep.
A single fern leans over the cushion, its fronds glowing the colour of bruised limes.
You decide not to wake it. Not yet. The quest is patient.
Myosotis sylvatica — remember, remember
ii. The Burrow of Myosotis
In the second alcove the rabbit’s ears are tall, listening to something you cannot hear.
Forget-me-nots crowd the marble, their stamens flickering like tiny green filaments.
They are remembering you already, the courtly little spies.
Convallaria majalis — the ladders of small white bells
iii. The Burrow of Convallaria
The third rabbit is caught mid-leap, frozen in the act of crossing a stream of light.
Lily-of-the-valley climbs the broken aqueduct, each bell a rung on a lime-green ladder.
If you climbed it you would reach nothing but more marble. Climb it anyway.
Anemone nemorosa — windflower, daughter of the breeze
iv. The Burrow of Anemone
The fourth rabbit grooms one ear, slowly, as if it has all the centuries it needs.
A windflower opens above it, white and many-petalled, holding very still in the still air.
You hold still too. The two of you wait for a wind that the grotto will not provide.
Aquilegia vulgaris — granny’s bonnet, the five-spurred crown
v. The Burrow of Aquilegia
The fifth rabbit has its head down, eating something the design has chosen not to draw.
Columbine nods over it, five spurs curling backward like the horns of a tiny chandelier.
It does not look up. There is nothing above worth the interruption of a meal.
Digitalis purpurea — foxglove, the bell that does not ring
vi. The Burrow of Digitalis
The sixth alcove shows only two pale hind legs — the rabbit is halfway into the marble.
Foxglove leans into the burrow after it, a ladder of speckled bells that have never rung.
Welcome, traveller, to the Sixth Burrow. There is one more, and then there is fin.
Iris germanica — rainbow over the threshold
vii. The Looking-Back Burrow
The seventh rabbit looks back at you over its shoulder, one eye open, entirely calm.
An iris stands beside the velvet cushion, its three falls bent like the bows of a quiet violin.
This is where the quest ends. The rabbit is asleep. You may try to wake it.