The tale of the fierce, bad rabbit

Summary

The story contrasts two rabbits, one gentle and polite, and the other fierce and rude. The nice rabbit is content with the carrot his mother gave him, but the bad rabbit, without asking, takes the carrot forcefully and injures the nice rabbit. The nice rabbit retreats to safety in a hole, while the bad rabbit faces trouble when a man with a gun mistakes it for a peculiar bird. The man shoots, causing the bad rabbit to flee without its tail or whiskers. In the end, the nice rabbit peeks out of its hiding spot, witnessing the comical and cautionary downfall of the bad rabbit. The story serves as a moral lesson about the consequences of rude and aggressive behavior.

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This is a fierce bad Rabbit; look at his savage whiskers, and his claws and his turned-up tail.

This is a nice gentle Rabbit. His mother has given him a carrot.

The bad Rabbit would like some carrot.

He doesn’t say “Please.” He takes it!

And he scratches the good Rabbit very badly.

The good Rabbit creeps away, and hides in a hole. It feels sad.

This is a man with a gun.

He sees something sitting on a bench. He thinks it is a very funny bird!

He comes creeping up behind the trees.

And then he shoots—Bang!

This is what happens—

But this is all he finds on the bench, when he rushes up with his gun.

The good Rabbit peeps out of its hole,

And it sees the bad Rabbit tearing past—without any tail or whiskers!