[TIHCE] Legend of the Rabbit of Caerbannog

Day 4,355, 21:21 • Published in Croatia Austria • by Rabbit of Caerbannog

Dear all,

I'm publishing this article as a part of The International Halloween Community Event (TIHCE), details can be found here:
https://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-tihce-the-international-halloween-community-event-2706279


[TIHCE] Legend of the Rabbit of Caerbannog


The Cave of Caerbannog is the home of the Legendary Black Beast of Arrrghhh (named for the last utterance of anyone who ever saw it).
And the legends say that this cave is safely guarded by a bloodthirsty monster. There are not many who could tell the stories, as their bones stay silent in front of the Cave of Caerbannog.



One day, when fog was thick and air spikey cold and wet, King Arthur and his knights are led to the cave by Tim the Enchanter and find that they must face its guardian beast. Tim is scared, he is aware of the danger, and he tells the story of monster so terrible as to have killed everyone who has tried to enter the cave. He warns them with black prophecy, "death awaits you all - with nasty, big, pointy teeth!".



As the knights approach the cave and the rabbit, their 'horses' become very nervous, forcing the knights to dismount. Sir Robin soils his armour upon merely seeing it, before everyone (except Tim) sizes it up as merely an innocuous white rabbit. Despite the cave's entrance being surrounded by the bones of "four-fifty men" fallen, Arthur and his knights no longer take it seriously. Ignoring Tim's warnings ("a vicious streak a mile wide!"), King Arthur orders Bors to chop the rabbit's head off. Bors draws his sword and confidently approaches it. 



The rabbit suddenly leaps at least eight feet directly at Sir Bors' neck and bites clean through it in a single motion, decapitating him to the sound of a can opener. Despite their initial shock, Sir Robin soiling his armor again, and Tim's loud scoffing, the knights attack in force, but the rabbit injures several of the knights and kills Gawain and Ector with ease. Blood is spread everywhere, screams echo in the air. The knights themselves see at that point that they have no hope of killing or injuring the rabbit. Arthur panics and shouts for the knights to retreat ("Run away!"). 



This was the story about one day in life of Rabbit of Caerbannog, when this guardian met King Arthur and his knights.




For those who prefer video to text




For those who want to know more

The tale of the rabbit has a parallel in the early story of the Roman de Renart in which a foe takes hubristic pride in his defeat of a ferocious hare:

Si li crachait en mi le vis
Et escopi par grant vertu

The idea for the rabbit in the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie was taken from the facade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. This illustrates the weakness of cowardice by showing a knight fleeing from a rabbit.



The rabbit is now used as a metaphor for something which seems ostensibly harmless but is, in fact, deadly. Such hidden but real risks may even arise from similarly cuddly animals. The humour of the scene comes from this inversion of the usual framework by which safety and danger are judged.


Sources:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_of_Caerbannog

http://www.openculture.com/2019/03/killer-rabbits-in-medieval-manuscripts-why-so-many-drawings-in-the-margins-depict-bunnies-going-bad.html


o7
R.