Homecoming
A warren of rabbits were to take a trip. Its supposed to be from ‘danger to safety’, but turns into ‘danger to danger’..Along the way, in moments of boredom or being threatened, one of the rabbits, Dandelion, tells stories to the others. One is of the legendary rabbit El-ahrairah, a trickster hero, who has uncanny shrewdness and unsheering nerves. But he always uses this cleverness and boldness to protect, feed and shelter the people he leads.
El-ahrairah ends up in a double bind in one of his warrens direst challenge. His warren is under threat and he decides to go to the Black Rabbit of Inle, the ruler of the underworld, to sacrifice himself. The Black Rabbit accepts and is ruthless in exacting it. He tears off his ears, cuts off his tail, plucks out his whiskers then sends him dragging his bloodied, mangled body home.
It takes a while for El-ahrairah to get home. He finds his warren is well fed, thriving, living in peace and comfort- saved by his sacrifice. But no one cares, no one notices. They ignore him and some mock him.
In the cool of the evening, standing at the fields edge he is met by the supreme rabbit ruler, Lord Frith. Among the leaves and in the twilight they become aware of each other.
Lord Frith asks, “Are you angry?”
“No,” he responds,”but I’ve learned with the ones you love, suffering isn’t the only thing for which one may pity them. A rabbit who doesn’t know when a gift has been given to him is poorer than a slug, even though he thinks otherwise.”
Lord Frith tells him, “Wisdom is found on the desolate hillside where none comes to feed and the stony bank where the rabbit scratches a hole in vain.
Lord Frith then restored El-ahrairah to a state surpassing what he ever knew before.
unattributed
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