It was Bunny day. Everyone at the grotto was painting their aprons in preparation of making their breads. It was said that if you put a carrot in your bread, a bunny will come and be your friend.

Theanore clutched her carrot as the other children eyed it. She wanted a bunny familiar, and she was not going to share. Archibald looked at her with pleading eyes. Well, maybe she could split the carrot in three. For herself, Archibald and Mary.

She cut the carrot in three parts and handed one to Archibald, who bit off some and began to chew.

“Archie, this is for your bread.” Said Theanore. That made Archibald eat the carrot faster. When he was done, he extended his hand towards Theanore.

“Give more.” Said the boy, but Theanore shook her head.

“This is for me and Mary. You had your share. This is the last carrot in the whole grotto, Archie. Try getting a carrot from someone else.” Said Theanore, and she cut the carrot in small cubes. Then, she placed half of them in her bowl and the other half in Mary’s.

Mary finally had enough mana to grow her seedling to a sapling, and now she was there with Theanore in truth, clutching to the skirt of her dress. She looked to be two years of age, the same as Theanore when she came to the world. She was wearing a puffy red and gold dress, a gift from Marinus.

Marinus was already making his dough. He turned to see Theanore and their daughter, and he smiled. He had his family now. One of which he was the head of. He was a proud father and soon to be a proud husband. He just knew it.

Cassius was having trouble with his dough. Normally, on the other Bunny days, the savants had made his dough and he just put it in the oven. Now, he was elbow deep in dough and his carrot was sticking out of it.

He had not cut it, thinking he would need to give it to his bunny companion whole when the bunny came to him. His parents had never allowed him animals, telling him he was too young for a pet. But Theanore had just pointed at the pile of carrots and had told him to help himself.

That had been three hours ago. Cassius looked at the pitiful among of dough that was not glued to his arms and sighed. It was better than nothing. He put more flour on his hands and made a snowball from the dough and placed it in a small, iron, bowl. It fit smugly.

Now, he only needed for it to raise, and then he would knead it again. He just hoped that he would have something to put in the oven by the time he was done.

Archibald came to him and tugged at his sleeve. Then the boy pointed at the carrot that was sticking from the snowball made of dough.

“Where is your carrot, Archie?” Asked Cassius. Archibald pointed at his mouth and then patted his stomach.

“Yum, yum.” Said the boy, and Cassius sighed. He cut off the tip of the carrot and handed it to Archibald.

“Don’t eat it. Go give it to Thea, so she can place it in your dough.” Said Cassius sternly. Archibald smiled and toddled off to Theanore. He tugged at her dress and she looked from where she was placing water in the bowl with the flour and egg.

“Good job finding a carrot, Archie. Now, place it in your bowl. I will knead your dough, and then you will place it in the oven.” Said Theanore. Archibald considered eating this carrot too. It had been a good snack. But then he saw how Theanore waited for him and he, reluctantly, placed the carrot inside his bowl.

That left Archibald with nothing to do. The blonde nuisance deserved a new nickname. He had been generous. Theanore called him Cassy, and so Archibald upgraded his nickname to Cassy, too. But the red fiend was yet to redeem himself fully.

Archibald went to Marinus and looked inside his bowl. There was a nice, big, ball inside. Marinus had diced his carrot in such small pieces, it looked like small flakes in the dough.

Marinus noticed Archibald and nodded at him.

“Do you want me to teach you how to knead?” Asked Marinus. Archibald nodded.

“First, roll up your sleeves. Are your hands clean, Archie?” Asked Marinus. Archibald rolled up his sleeves and then sniffed his hands. They smelled fine. He raised a small hand towards Marinus and smacked him on the nose without meaning to.

“Boo, boo. Sorry.” Said Archibald and Marinus smiled. The boy was adorable.

“No problem, Archie. Let me see, hm, you smell of carrots. But that is ok. Now, touch the dough and push down on it a little.” Said Marinus. Archibald did so, and when the dough rose beneath his hand when he pulled it away, he was surprised.

“Ah!” Said Archibald, and he began to push again.

“Yes, it does that. That means I put the proper ratio of everything. Now, start pushing in circles. Just like this.” Said Marinus, and he showed Archibald how to do it and then pulled out his hands to let the boy try it.

A smile blossomed on Archibald’s face. This was a game, and he was good at it, if the red fiend’s smile was any indication. Then he felt guilt in his chest. He couldn’t keep calling him red fiend in his mind.

He was Mari the merman.

“Mari.” Said Archibald as he looked at Marinus.

“That’s me, yes. Now, the dough needs to take a nap. After it wakes up, I will knead it again, and then it will take another nap in the oven. Do you want to go help Thea with your bread?” Asked Marinus. Archibald nodded and got his hands out of the bowl.

Marinus placed a towel over the bowl, and they went and made Archibald’s dough. As Archibald’s dough was raising, he told it the story of Zippy the elf. Then, because he was a good uncle, he told Mary’s dough the same story. It was his favorite one.

Their breads were done three hours later and everyone agreed they were golden and with a nice crust. Archibald was sure that if the rest of the breads had a bedtime story told them, they would have been just as good.