There was once a woman and her daughter who lived in a pretty garden
with cabbages; and a little hare came into it, and during the winter
time ate all the cabbages. Then says the mother to the daughter, “Go
into the garden, and chase the hare away.” The girl says to the little
hare, “Sh-sh, hare, you are still eating up all our cabbages.” Says the
hare, “Come, maiden, and seat yourself on my little hare’s tail, and
come with me into my little hare’s hut.” The girl will not do it. Next
day the hare comes again and eats the cabbages, then says the mother to
the daughter, “Go into the garden, and drive the hare away.” The girl
says to the hare, “Sh-sh, little hare, you are still eating all the
cabbages.” The little hare says, “Maiden, seat thyself on my little
hare’s tail, and come with me into my little hare’s hut.” The maiden
refuses. The third day the hare comes again, and eats the cabbages. On
this the mother says to the daughter, “Go into the garden, and hunt the
hare away.” Says the maiden, “Sh-sh, little hare, you are still eating
all our cabbages.” Says the little hare, “Come, maiden, seat thyself on
my little hare’s tail, and come with me into my little hare’s hut.” The
girl seats herself on the little hare’s tail, and then the hare takes
her far away to his little hut, and says, “Now cook green cabbage and
millet-seed, and I will invite the wedding-guests.” Then all the
wedding-guests assembled. (Who were the wedding-guests?) That I can
tell you as another told it to me. They were all hares, and the crow
was there as parson to marry the bride and bridegroom, and the fox as
clerk, and the altar was under the rainbow.
The girl, however, was sad, for she was all alone. The little hare
comes and says, “Open the doors, open the doors, the wedding-guests are
merry.” The bride says nothing, but weeps. The little hare goes away.
The little hare comes back and says, “Take off the lid, take off the
lid, the wedding-guests are hungry.” The bride again says nothing, and
weeps. The little hare goes away. The little hare comes back and says,
“Take off the lid, take off the lid, the wedding-guests are waiting.”
Then the bride says nothing, and the hare goes away, but she dresses a
straw-doll in her clothes, and gives her a spoon to stir with, and sets
her by the pan with the millet-seed, and goes back to her mother. The
little hare comes once more and says, “Take off the lid, take off the
lid,” and gets up, and strikes the doll on the head so that her cap
falls off.
Then the little hare sees that it is not his bride, and goes away and
is sorrowful.