Once upon a time, there were two neighbor families. One family was composed of an old mother bear and her son and the other was made up of an old mother rabbit and her son. The children watched over the house and kept everything clean while the two mothers went out to dig roots. The rabbit's claws were sharp and quick and she got the most. This made the old bear mad, so she killed the rabbit and took the dead body home along with the small amount of roots she was able to dig up.
The little rabbit waited and waited and could not understand why his mother didn't come home. After hours of anxiety, he made his way over to the bear’s house to see what he could find. When he got there, he discovered that the bear and her son were having his mother for dinner. The rabbit was devastated. He was also furious. His mind turned to revenge and he quickly began to think of ways to get even.
One day, while the mother bear was out gathering water, the little rabbit saw his opportunity. He heated an arrow red hot and shot the little bear in the ear and killed him. After that, the little rabbit took back the sack that had belonged to his mother. It was one of the only possessions of hers left. With the sack in hand, the little rabbit ran away, hoping to make his escape before the mother bear returned.
On his journey, the rabbit met a tiger. He briefly explained his situation to the tiger and asked for help. "There is a bear coming after me, Mr. Tiger; won't you save me and find a place for me to hide?" asked the rabbit.
The tiger sympathized with the little rabbit and agreed to help him. "All right, you crawl in my ear and that bear will never find you,” he replied. So the rabbit climbed inside the ear of the tiger and settled in, out of sight and safely kept away.
When the mother bear returned to her home, she found her son dead and knew immediately that the rabbit must be responsible. She vowed to find him and kill him. Soon enough, she crossed paths with the tiger. "Have you seen a fellow with gray fur and long ears any-where?” she asked him. She even threatened the tiger, claiming that she would kill him if he lied to her.
The tiger answered, "Don't talk to me that way, for I could kill you without very much trouble." With this answer, the bear moved along. The tiger and the rabbit were overjoyed with the success of their plan. They returned to the tiger’s den and the rabbit got out of the tiger’s ear. “Thank you! You saved my life and I’m so glad I found you when I did!” the rabbit exclaimed.
“Don’t worry about it!” insisted the tiger. “My life has just been one day after the next with no adventure. Today made me remember the hijinks of my youth. I think we should plot more often!”
Because the rabbit and the tiger were both tricksters, they had a long and lasting friendship. The rabbit hated living in his family home without his mother, so he moved in to the tiger’s den. They kept each other company and made each other laugh. Though it was an unlikely partnership in the beginning, the two remained friends throughout their lives.
(A rabbit and a tiger snuggle up together, China Daily)
Bibliography:
Book: Tibetan Folk Tales
Author: A.L. Shelton, illustrated by Mildred Bryant
Year Published: 1925
Web Source: Tibetan Folk Tales
Author's Note: In the original story, the mother bear kills the mother rabbit and the little rabbit wants revenge. To get revenge, the rabbit kills the bear's child and then hides from the mother bear with help of the tiger. Eventually, the rabbit is indirectly responsible for the death of the tiger, the death of some sheep, and the presumed death of the baby wolf. When I read this story, it made me really sad that the tiger helped the rabbit and then the rabbit repaid him by digging out his eyeballs and leading him off of a cliff. Things would've been much nicer if the rabbit was able to get revenge on the bear and then become friends with the tiger, so that's the ending I wrote for this story. I kept the beginning generally the same.
After I read the first two sentences, I was wondering how it was that a family of bears and a family rabbits lived side by side in peace. When I read on, though, I see that it did not last too long! I like the changes you made to the story, it seems you were able to inject a sliver of happiness into a pretty grim tale.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your story and your author's note, although I did not read the original version, I think your were right in changing the ending. I definitely agree with you. It would have been sad that the tiger helped the rabbit hide from the mother bear trying to find him, and then the rabbit end up killing the tiger. Your end it much happier and pleasing to read!
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