Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1902-10-23
The Rabbit Tells the Boy a story.

|
English and Australian rabbit, being
smaller IN size, far more active and
preferring a home in hollow log to a
burrow in the earth.
Il never could understand why a
rabbits hind legs were the longest,
said the boy, as the rabbit paused.
"Well, 1 will tell you. The rabbit
is no fighter He is runner instead.
He can bite you hard enough if you
take hold of him, as his teeth are sharp
and strong, but he won't stop to bite it
he can get away. His long hind legs
not only enable him to outrun most
dogs, but to spring over logs and
brush heaps and whatsoever else may
be in the way. And there's another
thing. The rabbit has so many ene-
mics that he must always be on his
guard, and bis long hind legs permit
him to get his head above the grass
and look around. His eyesight is very
sharp, and his hearing is acute, and he
can smell smoke. If hadn't wanted
to talk to you, you couldn't have ap-
nroached within half mile of me.
"But why are rabbits bob-tailed ?"
asked the boy. "The coon, pOssum,
woodchuck, fox and other animals
have long tails "
1T is because be is runner, re-
piled the rabbit. THE coon and
'possum and squirrels are climbers,
and the woodchuck is digger. If a
rabbit had long tail it would be a
nuisance to him in the thick grass and
bushes. The fox, who has long tail,
is both runner and a digger, but in
a fair run | ca beat him all to pieces.
! If he ever catches rabbit it is sly
work. We make our homes mostly
in hollow logs, and if we had long
tails they might catch and hold us.
One time a fox who ran me into hol-
low log and went in after me caught
his tail on a silver and was held fast
until he starved to death.
What enemies do you have ?"
"Well, there are the hawk, the owl,
the fox, the dog, the wolf, the man
himself. OF course, there are no
wolves around now, excepting in the
far West, but the other enemies keep
me busy. The hawk, the dog and the
man are on the lookout for me at
night. The hawk catches sight Of me
as he sails in the air, so high that you
can hardly make him out, and down
he drops like a bullet. Sometimes
the rabbit escapes being hit by dash
ing into the bushes, but he is not al
ways lucky. The owl is much to be
dreaded. He sits quietly on the limb
of tree or the roof Of barn, and
when he makes his dash a rabbit has
to be a good dodger and runner to es-
cape him. Twice in my life an owl
knocked me over, but both times | es-
capped him. AS for the fox, if he does
not catch his rabbit as it comes out of
a log, or can sneak softly up when it
is feeding, he will get none at all.
"And what do you eat?" asked the
boy.
"Our favorite food is the bark Of
young apple trees, and there is no
doubt we often do great damage to
fruit growers; but we eat the leaves
Of cabbages, turnips, parsnips and cell
cry, where garden is handy, and
when not, we get along on thistle,
dandelion, chickweed, catnip and 9TH
er plants. have many a time made
good meal off an ear OF corn or have
nibbled at apples. The rabbit can
find food wherever be goes, winter or
summer. The only bad times for him
are when the snow is SO deep that be
can't go about. He then digs down
to the frozen earth and nibbles at the
roots of weeds and grasses.
"You have nice, soft fur" said the
boy, as he bent over and stroked the
rabbit.
"Yes, and that's why men hunt me
as they dc" replied Bunny. "In the
first place, the furrier makes three or
four kinds out Of my fur, all to be sold
under false Dsmes and for good price,
and in the next, all the best felt hats,
both for men and women, are made
from my hair. l don't believe you
knew that. but any halter will tell
you SO. Ny skin is made into gloves,
belts, pocketboOks, ETC., and any scraps
left over go into the glue pot. AS an
article of food, l am worth 25 cents or
more, but, with my pelt and all, my
value is half dollar or more. That's
all today. have not had any dinner