Many years ago, when I first read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, I didn't really appreciate Beatrix Potter's love of animals, or her understanding of their characters and personalities. Now that I have time to appreciate our farm critters in a way that I did not when they were just part of my chore list, I value Ms. Potter's insight. Each little critter has a unique and individual personality.
I first met Peter Rabbit (not the one in the afore mentioned book!) when our neighbor came to our house wanting to know if we would "like" a rabbit. She had been raising them as 4-H projects, but now she was moving on to another phase, and had to get rid of her rabbits. Reluctantly, we agreed to become Peter's adoptive parents. What an adorable critter he is. He is gentle, loving, and VERY quiet. He loves munching on fresh greens, and talking (VERY quietly) to me.We fashioned him a pen in the chicken house. He had been raised with chickens, so he adapted very quickly to his new digs.
Things became complicated when the neighbor returned one day to say she had one more rabbit to "get rid of," and her dad was going to put it in the soup pot if she didn't find a home for it soon. She assured us that this rabbit was as tame as Peter, and even though she was a girl rabbit, Peter had been "fixed" so it would not create a problem for us. Since I had by this time become completely smitten with Peter, Daisy was welcomed into the rabbit pen.
Now, I don't want to admit that she (the neighbor) knew a sucker when she saw one, but it wasn't long before it was obvious that Peter and Daisy had become a couple, and that Peter was indeed fully intact! Ergo, we soon had a rather large litter of absolutely adorable baby bunnies hopping around the pen. We knew this was going to happen, of course, because of the nesting habit of Daisy. She had fashioned a snuggly, warm home for her babes out of fur from her own body. She placed this little nest in the farther most corner of the pen. Voila! There they were one morning when we went in to feed the critters.
Six weeks later we were able to place the bunnies at a local pet shop, whose owner assured us they would be easily adopted because they were so cute. Ah....., now all we had to do was get Peter to the veterinarian ASAP. There was, of course, some heated discussion about the necessity of spending that kind of money on a RABBIT, when fried rabbit was considered a delicacy!
Having grown up on a farm, I had eaten almost ever critter I had helped raise, so I understood the theory. I no longer accepted that theory however, because we did not need the meat, not the income from selling the rabbit for meat. Besides, Peter had become my buddy. He trusted me, and I loved him. In the end, he spent a day with the veterinarian, and was placed back in the pen with Daisy.
A few weeks later, Daisy was again building a nest of fur and straw. We could not believe this was real, because Peter was not longer capable of pro-creation. As it turned out, that sneaky rabbit had pulled one last little surprise on us BEFORE he made his visit to the pet clinic! Thus we acquired Paulito and Daphne!
I don't want to suggest that those sweet and docile rabbits are capable of revenge, but Peter's son, Paulito arrived in the nest a contrary and wretched little creature who tugged at the heart strings one second, and raised the blood pressure the next.
Did Peter encourage him? Or... could it be that Paulito is just the wild hare in the hutch?
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