The jaguar and the rabbit

by Gail Emerson October 27, 2016

Who get the last laugh?

When it is no longer day, but not quite night, the jaguar and the bunny come out to play. But how do these two diverse creatures get along? It is perhaps usually a case of the rabbit joining the jaguar, not so much for dinner, but rather as dinner. But this Mexican folktale has the bunny enjoying the last laugh...

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Our jaguar came across a rabbit, who was kept in a cage. Concerned he asked the rabbit why he didn't escape as surely his captors were planning on rabbit stew.

'Oh no,' replied the bunny, 'they've just gone to make me a hot chocolate. Come in and you can have some too.'

But just as the chocolate loving jaguar entered the cage, the bunny hopped out and ran off.

'I've been tricked!' thought the jaguar, but luckily managed to free himself from the cage and went after the rabbit . This time, the rabbit was in a cave when the jaguar accused him of trickery.

'Oh no,' said the bunny. 'It wasn't me. I'm just building my house here, but look how I have to keep holding up the walls. Could you keep them up while I hop out to grab some more things for my home?'

Again the kind jaguar obliged but after a little while, again he realised that the rabbit had tricked him for the second time. Storming out into the forest, he could clearly hear the bunny's chuckling at his trick.

The big cat approached surreptitiously and saw the rabbit bouncing up and down on a vine. The jaguar pounced to exact his revenge, but the bunny wriggled and squiggled until up, up, up he flew. The vine propelled him into the sky until he landed on the moon. That is where the rabbit remains - lying on the moon, chuckling at his clever tricks on jaguar.

Of course, the Buddhists have a different explanation of how the rabbit came to be in the moon. Perhaps it's just European folklore that's not noticed him ...

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Gail Emerson

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