I, Rabbit

I, Rabbit [snuffle, snuffle] I, Rabbit, sit in the woods under a bush not far from an open glade. It’s winter, and there’s snow on the ground, and there’s not much to eat. My body is gaunt, it’s food I want; I look for it from beneath my shade. My breath is frozen ‘ere I exhale it, rising in ghostly tendrils replete. Away from the shade; out in the glade, I can see a bush with berries; My stomach growls with the thought of eating the berries so sweet. But, there’s danger here,  Wolf is near, waitin’ for me to lose my leerys. But, I know I can beat him, if I am careful, and stick to my plan so neat. A human being, not knowing I was seeing, set traps for Wolf and I; He wants to sell our furs for profit; also, some humans like my meat. My advantage today, I know where the traps lay, but not the wolf [aye]. [snuffle, snuffle] Then the wolf speaks: [AaWooooawWooooooOoooooooWaoooooOoooooOoooooo!] Yes, I hear him howl, but soon I must prowl, for I AM HUNGRY! I’d rather die by the fang than starve to death, so I’ll take my chances. For in the wild, I’m telling you child, the ways to die are sundry; I will venture out and tempt I, Wolf, engaging him in deadly dances; I will start creepin’; soon be a-leappin’, towards the berry bush. And when the wolf sees me, he will come hard, his mind on his belly; I will turn and run, I’m telling you son; I don’t want teeth in my tush! If my plan works right, Wolf in trouble will be, his life I might dele. Now, the time is near, must hide my fear, and into the glade must go. Hunger gnaws at me, like it does Wolf; we both have nothing to lose; Who wins, who loses; nobody chooses, life in the wild you must know; Who lives and who dies is a matter of fate; not what you would choose. [snuffle, snuffle. I slowly start out from under my bush and advance to the edge of the glade. Wolf sees me; I can sense him, but I must pretend to be incognizant. On little soft rabbit feet, I creep out into the clearing, heading toward the berry bush; but, that is not actually my goal. I get about half way there, then I slow down; even stop. I can feel Wolf’s tension; he is as still as a statue, not even breathing. I tease Wolf, taking one step forward, then one back; trying to make him break before I am close enough. Another little step forward, another back, and, all of a sudden; AaWooooawWooooooOoooooooWaoooooOoooooOoooooo! Hesprintsfromthehillandthechaseisonanditurnaroundandheadforthe Woodsbutthistimeirunstraightnozignozagforiknowwhereimheaded Heisfasterthatmeandmuchstrongerandhegainsonmequicklybutipushon Idonotsinkasfarintothesnowashedoesiwillnotstumbleorfallthewoodsloom NearbutsoisWolfnowaslightturntotherightandthentotheleftthetrapisup Aheadwillimakeitontime?dontknowmustkeeprunningforIAMHUNGRY AndnowthetrapisrightinfrontofmequicklynowturnhardtotheleftannnndddssSSNNNAAAAAPPPPPPP!ihearthetrapclose……….] AaWooooawWooooooOoooooooWaoooooOoooooOoooooo! I turn and look at my adversary, I, Wolf. The monstrous steel fangs of the trap has closed on one of his legs. His breath is ragged, plumes of white vapor bellow from his mouth; He looks at me with dim eyes; he knows he is beaten. He looks at me, and I understand; as he understands also; It is the call of the wild, violent death is expected. I can bear to look at him no more; I turn and head toward my bush. Halfway there I glance back; I see him beginning to chew his leg off; He will get free of the trap, but, crippled, he will die soon anyway. As he chews off his leg, he drinks his own blood, food, you know. Finally, he has completed the task, he has bitten his leg in two; As he staggers away, he looks back at me, eating my berries; “See you again in the next life!”, he seems to say; And slumps off into the darkness. [snuffle, snuffle] In a few minutes I hear: AaWooooawWooooooOoooooooWaoooooOoooooOoooooo! It is the death wail of Wolf I have just beaten! [but wait, is that another wolf on the hill?] Written July 6th, 2001 © on Jul 06 2001 03:13 PM PST, Brazos Mason   0 • 10