HUMBLE RABBIT PIE

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 35, 4 November 1933, Page 23

HUMBLE RABBIT PIE

Black Bunny sat at his door Sunning himself and twisting his beautiful, long whiskers. As he sat he thought about things; many things, hut chiefly about the length and splendour of his whiskers. Grey Rabbit came by, “Good morning, cousin,” he said. Black Bunny only sniffed and looked the other way. And he simply looked away whenever any one of his friends or relations stopped to wish him “good day.” Once he had been just an ordinary, jolly sort of rabbit, who didn’t mind getting his coat scratched or his paws muddy, but one day a foolish rabbit said to him: “How beautiful you are, Black Bunny, with your black, shining coat, and those wonderful, marvellous whiskers!” “Am I so beautiful?” thought Black Bunny. He ran to the still pool and gazed at himself. “Yes, I am,” he decided. “Much too beautiful to play with the others, or even speak to them. Truly, I am a prince among rabbits.”

So all day long he sat in the sun, or went for stately little walks by himself. He thought he was happy, but sometimes when.he heard the scattering rustle of the long grasses that told of the hide and seek games that the young rabbits were playing, he had to think very hard about his whiskers to stop himself rushing out to join in the fun. The days went by and summer passed. The green leaves fell, and the tender grasses grew into tall hard stalks. The other rabbits, had all filled their winter larders; only Black Bunny’s shelves were empty. The cold winter days came, and with them, the rain. The still pond was still no longer, but had overflowed its banks and spread over the field almost to the doors of the warren. One night a fierce wind blew, and tore a limb from the great oak tree. The branch fell right across the door of Black Bunny’s burrow, quite blocking the way out. Black Bunny grew hungrier and hungrier. He knocked at the door of Grey Rabbit’s house. “Let me in, Grey Rabbit,” he called. “A great branch has stopped up my door and I have no food.” “We have no food to spare for you,” Grey Rabbit answered. “All through the autumn we filled our larder. Why is yours empty?” “Because—because I was too lazy.” “Is that the only reason?”, asked Grey Rabbit. “Yes. No. I though myself too beautiful to work. But please let me share your food, and all the summer and all the adtumn I will work for you.” “Very well, Black Bunny. But first you must cut off your whiskers. Then I will open the door between our burrows.” Very sadly Black Bunny stroked his whiskers. Very slowly he picked up the scissors, then snip! off came one whisker. Snap! and another one was cut; until all the wonderful whiskers lay on the ground. He picked them all up and tied them in a sad little bundle and fastened it up with his red party ribbon, then he walked back to Grey Rabbit’s door again and knocked. “If only I had not been so proud,” he sighed. “But —.” The door opened and he skipped inside. “But of course they will grow again, some day.” —A.S.