The white tail that led a baby rabbit to safety

Wild Animals I Have Known

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Stay low and quiet

In the thick grass of Olifant’s Swamp, a little cottontail lay tucked in a hidden nest. His mother, Molly, had covered him with bedding and left him one rule: stay low and quiet. A ladybug walked right across his face. Still, the little rabbit did not move.

A rustle without footsteps

Then a dry rustling moved through the thicket. It came closer, slipped away, and returned, yet no footsteps followed it. The rabbit was only three weeks old. He had never heard anything like it. Curiosity won. He raised his head above the nest and stepped out to look.

Molly hears his cry

A great black snake was waiting beyond the grass. The little rabbit tried to flee, but the snake caught his left ear and coiled around him. His cry carried through the swamp. Molly heard it. From somewhere among the trees, the small brown mother came bounding toward him.

Time to escape

Molly did not stop at the edge of the danger. She sprang over the snake and struck downward with her strong hind feet. Again she leaped, and again. The snake turned toward her. As it tried to meet the next leap, its hold on the little rabbit loosened.

Free to run

The little rabbit wriggled free and hurried into the underbrush. He was breathless and frightened, with his left ear torn, but he could run. Molly had gained what she came for. She left the snake behind and bounded toward the trees. Her youngster followed close after her.

Follow the white tail

Between the dark stems, Molly’s snow-white tail flashed ahead. The little rabbit followed that bright beacon all the way to a safe corner of the swamp. This first adventure had left him a ragged ear—and the name Raggylug. For now, what mattered was the mother leading him home.

Raggylug’s first escape · A literary adaptation

The white tail that led a baby rabbit to safety
By Adapted from Ernest Thompson Seton (1898)
In the thick grass of Olifant’s Swamp, a little cottontail lay tucked in a hidden nest. His mother, Molly, had covered him with bedding and left him one rule: stay low and quiet. A ladybug walked right across his face. Still, the little rabbit did not move.
Then a dry rustling moved through the thicket. It came closer, slipped away, and returned, yet no footsteps followed it. The rabbit was only three weeks old. He had never heard anything like it. Curiosity won. He raised his head above the nest and stepped out to look.
A great black snake was waiting beyond the grass. The little rabbit tried to flee, but the snake caught his left ear and coiled around him. His cry carried through the swamp. Molly heard it. From somewhere among the trees, the small brown mother came bounding toward him.
Molly did not stop at the edge of the danger. She sprang over the snake and struck downward with her strong hind feet. Again she leaped, and again. The snake turned toward her. As it tried to meet the next leap, its hold on the little rabbit loosened.
The little rabbit wriggled free and hurried into the underbrush. He was breathless and frightened, with his left ear torn, but he could run. Molly had gained what she came for. She left the snake behind and bounded toward the trees. Her youngster followed close after her.
Between the dark stems, Molly’s snow-white tail flashed ahead. The little rabbit followed that bright beacon all the way to a safe corner of the swamp. This first adventure had left him a ragged ear—and the name Raggylug. For now, what mattered was the mother leading him home.

The white tail that led a baby rabbit to safety

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