within the memory of the youngest child there was a family of rab*ts who lived near a pack of wolves. the wolves announced that they did not like the way the rab*ts were living. (the wolves were crazy about the way they themselves were living, because it was the only way to live.)
one night s*ral wolves were killed in an earthquake and this was blamed on the rab*ts, for it is well known that rab*ts pound on the ground with their hind1 legs and cause earthquakes. on another night one of the wolves was killed by a bolt of lightning and this was also blamed on the rab*ts, for it is well known that lettuce-eaters cause lightning.
the wolves threatened to civilize2 the rab*ts if they didn't behave, and the rab*ts decided3 to run away to a desert island. but the other animals, who lived at a great distance, shamed them, saying, "you must stay where you are and be brave. this is no world for escapists. if the wolves attack you, we will come to your aid, in all proba*lity." so the rab*ts continued to live near the wolves and one day there was a terrible flood which drowned a great many wolves. this was blamed on the rab*ts, for it is well known that carrot-nibblers with long ears cause floods. the wolves descended4 on the rab*ts, for their own good, and imprisoned5 them in a dark cave, for their own protection.
when nothing was heard about the rab*ts for some weeks, the other animals demanded to know what had happened to them. the wolves replied that the rab*ts had been eaten and since they had been eaten the affair was a purely6 internal matter. but the other animals warned that they might possibly unite against the wolves unless some reason was given for the destruction of rab*ts. so the wolves gave them one. "they were trying to escape," said the wolves, "and, as you know, this is no world for escapists."
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