Barnaby Bunny blinked his sleepy eyes. The sun was starting to dip low, painting the meadow in soft orange and pink colours. Barnaby and his friends, Pip and Squeak, were getting ready for bedtime, but they felt like one last little adventure.
"What could we play?" yawned Pip. "Something calm and gentle," added Squeak, already snuggling a soft clover. Barnaby spotted a round, fluffy dandelions-puff and a sturdy, bendy twig. "Let's play sleepy baseball!" he whispered.
Sleepy baseball isn't like loud, fast daytime baseball. It's quiet and kind. Barnaby set the fluffy puff down gently. Squeak held the bendy twig like a bat. Pip stood a little way off, ready to catch.
Squeak swung the twig very softly, *tap*. The dandelion puff floated slowly through the air. Pip hopped forward and tried to catch it in his paws. Oops! It tickled his nose instead and drifted down.
"That was fun!" giggled Pip, even though he didn't catch it. "My turn to hit!" They traded places. Now Pip held the twig. He squinted one eye and gave the puff a little nudge. *Boing!* It bounced softly over to Barnaby.
Barnaby tried to catch it too. He cupped his paws, but the puff was so light and fluffy it just floated right through. He didn't mind though! It felt like catching a cloud. "This is the softest game ever," he said, smiling.
They played like this for a little while, taking turns hitting the puff and trying to catch it. Sometimes they hit it a little bit further, sometimes it just rolled near their feet. Nobody minded mistakes because they were just playing together and trying their best.
They learned that Pip was good at spotting where the puff would land. Barnaby was good at giving it a gentle tap with the twig. And Squeak was the best at making funny faces when the puff tickled her nose. Everyone was good at something!
Playing together felt warm and happy. They helped each other if the puff rolled under a leaf. They cheered softly when someone made a good tap. It wasn't about winning or losing; it was about being friends and sharing a sleepy game.
As the sky turned a deep, starry blue, the bunnies felt their eyelids getting heavy. The fluffy dandelion puff looked like a little white star on the grass. They gathered their twig and hopped slowly towards their cozy burrow, yawning big, wide yawns.
They snuggled down in their warm beds of hay, dreaming of soft puffs floating through the air and gentle taps with bendy twigs. Playing sleepy baseball with friends had made them feel so happy and ready for a long, sweet sleep.