Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

The rabbit and his gang

Web Source: Jataka Tales

The start of the story begins with a very familiar beginning of "Once Upon A Time." This story's beginning is very generic and it is obvious that this story is a fairytale and to not be mixed up with facts. Think to any childhood story we were told as kids, they almost all began with this phrase.

After researching typical rabbit behavior, one of the main traits of rabbits is that they are alert. This alertness could lead to paranoia and being overly cautious as this rabbit was. As I am trying to make sense of the rabbit's behavior in the story, I believe that the rabbit's alertness is what lead to the spread of this false rumor. When thinking of rabbits that we see in everyday life, they are quick to runaway when approached and can easily be scared to the point of heart failure. Yes, a rabbit can literally be scared to death. I think this alertness trait caused the rabbit to become overly paranoid that when it was suddenly awakened by a noise, its immediate reaction was to run away rather than investigate and its mind was automatically fearing the worst

The other animals with the exception of the lion, were quick to follow in line without asking questions or wishing to investigate the noise themselves. All of the animals running and fearing for their lives reminds me of the phrase "the blind leading the blind." The rabbit is "blind" to what the noise was and sought no investigation of the noise. The other animals are the blind being led by the blind because they run after the rabbit without asking a simple question such as, "How does he know the world is ending?"

The lion, who we all know is the King of the Jungle, was the first and only animal to question the rabbit's claims. The lion is a true leader and is not one to follow in line without completing his due diligence and ensuring the rabbit's claim is correct, as well as, factually sound. The lion returns to the initial place where the rabbit first hears the noise and is quick to discover the source of the sound was a coconut. 

Bibliography: 

"The Foolish, Timid Rabbit" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web Source