Week 7 Story: The Rabbit and His "Friend"
Once there was a little rabbit. He existed when the world was still new and animals cooperated with each other. This little rabbit had a mother who he loved dearly and took the very best care of him. This rabbit family lived near a family of bears. This neighborhood very rarely saw trouble, but one day the interactions in this neighborhood determined the fate of many animals...
"Mom??" little rabbit called out from his room. A few moments with no answer...
"Mother!? Are you back yet?" little rabbit shouted with fear building in his chest. A few more daunting moments passed and the sun had almost completely set, when little rabbit became overcome with worry.
"I'll head over to the bear's house and see if they know where she went." he thought to himself. As he was approaching the door, he could see his mothers lifeless body through the window. Little did he know that this moment would determine the course of his future actions. He ran home and hopped into his bed, letting the tears stream down his face.
Little rabbit remained in bed for days. He nibbled on roots here and there but otherwise didn't move much. One morning he thought he heard his name being called. "Mom? Is that you! Are you back?"... no answer.
He felt his heart sink and returned to his sadness in bed, but... he heard it again. "Alright. WHO'S there!?" he screamed out.
"Kiddo, you don't need to know who I am, just know I'm here to help you."
Little rabbit was confused but listened as this voice told him how to turn his life around; to make his mom proud of him.
"First... you gotta make that bear feel your pain. She did this to you. The only way for your mom to find peace is to avenger her. You wanna know how? Alright, listen closely. You're gonna shoot that lil no good son of hers in the ear so when she comes home, she feels that same pain you felt."
Little rabbit started to feel sick. He didn't want to hurt anybody... how would this even make Mom proud of him?
"Now now, don't start overthinking this lil buddy. Just do as I say and we'll feel so much better. Alright, so after we take out bear jr. we're gonna need some help to hide from his mom. You're gonna have to find a tiger and convince him that he's the only one who can help us."
Little rabbit started taking notes to be sure he did everything he needed to do exactly as it was said to be done.
"Then... we're gonna trick him. We'll blind him and then set up a trap for him to kill himself so he won't think twice about having us for dinner. He'll save us from the bear, check. Then we'll save ourselves from the tiger, check. What else is there to do? Oh... lil buddy, we've got more people to trick."
Little rabbit got up and ran to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and took some deep breaths. Wait... is that... quiet?
He managed to have two days without that strange voice and he was thankful for it. Although... it did provide him with some company and a purpose.
"I knew you'd miss me! Ready to listen? Okay, so after we get the bear and tiger off our backs we're gonna trick a Shepard, wolf, and a crow. It'll be great! All these people stood by as Mom was harmed, we can't let them get away with that! Okay get ready.. you know exactly what you need to do. I'll walk you through the ending when we get there... I still have a few ideas I need to shake out."
Little rabbit gathered a bag full of roots and grabbed his notes and set out on his mission. "I wonder where I'd be without this friend" he thought to himself.
"Mom, this is for you" they both shouted as Little rabbit released the bow from his arrow and initiated the long line of irreversible actions foretold...
*Authors Note: I tried to keep the into of the story similar to the style seen throughout this unit. I enjoyed how it was a simple introduction but allowed for a good exposition. I kept the plot of the story the same as well, but changed the delivery. I also concluded in a way where the original story could come after and explain the rabbits adventures as they took place, instead of as a premonition in this version. I wanted it to be clear that this voice was an outside party until little rabbit started internalizing what it was saying. Throughout the story you'll realize that little rabbit and the voice are slowly becoming one and the same.
When I read the originally story, I thought it was kind of wild the lengths this rabbit went through to get revenge. There was little insight into his emotions and therefore lacked a piece of explanation. This story acted to give little rabbit more of a voice and depict what could have been other motivating factors for his actions. As for the rabbits voice, that could be taken as a delusion, which can be experienced in times of great stress or when someone is depressed, or it could be taken as the "devil on his shoulder". From the delusion perspective, it can speak to some psychological abnormalities that are faced and thereby shed light on some disorders that people experience either due to genetic contributions or environmental stressors (that's the Psych major in me.. haha).
Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales: A Rabbits Story, by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925).
"Mom??" little rabbit called out from his room. A few moments with no answer...
"Mother!? Are you back yet?" little rabbit shouted with fear building in his chest. A few more daunting moments passed and the sun had almost completely set, when little rabbit became overcome with worry.
"I'll head over to the bear's house and see if they know where she went." he thought to himself. As he was approaching the door, he could see his mothers lifeless body through the window. Little did he know that this moment would determine the course of his future actions. He ran home and hopped into his bed, letting the tears stream down his face.
Little rabbit remained in bed for days. He nibbled on roots here and there but otherwise didn't move much. One morning he thought he heard his name being called. "Mom? Is that you! Are you back?"... no answer.
He felt his heart sink and returned to his sadness in bed, but... he heard it again. "Alright. WHO'S there!?" he screamed out.
"Kiddo, you don't need to know who I am, just know I'm here to help you."
Little rabbit was confused but listened as this voice told him how to turn his life around; to make his mom proud of him.
"First... you gotta make that bear feel your pain. She did this to you. The only way for your mom to find peace is to avenger her. You wanna know how? Alright, listen closely. You're gonna shoot that lil no good son of hers in the ear so when she comes home, she feels that same pain you felt."
Little rabbit started to feel sick. He didn't want to hurt anybody... how would this even make Mom proud of him?
"Now now, don't start overthinking this lil buddy. Just do as I say and we'll feel so much better. Alright, so after we take out bear jr. we're gonna need some help to hide from his mom. You're gonna have to find a tiger and convince him that he's the only one who can help us."
Little rabbit started taking notes to be sure he did everything he needed to do exactly as it was said to be done.
"Then... we're gonna trick him. We'll blind him and then set up a trap for him to kill himself so he won't think twice about having us for dinner. He'll save us from the bear, check. Then we'll save ourselves from the tiger, check. What else is there to do? Oh... lil buddy, we've got more people to trick."
Little rabbit got up and ran to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and took some deep breaths. Wait... is that... quiet?
He managed to have two days without that strange voice and he was thankful for it. Although... it did provide him with some company and a purpose.
"I knew you'd miss me! Ready to listen? Okay, so after we get the bear and tiger off our backs we're gonna trick a Shepard, wolf, and a crow. It'll be great! All these people stood by as Mom was harmed, we can't let them get away with that! Okay get ready.. you know exactly what you need to do. I'll walk you through the ending when we get there... I still have a few ideas I need to shake out."
Little rabbit gathered a bag full of roots and grabbed his notes and set out on his mission. "I wonder where I'd be without this friend" he thought to himself.
"Mom, this is for you" they both shouted as Little rabbit released the bow from his arrow and initiated the long line of irreversible actions foretold...
(By Anonymous. Source: Wikimedia)
When I read the originally story, I thought it was kind of wild the lengths this rabbit went through to get revenge. There was little insight into his emotions and therefore lacked a piece of explanation. This story acted to give little rabbit more of a voice and depict what could have been other motivating factors for his actions. As for the rabbits voice, that could be taken as a delusion, which can be experienced in times of great stress or when someone is depressed, or it could be taken as the "devil on his shoulder". From the delusion perspective, it can speak to some psychological abnormalities that are faced and thereby shed light on some disorders that people experience either due to genetic contributions or environmental stressors (that's the Psych major in me.. haha).
Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales: A Rabbits Story, by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925).
Hey AshLynn!
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting story! As a fellow Psych major, reading about the voice in the rabbit's head was really fun. Auditory hallucinations? Delusions? Depressive behavior? Possible schizophrenia? I think that they made this story that much more entertaining. The ending of the story is definitely a great cliffhanger. It makes me curious about whether all the scheming and planning works in the end. I guess I'll have to read the source to find out! Good job!
Hey AshLynn,
ReplyDeleteI have an associates in Psychology from Rose State. I agree with Rhys, I loved the voices in the rabbit's head. It was such a good twist to what the story was. I think this story should have a second part. One thing that made me chuckle was the cute and innocent bunny in the middle of the story. It gave me an idea of what the bunny could really look like on the outside versus the mindset of their current state. I think you did a great job, and honestly think there needs to be a part two.
Hey AshLynn, great story! It actually took me a few paragraphs to realize that the voice was inside the rabbit's head all along. That just makes the second half of the story even darker. The rabbit think's that he is just following directions, when he is really just disassociating with his actions and turning int o a serial killer. That's some dark stuff!
ReplyDelete