WHERE IS THE EASTER RABBIT? 



13 



days should be so closely associated in 

 fancy with these dearest things. 



The mother brings home a large sup- 

 ply of eggs in her basket. But the 

 young folks observe not the larger basket 

 nor the astonishing supply of eggs. 

 Has Gretchen been good? Was Hans 

 naughty? These little minds have been 

 agitated for days by these questions. 

 Will the highly idealized specimen of 

 their favorite pet come that night? It 

 is a long time after the children have 

 been tucked 111 ) in bed before thev can 



"A PINT'S A POUND, 



THE WORLD AROUND.'' 

 get to sleep. They are watching for the 

 rabbit. The mother calls to them from 

 the kitchen to lie very still and listen. 

 She doesn't want them to come running 

 out into the kitchen, for she has piles 

 of eggs in everv direction, and a variety 

 of dyes. Some are boiling on the stove 

 and others are piled on the table or in 

 dishes of all sorts and sizes. What a 



display of colors ! Blue eggs, green 

 eggs, red eggs and variegated eggs — all 

 the colors of the rainbow and many 

 more. 



What an astonishingly prolific and 

 versatile rabbit to lay such quantities of 

 eggs in such a variety of colors, all in 

 one night. 



When the eggs are boiled and colored 

 — and, more important, when the chil- 

 dren are asleep — the parents take the 

 eggs and go stealthily about the house 

 and put them in all sorts of hiding places. 

 What an astonishing rabbit ! It can lay 

 an egg on top of a beam in the attic as 

 easily as in a tub in the cellar. It has 

 a special preference for- odd corners, and 

 it never ignores boots nor shoes. Then 

 the chuckling couple tiptoe into the 

 kitchen and there leave baskets and pans. 

 With an occasional warning "Sh-h-h," 

 as one thinks the other's chuckling is too 

 loud, they go to the bed, turn down the 

 quilts and take a peep. Yes, the "kin- 

 derkins" are still fast asleep ! It was 

 successful. 



Perhaps the parents then go out to a 

 beer saloon for refreshment and music. 

 Occasionally they laugh uproariously and 

 slap each other. Can it be possible that 

 the music or two glasses of beer or the 

 clink of mugs can have such effect ? No, 

 the parents have been describing to a 

 neighbor some of the queer places in 

 which they have hidden the eggs, and 

 how funny it is that the "kinderkins" 

 will think that the rabbit laid them there 

 — especially as a reward for goodness ! 

 In the morning the children go search- 

 ing for the eggs. They may have 

 doubts even as to their own goodness, but 

 every twinge of conscience is set at rest 

 as they pounce upon egg after egg and, 

 with shouts of joy, drag them to light. 



It was easy to believe that St. Nicholas 

 was the personification of a jolly pro- 

 vider for the household, and that he sup- 

 plied welcome gifts to little children on 

 the holiday of" the Christ-Child. But 

 not so self-evident is the associating of 

 a rabbit with the Resurrection. The ex- 

 planation, however, is not occult. Easter 

 is a moon holiday, its exact date de- 

 pending on a certain phase of the moon. 

 From earliest history the rabbit has been 

 an emblem of the moon. Perhaps this 



