Tales from the Basin: The Rabbit

Once upon a time, there was a clever little rabbit. This rabbit was poor and slow so tried to steal a golden radish away from a dragon in order to sell it for food. A dragon is a very dangerous creature with fierce claws and powerful wings. It could bite off the head of a bear in one strike! Yet the foolish rabbit, still drawn in by the beauty of the golden radish, tried to steal it. Trickster rabbit sneaked into the cave trying to be as quiet as possible. Inside the cave was a mound of gold and atop the pile was the treasure that she had been looking for. When she reached up to grab it with her teeth, a loud roar could be heard within the cave. The rabbit jumped back in fear shivering as she saw a scaley golden head appear from behind the gold.

"YOU!" A booming voice shouted, "HOW DARE YOU COME INTO MY CAVE!"

Then the dragon actually saw the rabbit and realized how small and feeble it was.

"Small creature. Why have you so foolishly entered my cave?" The dragon asked.

The rabbit held her ears back and answered in fear, "I was drawn in by that beautiful golden radish." She said, "I have so little and you have so much. I must starve over the winter while you live in luxury. I am small and easily able to be destroyed. All I would want is a golden radish in order to feed myself and my friends."

The dragon thought for a moment, for he was a rather kind dragon and could see what the rabbit said was true.

"I will not give you what you desire. That is something you must earn. However, I can give you something else if you prove that you are worthy. You must pass my riddles and prove your intelligence." The dragon then came nearer to the rabbit. "The first riddle, It only eats smallest creatures and is one of the largest creatures in this world. What is it and why? Second riddle, What is destroyed by fire to begin again but is not a phoenix? Lastly, When it's gone it's called new, when it's full you only see half of it. What is it?"

The rabbit pondered and thought about these riddles. After a few moments, it came up with an answer.

"For the first riddle, the answer is a whale. A whale eats tiny fish but is considered one of the largest animals in the ocean. For the second riddle, the answer is a Lodgepole tree. When the tree is burned, it's acorns split apart and the seeds fall onto the ground, as a result, new trees are formed. For the last riddle, the answer is the moon. When it is considered gone some of the people say a new moon is forming. When it is considered full only a half of the moon can be seen." The clever rabbit said.

"Correct." The large dragon said, "In reward for your intelligence, I will give you and all your kind a gift. You will be known as the tricksters of the world. Your kind will become fast, clever, and will be able to dig holes to hide in. And you, clever rabbit, will have the power to become invisible, to change into almost any creature you desire, and you will be able to turn water into wine. Now you won't ever have to try to steal from a dragon again. And I will have some fine entertainment watching your antics. But be warned, if you take your tricks too far, only doom will await you."

The rabbit thanked the dragon and left into the world to cause mischief and delight. That was how the rabbit trickster was created.