The Tortoise and the Hare

Rushing is useless; one has to leave on time. To such 
Truth witness is given by the Tortoise and the Hare. 
“Let’s make a bet,”the former once said,“that you won’t touch 
That line as soon as I.”“As soon? Are you all there, 
Neighbor?”said the rapid beast. 
“You need a purge: four grains at least 
Of hellebore, you’re now so far gone.” 
“All there or not, the bet’s still on.” 
So it was done; the wagers of the two 
Were placed at the finish, in view. 
It doesn’t matter what was down at stake, 
Nor who was the judge that they got. 
Our Hare had, at most, four steps or so to take. 
I mean the kind he takes when, on the verge of being caught, 
He outruns dogs sent to the calends for their pains, 
Making them run all over the plains. 
Having, I say, time to spare, sleep, browse around, 
Listen to where the wind was bound, 
He let the Tortoise leave the starting place 
In stately steps, wide-spaced. 
Straining, she commenced the race: 
Going slow was how she made haste. 
He, meanwhile, thought such a win derogatory, 
Judged the bet to be devoid of glory, 
Believed his honor was all based 
On leaving late. He browsed, lolled like a king, Amused himself with everything 
But the bet. When at last he took a look, 
Saw that she’d almost arrived at the end of the course, 
He shot off like a bolt. But all of the leaps he took 
Were in vain; the Tortoise was first perforce. 
“Well, now!”she cried out to him.“Was I wrong? 
What good is all your speed to you? 
The winner is me! And how would you do 
If you also carried a house along?” 


                                                  Jean de la Fontaine

Will Bullas- Angel Hare...

Here we have an artist with a sense of humor and love.

WILL BULLAS was born in Ohio and raised in the southwest. He was majoring in art at Arizona State University when he was drafted and served in Vietnam. After returning from combat duty, Will took up his art studies at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California where he studied with Ray Strong. There he met his wife, Claudia, who also is an artist. He supported his family as a printer until striking out on his own as an artist, and soon gained a growing audience of enthusiastic collectors. He lives and paints in San Francisco. Will is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, The National Watercolor Society and the Knickerbocker Artists of New York. He has exhibited twice with the National Academy of Design in New York City.

See above link to see more of his work!! Be prepared to smile!!

 Old Molly Hare  

“Old Molly Hare, what you doin’ there?  

“Runnin through the cotton patch hard as I can tear. ” 

“Bru’r Rabbit, Bru’r Rabbit, what makes your ears so long ? ” 

“Cause, by God, they’re put on wrong. ” 

“Bru’r Rabbit, Bru’r Rabbit, what makes you look so shy ? ” 

“Cause, my Lord, I don^t want to die. ” 

Bru’r Rabbit, Bru’r Rabbit, what makes you look so thin ? ” 

“Cause, by God, I’m burning the wind.“ 

“Bru’r Rabbit, Bru’r Rabbit, what makes your tail so white ? ” 

“Cause, by God, I’m going out of sight. ” 

                                                   American Folk Song

by-Gary Anderson Full Moon

Rabbits on Chairs & Art Sit Well Together!

billybob on chair -Lorraine Bushek

Lorraine Bushek has talent, and a great love for rabbits.
Lorraine is a blogger, an artist, animal lover and a volunteer with the Rabbit Advocates in Portland Oregon.
Her profile says she lives with her husband, 2 cats, and 2+ rescue rabbits (the number is always changing).
We rabbit lovers have just got to love her painting of rabbits on chairs (plus other places). Her motivation for painting these rabbits is her belief that rabbits belong in the house with their human companions...not outside in a hutch, in the elements. I think the paintings are amazing! I'd hang one on my wall any day!! Go see them for yourself at the link above.  (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page to more!!)

The Hare

     

In the black furrow of a field  

I saw an old witch-hare this night;  

And she cocked a lissome ear,  

And she eyed the moon so bright,  

And she nibbled o' the green;  

And I whispered“Whsst! witch-hare”,  

Away like a ghostie o'er the field  

She fled, and left the moonlight there.

                          Walter de la Mare

You Positively GLOW!!

Pregnant rabbits require food with a more energy than normal pet food to be able to support their growing baby bunnies. This is especially important during the last two weeks of pregnancy. The type of food should be different than one that is made for pet rabbits. Most commercial rabbit feeds will work fine as a pregnant rabbit food but some brands are far better than others.

 After your rabbit gives birth to a new litter of baby bunnies it is best to switch her to a high-fat rabbit food. This is important to stimulate the milk production needed to support the health of growing bunnies (Fortun-Lamothe L. 1997). Research shows that you'll see major improvements in the health of growing baby bunnies and improved feed efficiency when using a high-fat rabbit food.

 Most commercial rabbit feeds have very little fat. Additionally, those that claim to have added fat for "show rabbits" are simply adding a little "natural" vegetable oil. Two things are wrong with this scenario. First, these types of rabbit foods still have less than 4% fat when growing rabbits should be getting at least twice that amount! Second, vegetable oil is refined and and lacks the natural vitamins needed. Plants that use oil to store energy in seeds also package vitamin E with it. Feeds that use cheep refined soybean oil will not have the same amount of vitamin E as feeds that use whole natural oil seeds like flax, canola (rape), and others as an oil source. This is important because when adding fat to any diet you should also add vitamin E.

 Following these dietary recommendations for feeding pregnant rabbits will improve their health. If you plan on breeding more rabbits then it is also important to learn how to rear Does before they become pregnant. The information found in the website below is guaranteed to improve your success and reduce the culling rates of nursing and pregnant rabbits and the mortality rates of their growing bunnies. It also details what you should feed your rabbits months before breeding them and how to find the best kind of pregnant rabbit food.


 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5479160

You have heard how Glooscap came to rule over the Wabanaki and how he made the animals, and how at first some of them were treacherous and disobedient. In time, however, he gave posts of honor to those whom he could trust, and they were proud to be Glooscap's servants. Two dogs became his watchmen, and the loon his messenger and tale-bearer. And, because the rabbit had the kindest heart of all the animals in the forest, Glooscap made Ableegumooch his forest guide.

Now in those days Ableegumooch the Rabbit was a very different animal than he is today. His body was large and round, his legs were straight and even, and he had a long bushy tail. He could run and walk like other animals, not with a hop-hop-hop as he does today.

One day in springtime, when the woods were carpeted with star flowers and lilies-of-the-valley, and the ferns were waist-high, Ableegumooch lay resting beside a fallen log. Hearing a rustle on the path, he peered around his log to see who was coming. It was Uskool the Fisher, a large animal of the weasel tribe, and he was weeping.

"What is the matter with him," wondered the rabbit, who was inquisitive as well as soft-hearted. He popped his head up over the log and Uskool nearly jumped out of his fur with surprise. "It's only me--Ableegumooch," said the rabbit. "Do you mind telling me why you are crying?"

"Oh, greetings, Ableegumooch," sighed Uskool, when he had recovered from his fright. "I'm going to my wedding."

"And that makes you cry?" asked the astonished rabbit.

"Of course not," said Uskool. "I've lost my way, that's the trouble."

"Well, just take your time," said the rabbit sensibly, "and you'll soon find it again."

"But I have no time to spare," groaned the fisher. "My future father-in-law has sworn that if I do not arrive for the wedding by sunset today, he will marry his daughter to Kakakooch the Crow. And, look, already the sun is low in the sky!"

"In that case," said Ableegumooch, "I'd better show you the way. Where are you going?"

"To a village called Wilnech," said Uskool eagerly, "near the bend in the river!"

"I know it well," said the rabbit. "Just follow me."

"Thanks, Ableegumooch," cried the happy fisher. "Now I shall be sure to arrive in time."

So off they went on their journey. Uskool, who was not very quick on the ground, being more accustomed to travel in the trees, moved slowly.

"You go ahead," he told the impatient rabbit, "and I'll follow as fast as I can."

So Ableegumooch ran ahead, and sometimes all Uskool could see of him was his long bushy tail whisking through the trees. So it was that Uskool, looking far ahead and not watching where he stepped, fell suddenly headfirst into a deep pit.

His cries soon brought Ableegumooch running back, and seeing the fisher's trouble, he cried out cheerfully, "Never mind. I'll get you out."

He let his long tail hang down inside the pit.

"Catch hold, and hang on tight, while I pull."

Uskool held on to the rabbit's tail, and Ableegumooch strained mightily to haul him up. Alas, the weight of the fisher was too great. With a loud snap, the rabbit's tail broke off short, within an inch of the root, and there was poor Ableegumooch with hardly any tail at all!

Now you would think that this might have discouraged the rabbit from helping Uskool, but not so. When Ableegumooch made up his mind to do something for somebody, he did it. Holding on to a stout tree with his front paws, he lowered his hinder part into the pit.

"Take hold of my legs," he cried, "and hang on tight. I'll soon pull you out."

Ableegumooch pulled and he pulled until his waist was drawn out thin, and he could feel his hind legs stretching and stretching-- and soon he feared he might lose them too. But at last, just as he thought he must give up, the fisher's head rose above the edge of the pit and he scrambled to safety.

"Well!" said the rabbit as he sat down to catch his breath. "My waist isn't so round as it was, and my hind legs seem a good bit longer than they were. I believe it will make walking rather difficult."

And sure enough, it did. When the rabbit tried to walk, he tumbled head over heels. Finally, to get along at all, he had to hop.

"Oh, well," said the rabbit, "hopping is better than nothing," and after a little practice, he found he could hop quite fast. And so they hurried on through the forest.

At last, just before the sun touched the rim of the trees, they arrived at the bride's village. All the fishers were gathered, waiting, and they smiled and cheered at sight of Uskool and his guide--all but Kakakooch the Crow, who was far from glad to see them! In fact, as soon as he saw Uskool take the bride's hand, he flew out of the village in a temper, and never came back again. But nobody cared about him.

Ableegumooch was the most welcome guest at the wedding when Uskool told the other fishers what he had done. All was feasting and merriment, and the rabbit danced with the bride so hard she fell into a bramble bush and tore her gown. She was in a dreadful state when she found she was not fit to be seen in company, and ran to hide behind a tree. The rabbit was terribly sorry and wanted to help her, so he hopped away to get a caribou skin he had seen drying in the sun, and made a new dress out of it for the bride.

"You must have a fine girdle to go with it," said he, and he cut a thin strip off the end of the skin. Then he put one end of the strip in his mouth and held the other end with his front paws, twisting the strip into a fancy cord. He twisted and twisted, and he twisted it so hard the cord snapped out of his teeth and split his upper lip right up to his nose! And now you see why it is that rabbits are hare lipped!

"Never mind," said Ableegumooch, when the bride wept at his mishap, "it can't be helped," and he gave her the cord just as it was, to tie around her waist.

"Wait right here," said the bride, and she ran off. In a moment she was back, carrying a lovely white fur coat.

"This is for you," she said shyly. "It is the color of the snow, so if you wear it in winter, your enemies will not be able to see you."

Ableegumooch was delighted with his present and promised not to put it on till the snow came, as his brown coat would hide him better in summer. The wedding was over now, and he said good-bye to Uskool and the bride, and started for home.

Now it happened that before he had gone far, he came to a small pool in the woods, so smooth it was like a mirror. Looking into it, the rabbit saw himself for the first time since his accidents, and was aghast. Was this he--this creature with the split lip, the hind legs stretched out of shape, and a tail like a blob of down?

"Oh dear, oh dear," sobbed Ableegumooch, "how can I face my friends looking like this?" Then, in his misery, he remembered Glooscap, his Master. "O Master! See what has happened to your poor guide. I'm not fit to be seen any more, except to laugh at. Please put me back to my former shape."

High up on Blomidon, Glooscap heard the rabbit and came striding down from his lodge to see what was wrong. When he saw poor Ableegumooch, all out of shape, he had all he could do to keep from laughing, though of course he kept a sober face so as not to hurt the rabbit's feelings.

"Come now," he said, "things may not be as bad as you think. You know how fond you are of clover, Ableegumooch?"

The rabbit nodded piteously.

"And you know how hard it is to find. Well, with that long cleft in your lip, you will be able to smell clover even when it is miles away!"

"That's good," said the rabbit, cheering up a little, "but it's very uncomfortable having to hop everywhere I go."

"Perhaps, for a time," said Glooscap, "but have you noticed how much faster you hop than you used to run?"

The rabbit did a little hop, and a jump or two, just to see.

"Why I believe you're right!" he cried, but then his face fell again. "But my tail, Master! I mind that most of all. I was so proud of it."

"It was certainly a handsome tail," admitted the Great Chief, "but recall how it used to catch in thorns and brambles."

"That's true!" cried the rabbit, excitedly, "and it was very awkward when Wokwes the Fox was chasing me! Now I can slip through the narrowest places with no trouble at all!" And he laughed with delight. "Why--with my new legs, my cleft lip, and without my long tiresome tail, I'm a better rabbit than I was before!"

"So you are!" said Glooscap, and at last he was able to laugh. When Glooscap laughs heartily, the land shakes and the trees bend over, so the rabbit had to hold on tightly to a tree to keep from being knocked over. "So you are indeed!" laughed Glooscap.

And that is why the rabbit and the rabbit's children, and his children's children have had, ever since that day, a little white scut of a tail, a cleft lip, and long hind legs on which they can hop all day and never tire. And since then, too, in winter, rabbits wear white coats.

And thus, kespeadooksit--the story ends.

Native American story found HERE