Growing up, I always loved the Uncle Remus stories and the Aesop fables. The following story melds elements of both authors. If you have never read tales from either source, you are missing one of the great treasure troves of morals ever written. Here is my contribution to the genre of fables with a moral.
It was shortly after the race between Mr. Rabbit and the Mr. Tortoise. Everyone was still talking about how Mr. Tortoise had beaten Mr. Rabbit. The unthinkable had happened. How could the slowest moving creature in the forest beat one of the speediest forest creatures? Of course, the entire episode was an example of how pride and hubris could be the downfall of anyone. Mr. Rabbit was so certain that he could beat the tortoise that he played the fool and lost the race. However, Mr. Rabbit assured everyone that he was too smart to ever let this happen again.
The wise old fox was getting long in tooth and short in speed. Years ago, he would have had a chance to catch a rabbit for dinner but those times were mostly history now. Instead, Mr. Fox knew that he must rely on stealth and not speed. Only by using his wit and cunning could he avoid starvation in old age.
Now Mr. Fox had observed the race between the rabbit and the tortoise. He had observed the strutting and pompousness of Mr. Rabbit. He has also heard Mr. Rabbit assure everyone that such a situation would never happen again. Mr. Fox had another idea though and he thought “This might just be the opportunity that I am waiting for. I think that leopards rarely change their spots and I will test my theory on Mr. Rabbit.”
A few weeks went by and one day Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox were crossing intersecting trails when Mr. Fox spied Mr. Rabbit and decided to put his plan into action. He yelled to Mr. Rabbit “Can you wait just a minute, I have a challenge for you?” Mr. Rabbit, always very competitive and certain that Mr. Fox was nowhere close enough to grab him answered back “What kind of a challenge Mr. Fox?”
“I want to challenge you to a race just like the one you had with Mr. Tortoise”, replied Mr. Fox. Now Mr. Rabbit knew that Mr. Fox was very cunning but he also knew that Mr. Fox had grown old and slow. He decided to play out the game because he was curious to see what Mr. Fox was up to. “What’s in it for me if I beat you” said Mr. Rabbit, confident that there was no way Mr. Fox could beat him. “Well, said Mr. Fox, if you win I will bring you a bushel full of carrots to eat. If I win, you will bring me a bushel full of wheat.” Mr. Fox, did not really care for wheat but he needed to show that he thought he just might win.
Mr. Rabbit, still suspicious of a trick answered “Well, I am agreeable to the race but on one condition. If I win, you must deliver the carrots to me at a place and time that I will specify.” Surely, he thought, there will be no chance for Mr. Fox to grab me if I have him deliver the carrots to my warren. Mr. Fox was agreeable to the terms for truth be told, the situation was working out just as he had hoped it would.
Mr. Rabbit assumed that Mr. Fox would try to somehow grab him during the race and he was not going to let this happen. No sleeping or napping during this race. He would move so fast that he would blow the pants off Mr. Fox. The word went out through the forest that Mr. Rabbit was going to be in another race. His opponent this time would be Mr. Fox. The entire forest was abuzz with anticipation. All knew that for many years, Mr. Fox had tried to catch Mr. Rabbit but with no results. What was he up to, was the thought on everyone’s mind,
The day of the race came. Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox took their respective places. Mr. Rabbit made sure he was nowhere close to Mr. Fox at the starting line. Hundreds of forest creatures had arrived to watch the big race. Mr. Owl blew the starting whistle and off they went. Over hill, over dale, through the thickest parts of the forest ran Mr. Fox and Mr. Rabbit. However, Mr. Fox was clearly outmatched. Mr. Rabbit was hundreds of yards ahead. He had such a lead that he could not even see Mr. Fox. He thought to himself “Mr. Fox thinks I am going to take a nap and catch me, but he is too stupid for me, I will keep going until I reach the finish line.” Minutes later, Mr. Rabbit crossed the finish line and Mr. Fox was nowhere in sight. Mr. Rabbit jumped up and down and shouted things like “Stupid old fox, thought he could catch me.” “Mr. Fox has gotten senile in his old age if he thinks that he can outsmart me.”
Mr. Fox finally crossed the finish line many minutes later than Mr. Rabbit. Mr. Rabbit had grown tired of waiting and he left a note for Mr. Fox with Mr. Owl. “Please give this note to Mr. Fox from me” he asked, “It has directions for when and where he should bring the carrots that he owes me.” Mr. Fox took the note and went home.
A week or so passed and Mr. Fox had collected all the carrots that would fit into a bushel basket. He also collected a few more that he was going to put into a gunny sack. He put a note on the bushel basket that he had picked more carrots than required by the bet but he was going to donate them to Mr. Rabbit anyway. Furthermore, he left the sack to make it easier for Mr. Rabbit to get his carrots home.
Mr. Rabbit thought “My, my, I guess Mr. Fox knows who is the better runner now. That stupid fox will think twice before he challenges me again.” Mr. Rabbit grabbed a carrot and promptly ate it. After eating a few more carrots, he decided it was time to get them back home. It would not do to be out after dark.
Mr. Rabbit managed to carry the basket home and then came back for the sack. Letting his guard down, Mr. Rabbit did not notice that Mr. Fox had snuck back to the site where the sack was and climbed inside it. Mr. Rabbit grabbed the sack and tried to throw it over his shoulder but it was too heavy. “What is in this sack?” thought Mr. Rabbit. He opened it to peer inside and before you could say “Jack Rabbit,” Mr. Fox had Mr. Rabbit in his jaws. Sad to say, that was the end of Mr. Rabbit.
Now, any good story must have a moral and that goes double for stories with an unhappy ending. I have tried to find a fitting moral to this tale. There are perhaps several morals that might fit.
- Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
- Pride goes before a fall.
- The leopard does not change its spots.
- Always keep your enemies in sight.
- Long-term thinking will always win out over short-term thinking.
Mr. Fox was not sure which of these morals he had followed. He only knew that rabbit was a mighty tasty morsel when served cold.
Time for Questions:
What moral do you find in this story? Why? What would you have put for an ending? Why?
Life is just beginning.
“Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.” — Thomas Aquinas
Aging Capriciously 