Japanese Rabbit (Part1) - Yudai Tanabe - Rabbit Islands - Amami Rabbit - Rabbit Bird - Mochi - Rabbit on the Moon - Raspberry - Impress

Japanese Rabbits (Part 1)
Interview with Yudai Tanabe
Rabbit Island:  
When I think about Japan and rabbits the first thing that comes to mind for me is the video's of Rabbit Island.  As islands that are occupied by wild animals go, Okunoshima, better known as Usaga Jima or Rabbit Island, is probably the cutest.  Ōkunoshima (大久野島?) is a small island located in the Inland Sea of Japan in the city of Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture.   It is accessible by ferry from Tadanoumi and Ōmishima.  There are campsites, walking trails and places of historical interest on the island.  It is often called Usagi Shima (うさぎ島?, "Rabbit Island") because of the numerous feral rabbits that roam the island; they are rather tame and will approach humans.  Situated in the East Sea/Inland Sea of Japan, the small island is occupied by hundreds of wild rabbits that roam the forests and paths, chase tourists, appear in viral videos and just generally lounge around.  They also provide a much needed counterbalance to the island's otherwise dark history – as the production site for Japan's chemical weapons during the second world war.
Of course, Japan being the birthplace of kawaii – the distinct cultural appreciation of all things cute – the bounding herds of friendly rabbits are a much bigger attraction than the Poison Gas Museum.   The source of the rabbits remains a mystery, it may be that the origins of the island's fluffy residents is intertwined with its history as manufacturer of chemical weapons.  The ruins of the gas manufacturing plant are still standing today.  The island was a cultivated area until the Russo-Japanese War when ten forts were built to protect it.  Three fishing families lived on the island.  In 1925, the Imperial Japanese Army Institute of Science and Technology initiated a secret program to develop chemical weapons, based on extensive research that showed that chemical weapons were being produced throughout the United States and Europe.  Japan was a signatory on the 1925 Geneva Protocol which banned the use of chemical warfare.  Although the development and storage of chemical weapons were not banned, Japan went to great lengths to ensure the secrecy of construction of the chemical munitions plant begun in 1929, even going so far as to remove records of the island from some maps. The plant was built over the period of 1927 to 1929, and was home to a chemical weapon facility that produced over six kilotons of mustard gas and tear gas.  Between 1929-1945, the Japanese army secretly produced over 6,000 tons of poison gas on Okunoshima, which was removed from maps of the area and chosen because of its discreet location and distance from civilian populations.  At the time, an unfortunate colony of rabbits was brought to the island in order to test the effects of the poison.  Ōkunoshima played a key role during World War II as a poison gas factory for much of the chemical warfare that was carried out in China.  The island was chosen for its isolation, conducive to security, and because it was far enough from Tokyo and other areas in case of disaster.  Under the jurisdiction of the Japanese military, the local fish preservation processor was converted into a toxic gas reactor.  Residents and potential employees were not told what the plant was manufacturing and everything was kept secret; working conditions were harsh and many suffered from toxic-exposure related illnesses.  With the end of the war, documents concerning the plant were burned and Allied Occupation Forces disposed of the gas either by dumping, burning, or burying it, and people were told to be silent about the project.  Several decades later, victims from the plant were given government aid for treatment.  In 1988 the Ōkunoshima Poison Gas Museum was opened.
While some claim the rabbits that live there now are relatives of the test bunnies that were freed by the workers at the end of the war, others are less convinced; it has been reported that all the rabbits were killed when the factory ceased production.  The other theory is that eight rabbits were brought to the island by schoolchildren in 1971, where they bred (presumably like rabbits) until they reached their current population, which is potentially in the thousands.  With the island being a predator-free zone – dogs and cats are banned – if the number of rabbits hasn't hit the thousands yet, it's inevitable it will do soon.
The island now has a hotel"Kyukamura Ohkunoshima National Park Resort of Japan", a six-hole golf course and a small camping ground.  Visitors are able to swim in the clean water surrounding the island, regardless of the tide, and enjoy a day trip.  Visitors can eat lunch at Rabbit restaurant or cafe, take a hot spring bath and rental bicycles.
According to Murakami, the former director of the poison gas museum, the current rabbits have nothing to do with those that were involved with chemical weapon tests.  Hunting these creatures is forbidden, and dogs and cats may not be taken onto the island.  The ruins of the old forts and the gas factory can be found all over the island; entry is prohibited as it is too dangerous.  Since it is part of the Inland Sea National Park system of Japan, there is a resource center and across the way is the museum.  In 2015, the BBC presented a short television series called Pets - Wild at Heart, which featured the behaviours of pets, including the rabbits on the island. The series depicted various tourists coming to feed the rabbits.
Poison Gas Museum
The Poison Gas Museum opened in 1988 to educate people about the island's role in World War II.  Opened in 1988, the museum "was established in order to alert as many people as possible to the dreadful truths about poison gas." Only two rooms large, the small building provides a basic overview of the construction of the plant, working conditions and the effects of poison gas on humans.  Families of workers who suffered the aftereffects of the harsh working conditions donated numerous artifacts to help tell the story of the workers' plight when handling the gas with poor safety equipment that often leaked.  The second room shows how poison gas affects the human body through the lungs, eyes, skin, and heart. Images of victims from Iraq and Iran add to the message of the museum.  As expressed by the curator Murakami Hatsuichi to The New York Times, “My hope is that people will see the museum in Hiroshima City and also this one, so they will learn that we [Japanese] were both victims and aggressors in the war. I hope people will realize both facets and recognize the importance of peace.".  In the museum one can pick up a guide to the numerous remains of the forts from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the poison gas factory.  Most of the buildings are run-down and condemned, but recognizable.  The museum is aimed mainly at the Japanese people, but English translations are provided on the overall summary for each section.
Other buildings and structures
The island is connected by Chūshi Powerline Crossing, the tallest powerline in Japan.  The best way of accessing the island from the mainland is to take the Sanyō Shinkansen train to Mihara Station (only the Kodama stops there); at Mihara, catch the Kure Line local train to Tadanoumi, from there walk to the terminal and catch a ferry.  Now the island, a short ferry ride from the mainland, is a popular tourist resort with a small golf course, camping grounds and beautiful beaches. Tours are also given of the now derelict poison gas facilities, while ruins of military outposts are dotted around the island.
In some ways the allure of the bunnies is similar to that of Japan's and, more recently, England's cat cafes.  Most apartments in Japan forbid pets, so an opportunity to enjoy the company of a furry friend is a welcome one.  Visitors to Okunoshima can buy food for the remarkably tame rabbits, who became an online hit when this video of a woman being chased by a "stampede" of rabbits was posted online.  The videos from Japan’s Ōkunoshima Island are undeniably cute: excited tourists laughing and screaming in joy as dozens of fuzzy, semi-wild rabbits swarm over them, looking for a bite of food.  But those viral videos, which have inspired thousands of people to visit the so-called Rabbit Island over the past two years, hold a dark secret.  The rabbits are dying.   The very thing that inspires people to come to the island—the YouTube videos that have been watched by millions—is creating an unsustainable situation that puts Ōkunoshima’s wildlife and ecosystem at risk.  The rabbit population, which was apparently stable for many years, has exploded since the first YouTube video appeared in 2014. “It’s amazing how many tourists we interviewed came to the island just because of the video,” said Margo DeMello, program director for the Animals and Society Institute, an Ann Arbor, Michigan–based nonprofit.  The tourists often come bearing food, and that’s creating an unsustainable population boom.  “There are now about 1,000 rabbits on this two-mile island,” DeMello said. “They’ve destroyed the ecosystem.”  As a result of the lack of vegetation and the inappropriate food that tourists provide for the animals, the rabbits suffer from a variety of health problems and now have a life expectancy of just two years, DeMello and her fellow researchers found.  The findings were presented on Wednesday at the World Lagomorph Conference in Turlock, California.  Although the resort’s website contains warnings not to pick up the rabbits or feed them snacks, DeMello said most tourists ignore the cautionary instructions.  Tourists’ photos from the island posted online are proof of that.  The tourists, she said, often come bearing cabbage, one of the cheapest vegetables in Japan and a big part of the Japanese diet.  Cabbage is a bad food choice for rabbits, as it causes dangerous and potentially deadly bloat. It is also low in fiber, something rabbits require for what DeMello called their “very particular digestive system.  The supplemental food—which the rabbits now rely on because there’s so little natural vegetation left to eat—also comes irregularly, especially when cold or rainy weather or school schedules keep tourists off the island.  “Rabbits need to eat all the time and consistently,” DeMello said.  “Now they get huge amounts of food on some days and no food on other days.  They’re not like other animals that can adapt to that.”  The situation on Rabbit Island is far from unique. Experts warn that social networking—from YouTube videos to posting selfies taken with wildlife—all too often inspires behavior that is unhealthy for animals.  Adam Roberts, chief executive of Born Free USA, expressed concern that “seemingly benign social media” can lead to poor behavior by humans that is detrimental to animals.   “Social media can glorify the cruel consumption of animals, which leads people to buy animals, including from irresponsible breeders, and even wild animals, which should remain in the wild,” he said.  “Tourists should avoid feeding wild animals when it is not regulated,” said Laëtitia Maréchal, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom and lead author of the study.  “It not only presents potential risks for animal welfare but also for the tourists themselves, as they might be injured or risk potential disease transmission.”  Even official warnings don’t appear to stop the behavior, she said. “As people often believe that feeding animals is an act of kindness, they seem surprised or skeptical that this behavior can potentially harm the welfare of the animals involved.”  On Rabbit Island, DeMello and her fellow researchers found that the rabbits are fighting over even the least nutritious food provided by tourists.  “Of the 728 rabbits that we counted on the island, 28 percent had visible injuries or illnesses,” she reported.  The percentage grew to 50 percent in the areas of the island closest to humans. “The more humans interfered, the sicker and more injured the rabbits appeared to be,” she said.  Because the rabbits are officially considered wild animals, the national park and resort take no active role in their care.  “We as a hotel do nothing that might impact the wild nature of these animals, such as feeding or veterinary treatment,” Christoph Huelson of the Kyukamura Hotels sales department said in an email.  DeMello said she and others worry that word about the condition of the animals could lead to tourism restrictions or even to some of the rabbits being killed off.  Instead, she hopes her research will inspire some change that will benefit the animals.  “I would like to see a dialogue between the government, the hotel, and some of the local people who care about the rabbits,” she said.  Until then, she said, talking about the issues raised by social media might create some change in time to let the rabbits recover from the effects of the wrong kind of publicity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckunoshima
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jun/02/rabbit-island-okunoshima-japan-holiday-resort-bunnies
http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/07/14/viral-videos-are-destroying-japans-super-cute-rabbit-island

In my research I found Another Rabbit Island!!!!
AMAMI-OSHIMA
https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spn/kagoshima/map_plus_info/locations.html
By air from Tokyo: 2:20h;
from Kagoshima: 50 min.
Amami-Oshima: Mangrove Among the special natural attractions of Amami-Oshima are a species of black rabbit, dense virgin forests, and mangroves. The mangrove forest can be explored by canoe, and sea-kayaking is also popular. The beauty of the coral reef can be viewed by means of a glass-bottomed boat. The island has examples of traditional "taka-kura", which are storehouses built on stilts. While they may seem typical of a south-sea island culture, they were originally used not only in the islands but throughout Japan to store rice. The island has a centuries-old tradition of manufacturing pongee silk fabric, which is known for its fineness of pattern and pleasant feel on the skin. Agricultural products include sugarcane, sweet potatoes, pineapple, papaya, and bananas.
Now I am going to cover the Amami rabbit
The Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi; Amami: [ʔosaɡi]), or Amamino kuro usagi (アマミノクロウサギ 奄美野黒兔?, lit. "Amami wild black rabbit"), also known as the Ryukyu rabbit, is a primitive, dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture (but actually closer to Okinawa) in Japan.  Often called a living fossil, the Amami rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small islands where they survive today.
With its small ears and eyes and its dense dark fur, it looks very different from a typical rabbit or hare. It lives in or on the edge of old-growth forests, away from human activity. Although the rabbit has been declared as a Japanese National Monument, its existence is not widely known, even amongst the people of Japan. The species is protected from hunting, but populations have decreased in the last few decades due to extensive habitat loss and predation by introduced carnivores.
This ancient species looks very different from a typical rabbit or hare. It has retained several primitive characteristics, such as small eyes and ears and a long snout. The rabbit’s distinctive fur is dense and woolly, and is dark-brown in colour, fading to reddish-brown on the sides and underbelly. Its body is heavily built with short limbs that end in unusually long curved claws.  The Amami Rabbit has a body length between 42 and 51 cms (16.5 - 20 inches), a tail length between 1 and 3.5 cms (0.4 - 1.4 inches) and they weigh between 2 and 3 kgs (4.4 - 6.6 lbs).  They are a distinctive rabbit with a bulky body and dark brown fur. They have a pointed nose, small eyes and short ears.  The Amami rabbit has short hind legs and feet, a somewhat bulky body, and rather large and curved claws used for digging and sometimes climbing. Its ears are also significantly smaller than those of other rabbits or hares.  The pelage (the fur, hair, or wool of a mammal) is thick, wooly and dark brown on top and becomes more reddish-brown on the sides.  The eyes are also small compared to more common rabbits and hares. The average weight is 2.5–2.8 kg.
The only species in its genus, the Amami rabbit is one of the most primitive lagomorphs in the world. It is so different from other rabbits and hares that it is considered to belong to an early branch of the main rabbit-hare evolutionary tree.  Its ancestors are believed to have diverged from other leporids between 10 and 20 million years ago, about half as long ago as ancestral rabbits separated from pikas.
Behavior
Predominantly solitary and nocturnal. Individuals spend their days sleeping in a den, usually an underground tunnel or a space between rocks and trees.  At night the rabbits forage for food amongst the forest undergrowth.  They eat a variety of plants and fruits depending on the season, with Japanese pampas grass forming the bulk of the diet in the summer months, and acorns during the winter.  The rabbit breeds twice a year, producing two or three young which are raised in a safe den. This species of forest-dweller reproduces once in late March–May and once in September–December, having one or two young each time.  The mother visits the den at night to nurse her young. When she leaves she carefully seals the den with dirt and plant material to protect them against predators.  They are also noted for making calling noises, which sound something like the call of a pika.  Amami Rabbits communicate with each other using clicking sounds and calling noises, which is unusual among rabbit species.
Distribution and habitat
The ideal habitat for these rabbits is in an area between mature and young forests. They use the dense mature forests as protection and for the presence of acorns for their diets. More common in secondary forests close to mature forests than in those further from mature forests, indicating that a mosaic of mature and young forests is the most suitable habitat type for this species. Population surveys carried out between 1985 and 1990 indicate that the rabbits are most common in secondary forests, 10 to 40 years after clear-felling.  The species is not found in cultivated or residential areas.  They also use the high density of perennial grasses and herbaceous ground cover in the young forests for their diets during different times of the year.  Therefore, the best habitat for them to live in is where they have easy access to both young and mature forests with no obstructions between the two forest types.
The species is only known to occur on the islands of Amami (820 km²) and Tokuno (248 km²) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, southwest of Japan. The distribution has been estimated to be around 370 km² on Amami and 33 km² on Tokuno Island. Some populations are completely isolated and thought to be very small.
The population has been estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000, of which the majority are found on the island of Amami.  There are believed to be fewer than 500 individuals remaining on the island of Tokuno.  Using fecal pellet counts and resident surveys, the number of rabbits is estimated at 2000–4800 left on Amami Island and 120–300 left on Tokuno Island.
Population Trend
In spite of an increase in the area of young forests due to continuous cutting, surveys have indicated a significant decline in the distribution and abundance of the species over the past 20 years.  In particular, populations of Amami rabbit have decreased in the central part of the island, where mongoose numbers have rapidly increased in recent years.
Threats
The rabbits initially became endangered as a result of hunting for meat and oriental medicine.  Before 1921, hunting and trapping were another cause of decline in population numbers.  In 1921, Japan declared the Amami rabbit a "natural monument" which prevented it from being hunted.  Then in 1963, it was changed to a "special natural monument" which prevented it from being trapped as well.  Even with Japan giving the species full legal protection, it is still under threat from predation by stray dogs, feral cats and other animals introduced by humans.  In particular, Java mongooses Herpestes javanicus have killed large numbers of Amami rabbits, following their introduction in 1979 to control the population of venomous habu pit vipers Trimeresurus flavoviridis.  Unfortunately, the mongooses devastated populations of the islands’ native small mammals instead.
In the last few decades, habitat loss due to extensive logging operations has also been a major contributor to the rabbits’ decline.  Less than 1% of the forests on Amami Island have been protected from development activities such as logging resort development and road construction. The total area of mature forest in 2000 was estimated to be about 40% of that in 1970, accounting for about 9.1% of the forest area on the island.  Young secondary forests, resulting from complete clearance of mature forests, now cover much of the island. However, rabbits are less common in areas of secondary forest far from mature forest patches.
Conservation Underway
The species has been declared as a Japanese National Monument, and as such receives protection from hunting and capture. Some animals are further protected in national reserves such as the Amami Gunto Quasi-National Park.  A number of population surveys (consisting of rabbit pellet counts and community interviews) have been carried out over the past two decades.  These surveys have yielded important data on the population and conservation status of the species, and have confirmed the negative effect mongooses are having on rabbit populations. The results of these studies have led to recent culls of this alien invasive predator by the federal and local government.
Conservation Proposed
A combination of habitat restoration and predator control initiatives are required to mitigate the threats to the Amami rabbit.  Careful habitat management is needed to maintain a mosaic of mature oak forests and young second-growth so that the rabbit can obtain food throughout the year.  Such mosaics are still fairly abundant in the central and the southern parts of Amami Island.  The primary conservation measure in such areas would be to limit forest road construction.  This measure would restrict the logging of more mature forests, help prevent the further expansion of predators into the forest, and ensure that local rabbit populations do not become isolated.  Increased habitat protection would be beneficial in the southern part of Amami Island, where the population density of rabbits is still quite high.  Populations of predators (feral cats and dogs and introduced mongooses) should be controlled, particularly in areas of important habitat.
Long-term research and monitoring programmes are also required to continue to assess the conservation and management needs of the species
 A small area of the Amami Island has the Amami Gunto Quasi-National Park that further protects the population. Some attempt at habitat restoration has been made, but the Amami rabbit needs a mosaic of mature and young forest in close proximity, and when a young forest is regrown nowhere near a mature forest, this rabbit is not likely to inhabit it.  Research and population monitoring also is underway to try to keep the numbers from declining, even if they can not be increased.
The Lagomorph Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources proposed a plan of conservation in 1990. The Amami Wildlife Conservation Center of the Ministry of the Environment was established in 1999. It restarted a mongoose eradication program in 2005 and designated the Amami rabbit as endangered in 2004 for Japan.
Japan really loves its cats.  This makes managing stray overpopulation in ecologically vulnerable areas a challenge, at least if you believe it should be done in a way that doesn’t involve cruelty to animals.  Other nations, take a horrific and merciless approach with “culling” that often uses brutal tactics such as trapping and mass poisoning, even though these methods often have unintended consequences.  For Japan, these options were a nonstarter when looking at how to protect the fragile Amami rabbits of Tokunoshima island, so the nation devised a better solution: a mass spay/neuter program.   2,200 cats have been altered already, with around 1,000 to go — shows that it’s possible to control a very large population of strays effectively, and to the benefit of all parties involved.
There is some more good news for the Amami Rabbit.  As of last month in Tokyo, on Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)—Tokyo will recommend soon that islands in the Amami-Ryūkyū region in southwestern Japan be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said.  The government will make its official decision on the matter as early as this week, Suga told a press conference.  Set to be recommended as World Heritage sites are the northern part of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture and Iriomote Island, also in Okinawa, as well the islands of Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.  An urgent task in the region is the protection of endangered native species such as the Okinawa rail, known as “Yanbaru Kuina,” and the Amami rabbit, or “Amami no Kuro Usagi,” as well as the preservation of subtropical laurel forests.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_rabbit
http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=44
http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/japan-saves-native-rabbits-by-neutering-thousands-of-cats
http://www.nippon.com/en/genre/politics/l10103/
http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/rabbits_hares_pikas/amami_rabbit.html

Why the Rabbit is a Bird:
For those of you who study Japanese, you might have come across this curious feature of the language. When counting rabbit/hares the word WA ( 羽) is used ( in Japanese different counting words are used for different things). The odd thing is that this is the counting word used for counting BIRDS! ICHI WA, NI WA – one bird, two birds.   Some explain  this by saying that is because rabbits/hares jump ( like flying) and their ears look like feathers ( and also because their meat tasted like chicken!).
The real reason, however, is more interesting.
Since the adoption of Buddhism, the eating of the meat of four-legged animals has been frowned upon ( though not anymore!). In fact, during the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Family officially banned the eating of such animals.
The trouble was, that the Tokugawa`s in fact loved eating RABBIT. In fact it was a regualr feature of their New Year`s Dishes ( O-Sechi).
How did they get around the law that they themselves promulgated and enforced?
Easy. They called hares BIRDS ! Case closed!
By the way, besides eating the meat, the Japanese also used the fur, to make brushes for calligraphy. Such brushes were long considered to be The highest quality.
http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/
Back when nights were pitch dark, people would be very imaginative when looking at the brightly shining full moon in the night skies. People in different countries see different things when looking at moon patterns, such as a standing lion, a crab with one large claw, or the profile of a man or woman. The Japanese say that "a rabbit is pounding mochi.
In Japanese folklore there are rabbits living the moon which keep busy making mochi.  Mochi is a sticky rice snack.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/cultural/kie/moon/kie_moon_06.html
The venerable legend of "The White Rabbit of Inaba," and the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare" are proof that Japanese have been interested in rabbits through the ages. The fact that these creatures are so prolific has made them an appropriate symbol of wealth.
Perhaps the first linkage of hoppers and the moon came from India, where one legend tells of a rabbit that cannot bear to see people starve and jumps into the fire so they can have food.  As a reward for this self-sacrifice, the god Indra is said to have taken the rabbit to the moon. The story then traveled to China. There, the rabbit has become a pharmacist, mixing medicines with mortar and pestle.
The tale then passed to Japan, where the rabbit is pounding mochi rice cakes, instead of pulverizing medicinal herbs.  All over the world, people have likened the shadows on the moon to all sorts of things, but the Japanese have always been infatuated with the idea of the rabbit pounding mochi. This can be seen at traditional confectionary shops throughout the nation, where people stand in line to buy cakes with a rabbit motif for the autumn moon-viewing season.
He was said to descend to Earth around the time of the three-day moon, and return home when the moon was full.  Some artwork includes images of a rabbit or hare stands gazing wistfully at the moon,  In the midst of a field of wild autumn grasses, as if longing to return home.

Now for a Japanese story:
The Rabbit in the Moon (A Japanese Tale)
http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/1996/8/1/the-rabbit-in-the-moon-a
Every night the Old Man in the Moon looks down on Earth to see how his animals and people are doing. He smiles to see them resting after a hard day's work. He winks at sleeping children. He hovers over rivers and lakes, lighting the waves and the shore. Then he sails on to other lands.
One night long ago, the Old Man lingered in the sky over a forest in Japan. The animals below seemed to him to live in peace and harmony. Suddenly he spotted a monkey, a fox and a rabbit who were living side by side. The Old Man began to wonder about these animals that he knew only by sight. After a while he began to long to know them better.
"Which of these friends is the kindest creature?" he asked himself as he watched the rabbit dash across the fields. "I wonder which is most generous?" he said softly as he watched the monkey swing from a tree. "I wonder what they are truly like," he said as he watched the fox paw at the forest floor to make his bed. "I need to know more about my creatures."
The Old Man floated a while longer, but finally his curiosity got the best of him. "I must go and see for myself," he said, and because the Old Man in the Moon is a magical creature, he was able to transform himself into a poor beggar. In this disguise he floated down to Earth.
He walked through the forest until he came to the clearing where the monkey, fox and rabbit lived. When the creatures saw him, they looked up at him with bright shining eyes.
"Good day, sir," the rabbit said. "How do you do?"
"Welcome to our forest," said the monkey, and the fox bowed low.
"Oh, friends," the Old Man said, leaning heavily on his walking stick, "I am not doing well. I am old and poor, and I am very hungry. Do you think you could help me?"
"Of course we'll help," the monkey chattered.
"We always help our friends," the fox agreed.
"We'll fetch some food for you," the rabbit added, and without a moment's hesitation, the three ran off, each one in search of food to offer the poor beggar.
The Old Man sat down and leaned against a tree. Looking up into his sky, he smiled. "These are good animals," he said to himself, "and I am curious to see who is most generous."
Before long the monkey returned, carrying an armload of fruit. "Here you are," the monkey said. "The bananas and berries are delicious. And take these oranges too, and these pears. I hope you will enjoy my gift," and he lay his fruit before the beggar.
"Thank you, my friend. You are kind," the beggar said, and before he had finished speaking, the fox raced into the clearing. He carried a fat, fresh fish between his teeth, and this he laid before the beggar. Again he bowed.
"My friend," the fox said, "I offer you a fresh fish to ease your hunger. I hope this will satisfy you."
"You also are kind," said the Old Man. "I never knew how kind the forest animals were."
"Of course we are kind," the monkey said proudly.
"And we are skilled at finding food," the fox added.
Now all three sat waiting for the rabbit to return.
Meanwhile, the rabbit dashed this way and that through the forest, but no matter how he tried, he could not find food for the beggar. At long last he returned to the clearing.
"Friend," the monkey cried, "you have returned!"
"I have," the rabbit said sadly, "but I must ask you to do me a favor, dear friends. Please, Brother Monkey, will you gather firewood for me? And Brother Fox, with this firewood will you build a big fire?"
The monkey and the fox ran off at once to do as their friend asked, and the beggar sat quietly by, watching in wonder.
When the fire was blazing, the rabbit turned to the beggar. "I have nothing to offer you but myself," he said. "I am going to jump into the fire, and when I am roasted, please feast upon me. I cannot bear to see you go hungry." Rabbit bent his knees, preparing to jump into the fire.
The beggar at once threw away his stick and cast off his cloak. He stood straight and tall and proud, and the animals, seeing this strange transformation, began to shake with fear.
"Don’t be afraid," the Old Man said. "You see, Rabbit, I am more than a beggar, and I have seen that you are more than generous. Your kindness is beyond price, but you must understand, I wish you no harm. I do not want you to sacrifice yourself for my comfort. I will take you home with me, where I can watch over you and make sure you are never harmed."
The Old Man in the Moon lifted the rabbit into his arms and carried him up to the moon. The monkey and the fox watched in amazement, but they were grateful, for they wished their friend no harm.
If you look carefully at the moon when it is full and bright, you will see the rabbit living there in peace, resting in the Old Man's arms, helping him to watch over us all.
Plant of the week: Raspberry
Word of the week: Impress