"TO be hunted, and trapped, and watched for by night, and--and--I don't
know what, is most abominable!" said the Hare.
Some dogs had frightened him, and he had run--run like a hare, in fact,
and then sat down upon his form to think. The dogs had not stood upon
ceremony, so he didn't choose to stand upon forms, but sat down
comfortably.
He twitched his ears, and scratched his wig, and thought.
"And I won't put up with it--_there_," said he, aloud. "It's only
cowardice putting up with things. I'll get some fellows to help me, and
we'll hunt the dogs."
At that moment he heard a sound.
"Wow! bow, wow, wow!" barked some dog, a little way off.
The Hare jumped up again, and flew off as quick as his legs would carry
him. After running some distance, he sat down again, but this time he
found neither forms nor ceremonies.
But he found something that was better. A gun and a sportsman's bag were
lying near, and he eyed them.
"I wonder if that gun would go off if I touched it!" he said to himself.
He walked round and round it, and then cautiously pawed it. No: it
didn't seem to have the least idea of going off.
Then he lifted it up, and grew quite bold.
"I wonder if I could shoot anything?" thought he.
He aimed at a bird, and brought it down.
[Illustration]
"Bravo, bravo, bravo!" cried he. "I'll take this gun, and then if
anybody tries to torment or to catch me, I'll--I'll kill them."
He hung the bag round his waist, and put the gun on his shoulder, then
walked off to his home. On the way, a boy ran at him, and cried "Bo!"
but he just pointed the gun, and the boy ran away.
The Hare lived all by himself, but he was very comfortable. Nobody could
bother him, and he would have been quite content only for the men and
the dogs.
Every day he practised with his gun till he got to be very skilful.
"Just let them come along
And they shall all soon see,
That they're all in the wrong
To plague and bother me.
Although I'm but a hare,
I think I'm very smart,
And can--let them beware--
Right well take my own part."
So he sang, as he sat one day polishing up his gun.
As he was busily at work, he heard a noise, and cocked his ear. Tramp,
tramp, tramp, came along some one--a man. It was a poacher, who said to
himself he was going to catch a fine fat Hare. The man cast an eye
round, but the Hare hid, and watched.
Then the man stole nearer, and peeped round a tree.
"Aha!" said the Hare. "You want to catch me, and eat me, don't you? But
I am going to catch you, and boil you for my supper."
The man only laughed, for it was preposterous the idea of a Hare
catching a man, instead of a man catching a hare.
And the Hare just cocked his gun, put it to his shoulder, and fired.
Then he did kill the poacher, and took him home, and stewed him with
mushrooms for supper.
[Illustration]