Decorah-posten og ved arnen., 1906-08-28
Why the Rabbit has no Tail.

II XII nEN.#W aN
The animals in the ark asked Cap
tain Noah for permission to give a
grand ball to be held on the evening OF
the twenty-6fth day Of the cruise.
They hungered and thirsted for
amusement. Life was growing mo-
notonous. All the wires were down,
cars were not running, and the boats
were Out of commission. The mar
row escapes from a watery grave and
the awful experiences of the preced-
ing days weighed upon their minds.
Most of them were not too comfort-
ably quartered. All the state-rooms
had been secured by the Hog family.
The berths were small and stuffy and
the steerage overcrowed. 1t must
also be admitted that the ventilation
of the boat was poor. Modern con
veniences were unknown, and so were
disinfectants. Captain Noah recog-
nized the need of some diversion for
the animals, for the husbands had not
been to lodge and the wives had
missed the sewing circles for several
months, so he cheerfully granted their
request.
season, and everybody wa on tiptoe
Vi SNpCStdLCJ. WdIuIODtS WCIC
overhauled. Every dame donned her
best, and came early to see how her
arkmates were dressed.
The music was furnished by a
mixed orchestra, selected and trained
for the occasion, COMPOSED of the
Sandpiper, the Horn-Bill, the Lyre-
bird, the Warbler, the Drum-ish, the
Fiddler Grab, the Flute-bird, the Bell
Bird, the Lily Bells, the Humming
Bird and the Mock Turtle.
The first number on the program
was the Grand March, which was led
by Mother Goose and Daddy-Long-
legs. Mrs. Goat and her sanctimo-
NOUS Billy followed, while the rear
was brought up by the Tortoise and
the Snail. 1t was a motley process
sion. You would have split your
sides with laughter to have seen the
different animals, ranging from the
giraffe to the dachshund style of ar
chitecture, attempt to keep step TO
the music. In a few minutes all was
hopeless confusion. Hard words and
worse were passed, and If cooler
counsel had not prevailed, the ball
probably would have ended in a free
fight.
Order and quiet having been re-
stored, the animals took an inven-
tory of their injuries. Many costumes
were ruined. The gorgeous Peafowls
were shy of some tailfeathers. The
Elephant had stepped on the Beavers
tail and crushed it so badly that to
this day it has not resumed its origi-
nal shape. The Bear, the Toad, the
'ToInn1a opI n srnra nF ntharc &c
tanned damages to the caudal append
age. 1t was evident that better ar
rangements were necessary to make
Owl, the wisest bird that flies, was
assigned the task of devising the plan.
= Acting on the principle that the
humiliation of a problem is the best
solution of all the difficulties connected
with it, he recommended that they
all cut off their tails. Strong protests
were made against this plan, and the
Fox suggested that the animals mere
w take off their tails and get them
checked at the parcel room. As this
was not 50 radical as the Owls plan
and yet served the purpose equally
well, it was unanimously adopted.
The next ball was free from acci-
dents that had married the pleasures
of the preceding one So well did the
plan work and so we'll were the pa
irons pleased with the results hat
they all had their tails checked every
evening, preferring to sleep without
them.
One morning the ark was resting
on firm earth and there was a scram-
BILE to disembark. Everybody wanted
to go ashore first. In the hustle and
excitement, poor harebrained Bunny
forgot the hole in his pocket and he
lost his check. When he applied for
his tail, Captain Noah simply said to
him: mo checkee, no ~tailee."
And that is why the Rabbit has no
tail.