by Moe Zilla

Created on: July 08, 2010

"[L]ook at his savage whiskers and his claws and his turned-up tail!"

But fortunately, in addition to the fierce, bad rabbit in the story's title, Beatrix Potter also introduces "a nice gentle Rabbit." It's probably the simplest story she ever wrote, and it's different than most of the other tales you'll find in the Beatrix Potter library. "The book was intended for babies and tots," according to Wikipedia, "and was originally published on a strip of paper that folded into a wallet and was tied with a ribbon." The idea was to prepare readers at an early age for the day when they're ready for longer books.

Unfortunately, book buyers in the early 1900s preferred their stories the old-fashioned way, and in a couple years the story was released in the more familiar "tiny book" format. Her illustrations of the docile gentle rabbit are still surprisingly touching, and even the bad bunny character has his own charm. Even if he's a fierce bad rabbit, who "doesn't say 'Please'" - he's still a rabbit, after all. It's funny to see Potter's illustrations of the bunny behaving badly, bullying the gentle rabbit out of the carrot that his mother has given him. "The good Rabbit creeps away and hides ina  hole. It feels sad."

It's fascinating watching Beatrix Potter trying to create the same kind of story for a much younger audience. It contains just 17 sentences - and 14 illustrations - but she quickly finds a way to create a very dramatic plot. "This is a man with a gun," she writes, illustrating a gentleman in a top hat with fine boots and, yes, a long rifle. "He sees something sitting on a  bench. He thinks it is a very funny bird. He comes creeping up behind the trees..."

Potter is apparently teaching young readers a very stark lesson about karma. (We've all heard that the wages of sin lead to death - but is it even true for a bunny who steals carrots?) At this point it helps to think of the bad little rabbit as Wile E. Coyote, the patron saint in all matters concerning cartoon animal violence. There's a flurry of whiskers and a some fur, but the only thing the man discovers on the bench is the remnants of the rabbit's tail - and a carrot it's left behind.  "The good Rabbit ppeeps out of its hole...

"...and it sees the bad Rabbit tearing past - without any tail or whiskers!"

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