In July the woodchuck was forgotten in our interest in a little gray
rabbit which we found nearly famished. It was so small that it could
sit in the hollow of one's hand. Some accident had probably befallen
its mother. The tiny creature looked spiritless and forlorn. We had to
force the milk into its mouth. But in a day or two it began to revive,
and would lap the milk eagerly. Soon it took to grass and clover, and
then to nibbling sweet apples and early pears. It grew rapidly, and
was one of the softest and most harmless-looking pets I had ever seen.
For a month or more the little rabbit was the only company I had, and
it helped to beguile the time immensely. In coming in from the field
or from my work, I seldom failed to bring it a handful of red clover
blossoms, of which it became very fond. One day it fell slyly to
licking my hand, and I discovered it wanted salt. I would then moisten
my fingers, dip them into the salt, and offer them to the rabbit. How
rapidly the delicate little tongue would play upon them, darting out
to the right and left of the large front incisors, the slender paws
being pressed against my hand as if to detain it! But the rabbit proved
really untamable; its wild nature could not be overcome. In its large
box-cage or prison, where it could see nothing but the tree above it,
it was tame, and would at times frisk playfully about my hand and
strike it gently with its forefeet; but the moment it was liberated in
a room or let down in the grass with a string about its neck, all its
wild nature came forth. In the room it would run and hide; in the open
it would make desperate efforts to escape, and leap and bound as you
drew in the string that held it. At night, too, it never failed to try
to make its escape from the cage, and finally, when two thirds grown,
succeeded, and we saw it no more.
III
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account