A rabbit dressed in overshoes knocked upon my door. He wiped his feet and
entered, and sat upon the floor. He motioned to a cushion which I placed
behind his head; then leaned against a hassock while he ate a slice of bread.
He chewed each bite one hundred times, then swallowed thoughtfully. "There
is no doubt," he said at last, "that you must come with me."
"Come where?" I asked, annoyed, because I had no wish to go outside into a
world that was all covered up with snow.
"That you will learn all in good time. Now get your coat and hat." The
rabbit rose with dignity, although he was quite fat.
"I'm staying here," I said, "and I don't care for your sharp tone. I'll
thank you to remove yourself and leave me here alone."
"I'm sorry," said the rabbit, "that you show such lack of sense.
Nonetheless, you'll come with me. There's no need to be tense."
"You have your nerve!" I said, and stamped my foot upon the rug. "You
think you're something, don't you? Well, you needn't be so smug. I'm staying
here. I'm staying home. I'm staying where I am. And if that's not quite clear
to you, I'm telling you to scram!"
The rabbit sighed and shook his head, a frown upon his face. "Your manners
are deplorable,
your conduct a disgrace. It is too bad that I must use persuasion, but I fear
your attitude leaves me no choice." And then he yelled, "Come Here!"
At once the door burst open and into the house there came 500 mammoth
rabbits. Each one he called by name. "Throckmorton, I am glad you've come.
McPherson, how are you? Elijah, good to see you. Nathaniel, what is new?"
I looked on in amazement as they settled everywhere - chairs and sofa, rug
and floor, and all about the stair. Each one clad in overshoes, each one large
and white, each one fierce of countenance - it was indeed a sight.
"Now then, my friend," said Marcus - for that was, I learned, his name -
"I hope that we won't have to long continue with our game. My brothers here
are able to transport you from this room. Will you now join us quietly, or
must wf lower the boom?"
I looked at him and looked at them, and saw that he was right. These
rabbits were enough to give most anyone a fright. They glared at me and bared
their teeth and stamped their front paws hard — and so I shrugged, and donned
my coat, and went into the yard.
One by one they followed me, Marcus in the lead. "At last you're showing
reason. Now let's get up some speed."
He hopped just once - a three-foot jump - and turned around and said, "You
do that too. Three feet at once - that way you'll get ahead."
"I cannot jump. I'm not a hare. Why can't I simply walk?"
Behind, a voice emphatic said, "Do what you're told. Don't talk!"
One hundred rabbits on the left, one hundred on the right, the rest
behind, all menacing — no human saw my plight. And so I jumped — a feeble hop
- and landed in a drift. No moment's pause was given me. "Get up!" they
yelled. "Be swift!"
I raised myself out of the snow. My feet were cold and wet. The snow was
drifting down my neck — my stomach was upset.
"Get going!" came the order. There was just no escape. "It you would look
before you leap, you'd be in better shape."
On and on they forced me, moving hop by painful hop. Over stumps and Snow
and rocks, with not a chance to stop. I breathed deep gulps of air and thought
my lungs were going to burst. My legs and head and throat all ached; my poor
feet hurt the worst.
At last, when I could stand no more and felt about to faint, we stopped
before a wooden door that badly needed paint. The door led to a giant cave,
illumined from above by scores of lanterns ranged in rows. My guides began to
shove.
"Go on, go on!" the order came. "Don't stand around and stare." I stumbled
through the door and blinked; my eyes ached from the glare.
The cavern was enormous; its end was not in sight. At least 3000 rabbits
there were bathed in brilliant light. Motionless they watched me, their eyes a
chilling hue. Quite terrified I trembled and I knew not what to do.
"Here he is at last, my friends," said Marcus, gleefully. "It was a chore
to make him come, but all's well now, you see."
The rabbits rose and roared as one: "The trial! The trial! The trial!" And
Marcus took me by the hand and led me down an aisle. The silence was
oppressive; not a pin was heard to drop. The rabbits stared with scorn as we
went by them hop by hop.
At last there was a platform, on which, enthroned, there sat a most
fantastic rabbit who growled, "You! Remove your hat!"
"Remove your hat! Remove your hat!" resounded through thc cave. I pulled
it off. The rabbit watched, and looked exceeding grave. He wore a robe of
saffron and a crown of burnished gold. He held a scepter and a rod, and was
not young or old.
"I am the king, the court, the judge, the jury, and the law." Majestically
he spoke these words, and raised a massive paw. "Let justice rule and honor
reign. The trial is now begun!"
"The trial?" I echoed, horror-struck. "But tell me what I've done!"
"Silence!" roared the magistrate, the jury, law and king, and "Silence!"
came from 'round the cave, a shout most frightening.
"First plaintiff!" called the magistrate, and slowly from his seat there
limped a timid rabbit who had tightly bandaged feet.
"What is your charge against this man?" inquired the solemn judge. "I
understand that, with good cause, you bear him a great grudge."
"Your honor - Sir -," the rabbit said, "it came about like this: one day I
searched for clover leaves to use as dentifrice. I ambled through a meadow,
all intent on my pursuit, when at once I felt a searing pain. It was oh most
acute! I looked down to discover both my feet caught in a snare. I freed
myself by pulling, till my feet of fur were bare. How I got home I'll never
know. All I could do was crawl. In time the doctor came along responding to my
call. He said that I was lucky just to find myself alive. It's rare indeed for
any beast to be snared and survive. My charge against this man is that the
snare was set to kill. Attempted murder is the term - tho call it what you
will."
"I did not set the snare!" I cried. "I don't own such a thing!" But
"Silence!" echoed 'round the cave, and "Silence!" roared the king.
"Next plaintiff!" then the summons came, and from the rear there strode a
forceful, mighty rabbit who looked ready to explode.
"What's your complaint?" inquired the judge, and as he took the stand, the
rabbit breathed a deep, deep breath, and then held up his hand.
"My friends," said he, "the time has come to tell you a sad tale. It has
to do with things we eat, and air that we inhale. The world is full of
pesticides and poisons everywhere. Men spray them round on fields and trees
and up into the air. They're used to kill off bugs and such, but get into our
food, and that is why the charge I have is of such magnitude. Besides, it's
not just rabbits who must suffer from this stuff. It also hurts the squirrels,
birds - but then, I've said enough. I charge this man with poisoning the
wildlife of our Earth. It seems to me that he must think we are of little
worth ."
"I never poisoned anything!" I made my protest known, but from
around the cave there came an angry undertone.
"Be quiet!" snarled the judge at me. "It's not your turn to speak. the way
you interrupt the trial makes us all want to shriek. Next plaintiff! Come up
quickly, please. We're running out of time."
Uncertainly, a rabbit came who had not reached his prime. He seemed, in
fact, to be a child — a bunny, as they say. Very small, he much preferred to
go outside and play.
The judge's tone was kindly as he said, "Now, don't be scared. No one's
going to hurt you here; it's time your woes were aired. Just tell the court
exactly what you've got against this man. Take your time and think it through.
We'll help you all we can."
"He scares me," said the bunny in a high and squeaky tone. "He'll let his
dog go after me, or hit me with a stone. A bunch of awful boys chased me all
through the woods one day, and I got lost and scared and - and - they wouldn't
go away. It isn't safe for us to run around the woods and fields; human beings
are everywhere and we are with out shields. He scares me," said the child
again, and turned away from me.
"There, there," the judge said soothingly, "All will be fine, you'll see.
This man will pay for all the crimes committed by his kind. When we get
through with him I'm sure that he'll be well Inclined.
I could not bear another word; I'd really heard enough. This trial was
just a mockery, but things were getting rough. I turned my back upon the king,
the jury, judge, and court. Addressing all the rabbits there, I stated my
retort:
"You've got it wrong. I'm not your man. This is unpleasant sport. I've
never harmed an animal. I've never killed a thing. I've never used a gun or
trap, or pesticide or sling. I keep a dog; I keep a cat; I treat them both
with care. They're in a fenced-in yard and can't harm beasts that live
elsewhere. I his trial is most injurious; it's one of ridicule. The so called
evidence against me now is false and cruel. I grant you, you may have a case
against some other men, but you've no right to charge me with these things not
in my ken. I'm innocent of every slur you've cast upon my name, and I demand
that you retract, and free me from all blame."
The judge rose quickly from his chair and banged his gavel hard. His face
grew red, then purple, as he yelled:
"Stop this canard! If you have quite completed your tirade of witless
talk, you'd be wise to remember that this trial you cannot balk. Your guilt is
manifest to every rabbit in this room; the things that you have left undone
contribute to your doom. "
The judge's wrath was obvious, his anger unconcealed. His prejudice,
though clearly wrong, was honestly revealed.
"It is the judgment of this court that you must pay for crimes committed
by your fellow men against us in all climes. You are not innocent because
youSe of the breed of man, and have not tried to stop their harm in every way
you can."
I was appalled, and scared besides. Their justice was a joke. No other
court would rule this way. I cleared my throat and spoke:
"How can I pay for crimes that were not any fault of mine? To take the
blame for others' wrongs I never did incline. I never harmed an animal; I
never hurt a thing. Your verdict is unfounded," I rashly told the king.
As soon as I had said my piece, the uproar was immense. The clamor of the
spectators was close to virulence. Invectives harsh mere hurled at me until
the rafters rang, and many there expressed the hope that they would see me
hang.
For quite a while bedlam reigned,
and much to my dismay His Honor made
no move to quell the shameless dis-array. His prejudice against my case
was strikingly unkind, and it was very
plain to me that I was in a bind.
It was the clear intention of the
hares assembled there to make of me a
scapegoat, no matter how unfair. They
canted one poor human being upon whom
they could vent all of their accusations,
and impose harsh punishment. That
many men had cruelly treated them was
plain to see, but that did not excuse
their plot to take it out on me!
I knew that I could not escape the
clutches of that gang. And if I would
protest too much I feared that I might
hang! Reluctantly I reconciled myself
to meet my fate. It wouldn't do the
slightest good to fill myself with hate.
At last the turmoil settled down;
the judge once more was heard. "You've
talked enough," he said to me, "don't
speak another word. It should be obvious
to you that we have brought you here to
make of you a spokesman — a rabbit cavalier. We're well aware that you
yourself are kindly and humane, and that you never would inflict disfigurement
or pain."
The judge's face grew sorrowful; he spoke quite softly then: "But don't
you see, that's not enough? Too many other men still do not care to what
degree they injure, harm, or kill the creatures who must share their world but
cannot rule their will. All men must understand their great responsibility to
cherish life in all its forms, not just humanity. The animals and plants alike
are helpless in their state; they can't defend themselves alone - they need an
advocate. They need a human who is not afraid to raise his voice against those
of his fellow-men who hurt and maim by choice.
"We forced you through this unfair trial; it was the only way to make you
see the unjust things we suffer every day. We thought that if you once could
feel as helpless as we do, you'd be inclined to speak for us, and help to see
us through."
Words such as these he used, and more, and then when he was done, some
other rabbit spokesmen, too, asked me to be the one to lead the cause on their
behalf.
And so it came to be that I am here to spread the word to all who hear and
see. The animals who roam the woods and fields and meadows wide are all our
brothers, every one, and should not have to hide because they are afraid of
man. We all must learn to care about the creatures on our Earth, and make a
point to share the blessings that were given us by our great God above. He
wants us all to live in peace, with kindness and with love.
— Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, February, 1975, p. 89-92
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