Reserved forest

[Guest guest]

Deep in the forests, there was a pleasant little valley, which was verdant

and cool. A small bubbling brook chattered its curvy way through the middle

of this green carpet. Sparrows chirped happily on the tree branches, foxes

hunted among the shadows and the fish swam lazily in the clear water.

However, all creatures were not happy in this paradise. The rabbits were

holding a meeting to discuss their plight. The oldest rabbit got up and

cleared his throat. " For generations, we have been hunted relentlessly. The

foxes hunt us. The wild dogs run after us, whenever they fancy a bite. Even

the king of our forest, the Tiger, is not averse to a quick nibble, if he is

especially hungry and does not get anything substantial to sink his teeth

into. "

A young rabbit got up and said, " It is true, sir, what you say. But what can

we do to remedy this injustice? We do not have the strength or the clout to

force these animals to stop hunting us. "

The elder rabbit gave a small smile and said, " It is true that we are small,

and do not have the strength nor the clout. But there is something we have

that other animals do not have. We have numbers and we have cute adorable

looks. "

The young rabbit was puzzled. " Pray how will looks and numbers help our

cause? "

" Follow me. I will show you. "

Thus it came to pass that a huge number of rabbits, cloudy white and fluffy,

with light pink eyes, made their way down the valley. They did not stop

until they reached a small hut at the edge of the forest. A hunter lived in

this hut and he had a small nine-year-old daughter. The daughter was playing

outside, when she spotted this vast number of adorable animals frisking

around her. She was so enchanted and overwhelmed that for a moment words

failed her. Then she gave an ecstatic cry, " Daddy! Come out. See how many

cute rabbits are playing around here. "

The hunter came out. Immediately, the elder rabbit seized the opportunity

and came forward. He looked with sad, doleful eyes at the hunter and stood

up on his hind legs. Then he prayed in a quivering voice, " Hail! Oh Emperor

of the jungle! All of us rabbits have come to you for protection. "

The hunter was surprised. He said, " I am in fact a hunter. How can I grant

you protection? " The rabbit looked pitifully downwards and said, " Sir, we

are among the lowest of the low. We do not harm anybody. All we do is eat

grass and carrots. Yet most of the animals of this jungle trouble us. The

foxes chase us and devour us. The dogs make a sport of running after us.

Why, even the tiger, for whom we are not even a mouthful, gulps us down if

he is in a bad mood. Everybody oppresses us. Please give us your

protection. "

The hunter's daughter, who was staring at those large soulful eyes of the

rabbit, gave a delighted squeal and said, " Yes Daddy, let us protect these

nice fluffy creatures. "

The hunter thought this over. It was true that occasionally he too had

hunted rabbits. But their meat was too little and he preferred bigger deer.

Then he said, " Okay. From today, the tiger is no longer the king of the

jungle. The rabbit will be the king of the jungle. No one will hunt the

rabbit. "

The news spread rapidly through the forest that the rabbit was crowned the

king of the jungle. The tiger also heard this news. He thought this was a

stupid idea, having such a weakling as king of the jungle. However, he

feared the gun in the hunter's hands. He decided that he would eat the other

animals and leave the rabbit alone. Anyway, he hardly preferred the rabbit.

As days went by, rabbits were a happy lot. There was plenty to eat. There

was no fear in the forest. Thus they began multiplying. The foxes and dogs,

on the other hand were faced with a double problem. Their main food was

rabbits. This was now unavailable. Secondly, the tiger had become grumpy at

being deposed and had started eating more of them. Gradually, the dogs and

foxes in the forest either died of starvation or at the hands of the tiger.

Meanwhile, the grasses could hardly grow, as there were too many rabbits and

all the greenery was rapidly devoured. The whole forest was riddled with

rabbit burrows and this weakened the soil. A great many trees fell to the

ground.

Soon the tiger was hungry, as he had not seen a single dog or fox in days

together. Reluctantly, he decided that he needed to search for another home

where there were no such restrictions.

The forest, meanwhile, was in the grip of a great and devastating famine.

The grass had all been denuded. The trees had dried up. For the tenth

consecutive day, the hunter returned empty handed. His wife shouted at him,

" What will we eat? You have not brought a single morsel for so many days! "

His little daughter looked at him tearfully and asked, " Daddy, do you think

that this bad condition of ours is because you made the rabbit king the

other day? "

The hunter turned to his little girl and said, " Don't be silly, darling. I

only helped a good social cause. Haven't you always been taught that it is

good to help the oppressed and the downtrodden? "

Kishore Shah 1974