Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-04-19
THE FOOLISH RABBIT.
One of the Tales Which Have Como
Down From Ancient India.

One of the Tales Which Have Como
Down From Ancient India.
Once pom a time a rabbit was
asleep under a palm tree.
All at once he woke up and thought:
What II the world should break up?
What, then, would become Of me?"
At that moment some monkeys drop
ped cocoanut. 1t fell down on the
ground just back Of the rabbit.
Hearing the noise, the rabbit said to
himself: THE earth Is all breaking
up!"
And he jumped up and ran just as
fast as he could, without even looking
back to see what made the noise.
Another rabbit saw him running and
called after him, What are you run
ming so fast for?"
Don't ask met" he cried.
But the other rabbit ran after him.
begging to know what was the matter.
Then the first rabbit said: Don't
you know? The earth Is all breaking
up!"
And on he ran and the second rab-
bit ran with him.
The next rabbit they met ran with
them when he heard that the earth was
all breaking up.
One rabbit after another joined
them until there were hundreds of
rabbits running as fast as they could
go.
They passed a deer, calling out to
him that the earth was all breaking
up. The deer ran with them.
The deer called to fox. to come
along, because the earth was all
breaking up.
On and on they ran and an elephant
Joined them.
At last the lion saw the animals
running and heard their cry that the
earth was all breaking up.
He thought there must be some mis-
take, so he ran to the foot Of hill in
front of them and roared three times.
This stopped them, for they knew
the voice of the King Of Beasts, and
they feared him.
why are you running so fast?''
asked the lion.
"Oh, King Lion" they answered him,
1.-The earth is all breaking up!"
who saw it breaking up?" asked
the lion.
Il didn't" said the elephant. ASK
the fox-he told me about It,"
II didn't" said the fox.
THE rabbits told me about It," said
the deer.
One after another Of the rabbits said:
Il did not see it, but another rabbit
told me about It,"
At last the lion came to the rabbit
who had first said that the earth was
all breaking UP.
rs it true that the earth Is all break
ing up?" the lion asked the foolish
timid rabbit.
Yes, o, lion, it is," said the rabbit
II was asleep under q palm tree.
woke up and thought, What would be-
come of me If the earth should all
break up?' At that very moment
heard the sound Of the earth breaking
up and 1 ran away"
"Then," said the lion. you and
will go back to the place where the
earth began to break up and see what
is the matter"
So the lion put the little rabbit on
his back and away they went like the
wind. The other animals waited for
him at the foot of the hill.
The rabbit told the lion when they
were near the place where he slept
and the lion saw just where the rab-
bit had been sleeping.
He saw, too the cocoanut that had
fallen to the ground near by. Then
the lion said to the rabbit: 1T must
have been the sound Of the cocoanut
falling to the ground that you heard
You foolish rabbit"
And the lion ran back to the other
animals and told them all about it.
If it had not been for wise king
of beasts they might be running STILL
From "Jataka Tales, ("Retold by Ell
len C. Babbitt) in April st. Nicholas.