The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1901-04-03

lays the red, white ana blue
Easter eggs is one of the old
est of historic characters. In
fact, wise men who have tried to trace
the story to its source have gone back
far beyond the earliest beginnings of
written history only to find its big,
woolly sars sticking up through the
n.sts of tradition and superstition.
But the strangest thing about the
Easter rabbit is that you will find him
In every part of the world-in Africa
and Asia as well as in Europe and
America-and if he is not laying East
er eggs he is doing something equally
remarkable and noteworthy.
People who think the rabbit only n
timid, stupid and commonplace mem
Der of society are entirely mistaken.
They ought to read the volumes that
have been written about him. And as
for the childrenl Mother Goose may
DE more familiar where English is spo
ken, but the Easter rabbit is known to
the little one in every language.
Not even the greatest students have
ever been able to learn how It happens
that the rabbit lays Easter eggs. All
iutN hliOWiS tlut ilttlt thhuItii, anu
particularly little children in Ger
many, make, as their grandfathers did
before them, warm nests of hay during
Easter week. in which they find ON
Easter morning a lot of beautiful col
ored eggs, laid there, of course, by the
Easter rabbit. Sometimes the Easter
rabbit even leaves little candy or
china image of himself behind him in
the midst of the eggs, by way of n
card. But really no proof is needed.
Years before the oldest man can re-
member it was always said that the
rabbit laid the Easter eggs, and there
is no more reason TO doubt 1t now
than there was then.
In st. Louis the shop windows are
now crowded with Easter rabbits, and
the Easter cards as often as not show
the Easter rabbits picture. Ask some
body why it is a rabbit instead of
woodchuck or any other animal. You
will find nobody that can tell you. No
body knows. All they can do is to
make shrewd guesses at it.
Going back behind the first books
nltH HuNt Aiisli Aht Adbpit ""S
regarded as a sacred animal by widely
scattered people all over the world.
Even the American Indians, who had
never, so far as we know, heard of
Easter, had their feast of the Great
Hare, or rabbit, and in the sixth CEN
fury after Christ, before the early in
habitants of what is now England had
been Christianized, the hare or rabbit
is said to have been sacred to Ostara,
the goddess of dawn and of spring
Among the natives of South Africa
there has been for centuries and still is
n story which connects the rabbit with
Easter in curious way. The spots on
the surface of the moon form. as these
natives say, the perfect image of n
rabbit. And as the moon sets or dies
and rises again every thirty days, it
sent the rabbit to take its message to
the children of men.
60" said the moon to the rabbit;
''go and say to men that, even as die
and rise again, so shall they also die
and rise again"
But the rabbit was wicked, and did
not carry the message straight.
ut ilOOh Sugbs tht WV ehN
South African natives, that even as
die and do not rise again so shall you
also die and not rise again"
When the rabbit came back and told
what he had done, the moon was nat
urally angry, and struck at him with a
hatchet. The blow struck the rabbit
and split its upper lip. People who
doubt the story are asked to notice
that the rabbits lip is split to this
day. And besides having its lip split
the rabbit was much frightened at the
moons anger, so that it ran away and
hid in hole in the ground. and has
been timld ever since.
Going over to Asia we find that the
rabbit still holds its place as a sacred
animal In China and all the other
countries where the religion of Buddha
prevails, the story runs that the great
Buddha himself was mt one time terri
bly, hungry. and wandered up and
down on the surface of tine earth look
ing for something to eat, but found
nothing. Finally the rabbit saw the
hungry god and felt sorry for him
Going up close. SO that Buddha could
not fail to see him, the rabbit laid
down Mt his feet.
Eat me-" said the rabbit to Buddha
But the Chinese divinity was not ia
be outdone. in generosity. Instead OF
eating the rabbit he transported 1t NJ
to the moon and there to this day tne
little Chinese children can see It
Y Against the bright face of the moon
>they can make out tall cassia tree
xc spreading top. Under this tree
ke rabbit on its launches. pound