Min tibetanska barndom i Zorgay - Life and Culture on the Tibetan ...

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RABBIT
T
here is a story about a rabbit who deceived people.
Locals admire rabbits for being clever <strong>and</strong> able to cheat
even the smartest person. If we see a rabbit's sleeping
place, we put our head near it for a while, believing it will make
us clearheaded <strong>and</strong> wise. Here is the story:
When the world was new, the first rabbit ran to the first person
<strong>and</strong>, out of breath, begged, "Please, compassionate being,
lend me your knee bones. A hungry wolf is chasing me,
wanting to eat me. I want to use your knee bones to run fast to
escape." Rabbit’s eyes brimmed with helpless tears as he
whispered, "Once I escape, I’ll return your bones."
The person sympathetically exchanged his knee
bones with the rabbit. As the rabbit was about to thank him, he
said, "Don’t dally. Run! You have no time to waste. We can
chat the day you return the bones."
The rabbit vanished in a flash <strong>and</strong> never came back.
The person waited a long time before realizing he had been
hoodwinked. He could not run as fast as before, <strong>and</strong> this is
why rabbits can run so swiftly.
I grew up hearing many different stories giving guidance
to my life. Elders told many stories about how rabbits cleverly
killed large animals. I asked Gr<strong>and</strong>mother to tell me rabbit
stories, as well as King Gesar stories, whenever we slept
together. Sometimes this was the only reason I was willing to
sleep with her. This is another rabbit story she told me:
Rabbit was walking along a rough path alone one day when he
suddenly saw Tiger approaching. There was no alternative but
death. In desperation, he picked a small sweet fruit, locally
called 'rabbit’s eye' <strong>and</strong> pretended he was eating something to
attract Tiger's attention.
When Tiger drew very near, Rabbit said, "Oh, good to
see you, Uncle Tiger. How have you been these days?"
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