The rabbit has a charming face,
Its private life is a disgrace.
I really dare not name to you
The awful things that rabbits do.
The Rabbit (1925), Anonymous
I really dare not name to you
The awful things that rabbits do.
The Rabbit (1925), Anonymous
Isn't this a charming little poem? Although it's unclear to this modern reader how the rabbit disgraces himself, or herself, as the case may be. What comes promptly to mind, though, is the way rabbits hop around at dusk and nibble their way through the tastiest young leaves. Disgraceful! Did you know that rabbits eat up to one pound of greens each day?
What I'd like to find is a civilized rabbit like Br'er Rabbit or the White Rabbit - one dressed in formal wear who has more pressing issues than sneaking around mooching our plants.
What we actually have, though, is a pretty smart rabbit - one might even say he's no Dumb Bunny! This year he's only eating plants we don't want - like this volunteer violet. Do you have a problem with violets? They pop up in one little corner of our yard, both in the grass and in the beds - and even though some might not consider them a weed, they are a weed to me. (Doesn't that have a bit of a Godfather sound? Kind of like "you're dead to me", except that "you're a weed to me" isn't quite as ominous - or is it if you're the violet? If someone said that to you, would that make you shrink?)So here's hoping our bunny sticks to the violets and hollyhocks (also volunteers, but that's an interesting story for another day)! This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship . . . and I might even re-write The Rabbit poem:
Our bunny has a charming face
He hops around with joy and grace.
You won't believe what he can do,
The weeds are gone when he is through.
He hops around with joy and grace.
You won't believe what he can do,
The weeds are gone when he is through.
I am pretty sure I have a sneaky rabbit chewing the leaves off my bean plants. I purchased some stuff that has fox and coyote urine in it hoping it will work. I couldn't find my usual hot pepper wax.
ReplyDeleteI have no experience with rabbits other than those our girls raised in 4H.
ReplyDeleteI love what you did with the poem.
I also like the badge on your sidebar about reading the printed word.
Laura
Leah,
ReplyDeleteThe big bunnies in our yard never seems to nibble on any of my "good" plants. They eat the weeds in the lawn mostly! I would love for them to eat the volunteer hollyhocks that come over from my neighbor's yard. I like your revision of the rabbit poem!
-Pam
I am going to raise this from the dead for the sole purpose of providing the complete poem for clarity.
ReplyDeleteThe rabbit has a charming face,
Its private life is a disgrace.
I really dare not name to you
The awful things that rabbits do.
Things that your paper never prints,
You only mention them in hints.
They have such lost, degraded souls,
No wonder they inhabit holes.
Where such depravity is found,
It really should live underground.
-Unknown