New-York tribune., 1907-01-13
A PET RABBIT.
remarkable Intelligence Displayed
by "Bunnu."

pigeons, guinea pigs, tame rabbits and so forth
o"l mere was a pet of entirely different nature.
n wicker basket was lined with flannel and in this
ne was placed before the fire and nIed with all
hlhos or delicacies. Warm milk was administered
win an essspoon; green food and cereals of diff
elen' varieties were likewise offered some came
from our own garden from the greengrocer
eoiiie from the corn chambers. Never was there
more amusing pet For some reason or other wa
christened him The Little Man" often abbreviated
to Mamie"
Ahose whose experience is limited 10 the stolid.
ioppy' tame rabbits in hutches have no
cepuon Of the intelligence activity and extraordi-
nary yivacity of tanned wild rabbit This little
oitSp Up sept sept IN cupboard under the stairs
reading some preparing lessons-when the bell
yjsis went to the front door but not soul
e-Siple OUTSIDE "A runaway ring sdiH We,
fhSoeiea f down again TO our occupations. 1t not
to the door very quickiy but no one was to be-
,TT L. lhen walked TO the front gate and looked
there the bell rang again o ThorougEy Te MSs myseG
Iy hy THIS time. am afraid not the only one in
the family whose imagination suggested ghosts.
Ip open me cupboard and see If the rabbit is in his
did So but although Sas Mamie had been put to
tbera an @ sour PeIoIe and the door safely closed.
t1hlng out OF the cupboard and then, the back.
be porfop @ hf M d he builders had paved the Wis
wtb hf back aS6 being being out Of sight had been completed
and short burrow through the earth took him
under the flooring Here the bell wire and.
teeth. The Little Man had managed to ring the
pei PEI e. he reappeared next mon ming; but until we
der the house for hours.
fectly realized that he must not go upstairs The
back of our house faced due south, and on the
eEaliy open Tor foot so in hot weather. Through
tnls ms, bright ray Of sunshine fell on the third
Mamie would sit, blissfaliy enjoying himself He
moved with the sunbeam until he got close up to
me, She wall and not until the last ray had left the
ever ascended beyond this step except in his very
Whenever sat down to tea The Little Man
would jump on the table It was very pretty to
with one glance TO see that all was clear. bounded
from the floor. allghting gently as feather on
would seize the largest lump visible and scuttle OFF
wR onRs t. v Sometimes Tin & &hapmPe9Ssd m ned that the sugar
manner manner as TO prevent him reaching the sugar. He
sending them flying. Although lie was very seldom
table a good many times attempting to flch an
other, but never did he upset cup, saucer plate
In the evenings, when my mother was busy with
workbasket Once or twics he was Inadvertently
left alone in the room This was his opportunity:
cotton packets of needles skeins of worsted pieces
OF whalebo1e' buttons-in fact with az the hetero-
workbaskets of materfamilias. All hands had to
one occasion y we ' oyerooSed @ little blue paper
packet containing very fine needles. Next morning
needle had lost It's point We at hrst imagined ne
had bitten the points Off, but matureT reflecuon
tells me that he must have held the needles by
their e1tremities and. pressing them against the
You cannot very well castigate a rabbit. but when
The Little Man did anything OF which we disap-
oudy ON we the tabe to let him know he had miss
stance, after the workbasket inodent@he would
give snort OF contempt and stamp OF defiance;
thing. occasionally leaping high in the air and Civ
ing his body e peculiar twist which plainly meant cant
old workbasKet either.
wonld eat bread and butter. cakes biscuits, or al
most anything except animal 1000 HIS staple Die,
shFsd ssf just II ren @ e. liked On than
musty Not grain of these would The The, Litte ne
saucer with his teeth and scattered the contents all
over the floor. We knew immediately what was the
sh't fresh ones a''' ''1
While we had the rabbit friend gave an ItaI-
ian greyhound. 1t was female. not at all young,
and OF very timid disposition. We were all very
anxious to see how the t%9 nmas an Top3 9s ee
when the dog had got used to us. put q string
Was loose II would have been better for that
poor dog Il had put M the string & on the sae RABBIT Ts
from under the sofa qnga OF s%n ssSpy its srE eg
from a severe bite the ra bbit had inflicted There
was never any fear OF the Italian greyhound at,
rather run anywhere 70 ger Out. out OF his way .bo,
a noisy bolsterous game. II crumpied up an old
letter any piece Of s ,D1 r th.T he w9qf him anS
preten9 to resist res his efforts to drag / out Of my
hand, till at last let him have It. He would go
a19s SSsS sS f.!
vehemence when had had enough Of it ! NI. would
He would continue the sport until he had torn
the paper into fragments. when, thoroughly tlred RED
isokkep G".k fe and ndusG go FAST ffap asleep
could never disG2ReT now ga1 eT crmmpnifnG the
paper he would sit on the moor IN front Of me- with
son Sometimes esr Would rustic the paper the air and
he would reply with one bang on the moor as ueL S
though he was close TO me and was watching to
nd how he did it. fYs m sure f9d the noe 8a aas
made by one hind leg only. but II seemed 10 me me
from from me- me by the position of his body thing
alarmed rabbit would reverberate through their
burrows for some distance and would give IN
lie never nIbbed the carpets mats or anything
lying the ground; but tablec9th. the 10 lower ;
eesS eegS 81 Seemed to be rrresstible would raise
hmSe Just there 10 the wogd be an almost mpeTcepbe
movement OF the jaws and that was ati.eXGep.ihS
that you would find little sem-circuiar piece d OF
your coat gone. 1t was done in an instant IT. SO we
had to be very careful %neR e o for rn in the
Garden one of US was always there to keep him
o9 out 9f ba mSshs TRs With dy it
time of year when there were ob no bm because he
would very soon excavate burrow that would
ha danger of some stray taking fancy TO him
This rabbit was an inmate of our household fCI
some three years, and every visitor was charmed
with its antics. % - ,t..,. 80.
I-ortv wears have elapsed since IL occurred, out
time has not duled admiration for his anectlon-
sta and endearing qualities l ought to nave men
Toned that The Little Man was most particular
as to his personal appearance: ne was o0nsIy
glossy and spoessy clean Al at % once ,annisS he rs
him with all the deicacies TO which he was usually
go partial but he would not touch ,,t them Inns t,r
n,epf on for several days; the poor little creature
cot thinner and thinner. He no longer attempted 10