Can you think of any famous rabbits? I thought of Bugs Bunny, Peter Rabbit and the Easter Bunny. But the bunny family is much bigger than that. We have been telling stories about rabbits and hares for thousands of years. Rabbits are connected with springtime, and are good hearted tricksters, always getting into trouble and using their cleverness to escape. They also like to help out their friends and friendly humans.
In Aztec stories from Mexico, Ometochtli (“Two Rabbit” in the Nahuatl language) led 400 rabbit gods that loved to have wild parties and cause trouble. How would you like to have 400 rowdy rabbits come to your house for a party?
In Japanese and Korean stories, a good-hearted rabbit lives on the moon, where it makes treats of delicious rice cakes. Take a look at the moon sometime. Can you see the shape of a rabbit standing on two legs?
For Native Americans in North America, clever rabbits used their brains to outsmart their enemies. Read about one clever shape shifting rabbit who got the better of a fox in this Ojibwe story.
When people were enslaved and forced to come from Africa to the Americas, they brought their rabbit stories with them. Bre’er Rabbit gets into trouble with the bigger, stronger animals, but uses his clever tricks to escape. See what he gets up to in Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl, a traditional story retold by Virginia Hamilton.
Who is your favorite rabbit?
The world is filled with bunny stories. Try out some of these stories about clever and good hearted rabbits and hares.
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