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By Daniel Curtin
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Dozens of young kids were at the Wellesley Library reading, doing crafts and petting a soft, little rabbit last Wednesday evening. Katie Metzger, an education manager from Land’s Sake Farm, had brought her cuddly friend, Henry, a two-year-old bunny, for a visit.
Metzger read a book about rabbits before bringing Henry out of his cage to make some new friends in the library.
“I think it is really special,” Metzger said. “It kind of teaches them how to interact with animals in a respectful way, but also it is really hard not to love something when it is this cute and cuddly.”
Families watched as the kids sat in a circle, waiting for the white rabbit with blood-red eyes to hop on over to them. Metzger told the youngsters that the rabbit has red eyes because he is an albino.
The children were given the leafy tops of very small carrots to feed Henry. Metzger told those in attendance that despite the common misconception of rabbits loving carrots, rabbits don’t naturally eat fruits and vegetables because they are too high in sugar for them. Rabbits mainly feed on hay, grass, leafy greens and pellets.
“It is a terrific mixture of … the reading component, real life animal [interaction] … and then doing some crafts,” said Jon Bonsall as he watched his two granddaughters feed Henry. “It again gives the idea that a library is a vibrant place and it has terrific programs for a lot of different things for different people.”
“[My daughter] sometimes can get a little whiny at home,” said Miji Petroff, an attendee who frequents the library’s numerous programs. “But once she comes here she has so much to do with the books, toys and other babies she can interact with.”
After Henry the rabbit had enjoyed some delicious food and met all of his new friends, he was taken around for some photo opportunities while the kids worked on rabbit-themed arts and crafts.
