Hares are considered unlucky, as the witches constantly assume their
form in order to gain entrance to a field where they can bewitch the
cattle. A man once fired at a hare he met in the early morning, and
having wounded it, followed the track of the blood till it disappeared
within a cabin. On entering he found Nancy Molony, the greatest witch
in all the county, sitting by the fire, groaning and holding her side.
And then the man knew that she had been out in the form of a hare, and
he rejoiced over her discomfiture.
Still it is not lucky to kill a hare before sunrise, even when it
crosses your path; but should it cross _three_ times, then turn back,
for danger is on the road before you.
A tailor one time returning home very late at night from a wake, or
better, very early in the morning, saw a hare sitting on the path
before him, and not inclined to run away. As he approached, with his
stick raised to strike her, he distinctly heard a voice saying, “Don’t
kill it.” However, he struck the hare three times, and each time heard
the voice say, “Don’t kill it.” But the last blow knocked the poor hare
quite dead; and immediately a great big weasel sat up, and began to
spit at him. This greatly frightened the tailor who, however, grabbed
the hare, and ran off as fast as he could. Seeing him look so pale and
frightened, his wife asked the cause, on which he told her the whole
story; and they both knew he had done wrong, and offended some powerful
witch, who would be avenged. However, they dug a grave for the hare and
buried it; for they were afraid to eat it, and thought that now perhaps
the danger was over. But next day the man became suddenly speechless,
and died off before the seventh day was over, without a word evermore
passing his lips; and then all the neighbours knew that the witch-woman
had taken her revenge.