Parable of the Rabbit
Littleston was a potentially fine upstanding member of his community. Of course, whenever humans saw him, they usually just saw a rabbit, but humans are a little myopic that way. Littleston had the usual rabbit characteristics: fuzzy whitish hair, a tail, and one considerable appetite. He also was brought up in the usual rabbit way, which is to say not much of any way at all.
At the age of four, Littleston decided to go off and see the world. He travelled to and fro, and fro and to. He drank from the raging rivers and slept in the dewy meadows. He raced foxes for days and counted stars at night. However, even rabbits have responsibilities, and he eventually returned home.
Soon after, Littleston was chosen to be a member of the elite carrot brigade. Everyone wanted to be in the carrot brigade, members got the best food and the finest burrows. Everyone was proud of Littleston for having been chosen to train for this elite troupe. However, Littleston didn’t want to be a member of the carrot brigade, he wanted to grow lettuce. However, nobody grew lettuce, especially not someone as big as strong as Littleston (for, though we have not mentioned it yet, Littleston was a very big and strong rabbit, above and beyond the expected fuzziness).
However, while Littleston was a big rabbit, he was easily swayed by the soft words of others. Also, (to be honest), if everyone wanted to be in the carrot brigade, then it had to be nice to be in the carrot brigade, especially for someone like Littleston. Carrots are fairly tasty after all, and no self-respecting rabbit can turn down a lifetime of sweet carrots.
Unfortunately, Littleston found out that he did not in fact like the carrot brigade. The drills were tedious and at the end of the day Littleston was too weary to even care about all the carrots he was going to get once he was older. It also began to seem that the more people didn’t have carrots, the more they wanted them, when as far as Littleston was concerned, lettuce was just fine.
One night, Littleston decided to run away. However, a member of the carrot brigade cannot just run away. To maintain cohesiveness, the brigade brands all escaping rabbits as traitors and sends out a wicked angel to hunt them down. The angel takes on different forms to different people. For some it is a pesky flea that nibbles at them every day for the rest of their lives. For others it is a gaping row of flesh-rendering canines that seeks to destroy them.
For the Littleston, the angel took on the form of a weighted needle, dragging him down and cutting him to the bone. Wherever Littleston ran, he could not escape the angel that had been sent after him. However, while he was crawling through a meadow one day, he found a fox sun tanning in autumn heat. Littleston thought that he was about to be eaten, but the fox was in a good mood.
The fox invited Littleston to live in his den. This was no idle offer, a fox’s den is a special place, where angels fear to tread, (the wicked ones that is). If Littleston could live in the fox’s den, then he would be free of his angel. However, Littleston was worried, foxes often eat rabbits, and while the fox didn’t look hungry today, who knew what his appetite might be like tomorrow?
The fox put Littleston’s mind at ease, he was very well fed and he certainly didn’t need to eat a rabbit while there was plenty of food in the meadows. (And, it should be pointed out, there was indeed quite a bit of food in the meadows, this fox could just reach out his paw in the morning and grab himself a snack, which is what he would often do.)
Years passed in rabbit time, and Littleston grew very comfortable living in the fox’s den. The fox even brought home carrots for Littleston to eat every now and then, so Littleston grew fat and complacent.
(Ah, complacent, that’s not a very nice word now, is it? In parables such as this, the word complacent is foreshadowing, with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. But parables are rarely very nice stories anyway, so shame on you if you expected a happy ending).
One night, Littleston and the fox were sleeping on the warm den floor, when Littleston suddenly sneezed. The fox got woken up, and was annoyed and having been disturbed, so he took his claws and with a quick swipe chopped off Littleston’s left ear. Littleston was surprised at the reaction, and asked the fox why he had taken Littleston’s ear. The fox pointed out that Littleston had been living in the fox’s den for quite a while, and that it was about time that he contributed something… and tasty rabbit parts would be a splendid contribution. Nothing fatal of course, just a few pinpricks here and there.
Littleston wasn’t very keen on the idea of making corporeal contributions, and decided to leave the fox’s den. However, when he took a look outside, the angel was still there, even after all those rabbit years. However, the angel had become a little antsy at having been away from Littleston for so long, and Littleston could see that the angel was getting ready to exact a terrible toll.
With a sigh, Littleston returned to the cave, and told the fox that he was willing to offer his other ear as a contribution to the den. The fox agreed, and Littleston went back to sleep. Later on that night, the fox got hungry again and decided to make a meal of Littleston, since the small parts were not really satisfying.
It turns out that Littleston wasn’t a very satisfying meal, but the fox didn’t real lose much anyway.
At the age of four, Littleston decided to go off and see the world. He travelled to and fro, and fro and to. He drank from the raging rivers and slept in the dewy meadows. He raced foxes for days and counted stars at night. However, even rabbits have responsibilities, and he eventually returned home.
Soon after, Littleston was chosen to be a member of the elite carrot brigade. Everyone wanted to be in the carrot brigade, members got the best food and the finest burrows. Everyone was proud of Littleston for having been chosen to train for this elite troupe. However, Littleston didn’t want to be a member of the carrot brigade, he wanted to grow lettuce. However, nobody grew lettuce, especially not someone as big as strong as Littleston (for, though we have not mentioned it yet, Littleston was a very big and strong rabbit, above and beyond the expected fuzziness).
However, while Littleston was a big rabbit, he was easily swayed by the soft words of others. Also, (to be honest), if everyone wanted to be in the carrot brigade, then it had to be nice to be in the carrot brigade, especially for someone like Littleston. Carrots are fairly tasty after all, and no self-respecting rabbit can turn down a lifetime of sweet carrots.
Unfortunately, Littleston found out that he did not in fact like the carrot brigade. The drills were tedious and at the end of the day Littleston was too weary to even care about all the carrots he was going to get once he was older. It also began to seem that the more people didn’t have carrots, the more they wanted them, when as far as Littleston was concerned, lettuce was just fine.
One night, Littleston decided to run away. However, a member of the carrot brigade cannot just run away. To maintain cohesiveness, the brigade brands all escaping rabbits as traitors and sends out a wicked angel to hunt them down. The angel takes on different forms to different people. For some it is a pesky flea that nibbles at them every day for the rest of their lives. For others it is a gaping row of flesh-rendering canines that seeks to destroy them.
For the Littleston, the angel took on the form of a weighted needle, dragging him down and cutting him to the bone. Wherever Littleston ran, he could not escape the angel that had been sent after him. However, while he was crawling through a meadow one day, he found a fox sun tanning in autumn heat. Littleston thought that he was about to be eaten, but the fox was in a good mood.
The fox invited Littleston to live in his den. This was no idle offer, a fox’s den is a special place, where angels fear to tread, (the wicked ones that is). If Littleston could live in the fox’s den, then he would be free of his angel. However, Littleston was worried, foxes often eat rabbits, and while the fox didn’t look hungry today, who knew what his appetite might be like tomorrow?
The fox put Littleston’s mind at ease, he was very well fed and he certainly didn’t need to eat a rabbit while there was plenty of food in the meadows. (And, it should be pointed out, there was indeed quite a bit of food in the meadows, this fox could just reach out his paw in the morning and grab himself a snack, which is what he would often do.)
Years passed in rabbit time, and Littleston grew very comfortable living in the fox’s den. The fox even brought home carrots for Littleston to eat every now and then, so Littleston grew fat and complacent.
(Ah, complacent, that’s not a very nice word now, is it? In parables such as this, the word complacent is foreshadowing, with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. But parables are rarely very nice stories anyway, so shame on you if you expected a happy ending).
One night, Littleston and the fox were sleeping on the warm den floor, when Littleston suddenly sneezed. The fox got woken up, and was annoyed and having been disturbed, so he took his claws and with a quick swipe chopped off Littleston’s left ear. Littleston was surprised at the reaction, and asked the fox why he had taken Littleston’s ear. The fox pointed out that Littleston had been living in the fox’s den for quite a while, and that it was about time that he contributed something… and tasty rabbit parts would be a splendid contribution. Nothing fatal of course, just a few pinpricks here and there.
Littleston wasn’t very keen on the idea of making corporeal contributions, and decided to leave the fox’s den. However, when he took a look outside, the angel was still there, even after all those rabbit years. However, the angel had become a little antsy at having been away from Littleston for so long, and Littleston could see that the angel was getting ready to exact a terrible toll.
With a sigh, Littleston returned to the cave, and told the fox that he was willing to offer his other ear as a contribution to the den. The fox agreed, and Littleston went back to sleep. Later on that night, the fox got hungry again and decided to make a meal of Littleston, since the small parts were not really satisfying.
It turns out that Littleston wasn’t a very satisfying meal, but the fox didn’t real lose much anyway.
