“The Easter Bunny’s Problem” by Melanie McAleer

Joe Maguire

Note:  Here’s a holiday poem published by my grandmother, Melanie McAleer, in the 1940’s–posted by her son, Joe.

The Easter Bunny’s Problem

Once a rabbit had a problem, and it wasn’t very funny,
You see he was the special, one and only Easter Bunny,
And he had a special duty to get up at break of day
On every Easter morning and give Easter Eggs away.

Something like old Santa, once his journey had begun,
Of the million little children, he never missed a one,
Yes, this was Bunny’s happy boast. ” I never missed a tot,
And no one lives who dares to say I was lazy or forgot.”

Oh, very gay and carefree was that special Easter Bunny
Until he had a problem, and it wasn’t very funny,
One day his special helper, a sort of bunny spy,
Discovered that Old Sly Fox had stolen all the dye.

Now, you children know what dye is, it’s for coloring the shell
Of every size of Easter egg, and Bunny did that well,
In fact he did it so well, he did it all alone,
So when he heard the awful news, you should have heard him groan.

“Whatever will I do,” he moaned, “Still a thousand eggs have I,
The job was almost finished, now I haven’t any dye,”
As he grabbed his long and wobbly ears and shook his bunny head,
A voice he knew as Clarence Cloud looked down on him and said:

” Easter Bunny, don’t you know that I like children too,
Every year I’ve watched you work, and on trips I’ve followed you,
I wouldn’t have you skip a child, not one in all the land,
Just give me one short hour to put colors in your hand.

Now Easter Bunny wondered what a far off cloud could do,
But something kindly in the voice made him know the words were true,
He looked up at the friendly cloud-“Go ahead,” he then replied.
And for a solid hour that cloud just cried and cried.

Now when a cloud is crying, we humans call it “Rain”,
But the reason for this outburst to that rabbit wasn’t plain,
Till as suddenly as he began, that kind cloud ceased to cry,
And a wonderful bright rainbow stretched itself across the sky.

In the rainbow were all colors, red and lavender and blue,
Yellow and bright orange, green and purple too,
“Quick take them,” Clarence Cloud called out ” take all you want and more,
For rainbow hues are finer far than those you had before.”

Then Easter Bunny dipped his brush in that great arch in the sky,
And the thousand eggs remaining were colored with the dye,
So be looking, all you children, and when eggs are extra bright
They might be rainbow colored – Oh, yes indeed , they might.

For every year through all the years from that time till this day
The Easter Bunny saves some eggs to dye a special way,
So don’t fuss at April showers – they are Clarence Clouds excuse
For leaving rainbow colors for the Easter Bunny’s use.

Melanie McAleer