The Dog, the Rabbit and the Python
by L.E.Benedict
It’s a bright sunny day, and a dog is ambling down the path when he sees a rabbit. Upon seeing the rabbit, the dog bolts after him and catches him, a very rare thing to be sure.
As the dog prepares to kill the rabbit, the rabbit cries out, “Please don’t kill me Mr. Dog, sir! I have a wife, and many children whom I love very much. They won’t be able to fend for themselves if you eat me! Please sir, I beseech you. Do not eat me!”
The dog looks at the rabbit, and sighs, “I have many children as well, whom I love very much. If I do not kill you, then I won’t be able to feed my wife so that she may feed my children. It is a rare thing for me to be able to catch a rabbit so easily, and I must avail myself of the opportunity. If I do not kill you, what would you have me do to feed my family?”
“If you let me live” ,said the rabbit, “I’ll lead you to the den of another rabbit’s family, and you’ll be able to catch all of them to take to your family.”
The dog looked at the rabbit with suspicion and said, “How do I know you will not run away, as soon as I let you go?”
“I give you my word, on the lives of my children that I will not run away, “said the rabbit, “And to show you that I will do as I say, I will crawl on my belly the entire way to the other rabbits den.”
The dog let go of the rabbit and true to his word, the rabbit never stood up. He began to crawl on his belly to the other den. After a time they reached their destination and sure enough, there was a small opening in the ground.
The rabbit said quietly to the dog, “Here is the den of the other rabbit family I told you about. Be very quiet when you enter, and you may be able to catch them all.”
“Very well” ,said the dog, “You wait here, while I enter and have a look around inside.”
The dog entered the den and soon began to howl and cry. The sound was suddenly cut short, and the dog never made another sound again.
As the rabbit gleefully hopped back to his home, he said to himself, “I must have my wife remind me to send a thank you card to the python family today.”
The moral of this story is to keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.