12 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



Domesticated 



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NATURE 



The pets, poultry, pigeons, dogs, cats rabbits, cavies, honeybees, etc., etc., too 



numerous to mention. 



WHERE IS THAT EASTER RABBIT? 



At Christmas it was not sufficient to 

 tell the young folks that St. Nicholas 

 was a bishop of Myra who died in 326, 

 that he is a patron saint of boys, that 

 the young folks all love him, that he is 

 the original of the Dutch Santa Klaus, 

 and that for centuries his name in many 

 nations has been emblematic of gifts 

 and a season of special merriment. 



More was demanded than mere fancies 

 of "jolly old St. Nicholas," so warmed 

 up by white furs, red coat and merri- 

 ment that he radiated warmth of heart 

 everywhere. The young folks insisted 

 on seeing the real thing. So you se- 

 lected the jolliest, kindliest, elderly man 

 that you knew and dressed him in the his- 

 torical garb so that a "real, live St. 

 Nicholas" might be present. 



But suppose, for only a moment, that 

 instead of selecting a kind-hearted man, 

 you had put before that group of ex- 

 pectant, bright-eyed, laughing children 

 a St. Nicholas made as the farmer makes 

 a "scarecrow man" for his cornfield ; only 

 clothes with lifeless filling. How much 

 less the pleasure, even if custom had led 

 the young folks to expect nothing better ! 

 In this day of real things and of increas- 

 ing interest in children, inventive, up-to- 

 date parents, teachers and pastors would 

 have said, "Let us improve on these 

 stuffed coats of the past ; let us put in 

 a real, live, jolly old fellow." 



Now what St. Nicholas is to Christ- 

 mas, the rabbit (or hare, originally) is 

 to Easter. Both associations had their 

 origin in Germany and Holland, those 

 lands rich in folklore and in kindnesses 

 for the "kinderkins." The young folks 

 in these lands are as familiar with rab- 

 bits as they are with fat and jolly old 

 men. 



We imported the idea of a jolly and 

 aged man of amplified girth to imper- 

 sonate the spirit of gifts for good chil- 

 dren, and it has been universally suc- 

 cessful. And incidentally let us note 

 that this success is a testimonial to those 

 of us who are well along in years and 

 who push the scales down furthest. Ro- 

 tundity and jollity are proverbially con- 

 gruous. They never seem out of har- 

 mony. 



Now let us have for Easter more of 

 the real rabbits and fewer stuffed, filthy 

 skins and nauseating, unhealthful, cheap 

 candies in rabbit form. Let us go back 

 to first principles and learn why we have 

 these rabbit images. 



In Germany and Holland, the rabbit 

 for Easter is almost as important as St. 

 Nicholas for Christmas. Children are 

 taught to believe, that if the}- are good, 

 and obedient to their parents throughout 

 the year (and especially for a short time 

 before Easter), a rabbit will creep into 

 the house when everybody is asleep and 

 secrete a large number of beautifully 

 colored eggs in all sorts of places for 

 the pleasure of these good children. That 

 day the fat and jolly mother is mysteri- 

 ous and smiling.. She goes tiptoeing 

 and pointing slyly as she walks about the 

 house. "Sh-h-h, don't frighten away the 

 rabbit. She's coming with some eggs for 

 you to-night if you are good to-day. 

 Then she goes marketing with a basket 

 of larger size than usual. But the chil- 

 dren do not notice that — they are so in- 

 tent on being "good" and watching for 

 the special rabbit. With rabbits in gen- 

 eral as an embodiment of all good inter- 

 ests, for children they are thoroughly 

 familiar. Next to a rotund parent, their 

 favorite pets are the known good things, 

 and it is natural tnat their two best holi- 



