154 MISCELLANEOUS. 
German authors, however, tell us that the 
hare, because of its fruitfulness, was sacred to 
Ostara, the goddess of spring and of love; and 
that this explains the belief that Easter eggs 
were produced by hares rather than by hens. 
In the folk-lore of many savage tribes the 
hare is atype of the moon, since, because of its 
short upper eyelid, it always sleeps with its 
eyes open. 
The Aztecs saw a hare rather than a man in 
the moon. 
The Egyptians often represented Osiris as a 
beautiful hare. Hares may have drawn the 
chariot of Ostara as the cats drew that of 
Freya. 
Many Indian races worship the dawn as a 
mystical hare. The leaping hare was considered 
an emblem of spring-time or the approach of 
day, by nearly all races. 
