Part 6 (1/2)

The Hare paused for a little, then looked up at me in its comical fashi+on and asked--

”Did you ever course hares, Mahatoodness,” I answered

”Well, what do you think of coursing?”

”I would rather not say,” I replied

”Then I will,” said the Hare, with conviction ”I think it horrible”

”Yes, but, Hare, you do not res; you look at it from an entirely selfish point of view”

”And so would you, Mahatma, if you had felt Jack's hot breath on your back and Jill's teeth in your tail”

THE HUNTING

The Hare sat silent for a ti certain shadows strea them was that of a politician whom I had rieved to observe certain characteristics about him which I had never before suspected It seemed to me, alas! that in his mundane career he had not been so entirely influenced by a single-hearted desire for the welfare of our country as he had proclaiathered even that his own interests had so, so far as I was concerned, a soht relief in the company of the open-souled Hare

”Well,” I said, ”I suppose that you died of exhaustion after your coursing experience, and came on here”

”Died of exhaustion, Mahatma, not a bit of it! In three days I was as well as ever, only ht I fed in the fields upon whatever I could get, but in the daytime I always lay up in woods This I did because I found out the shooting was over, and I knew that greyhounds, which run by sight, would never coan to lengthen Pretty yelloers that I had not seen before appeared in the woods, and I ate plenty of them; they have a nice flavour Then I met another hare and loved her, because she reether and were very happy ”I wonder what she will do now that I aested sarcastically

”No, she won't do that, Mahatma, because the hounds 'chopped' her just outside the Round Plantation I ht and ate her You think that I a myself, but I am not I mean I wonder what she will do without me in whatever world she has reached, for I don't see her here” Well, I went to the little Round Plantation because I found that Giles seldoht it would be safer, but as it proved I reat mistake One day there appeared the Red-faced Man and Toirl, Ella, and a lot of other people reen coats with ridiculous-looking caps on their heads

Also with thes whose tails curled over their backs, not like greyhounds whose tails curl between their legs Outside of the Plantation those dogs caught and ate my future wife, as I have said It was her own fault, for I had warned her not to go there, but she was a very self-willed character As it was she never even gave them a run, for they were all round her in a minute

Then they made a kind of cartwheel; their heads were in the centre of this cartwheel and their tails pointed out In its exact middle was my future wife

When the wheel broke up there was nothing of her left except her scut, which lay upon the ground

I had seen so ht suppose After all a fine hare like et another wife, and as I have told you she was very self-willed

So I lay still, thinking that those o away

But what do you think Mahat the boy Toht as well knock through the Round Plantation Giles tells me that the old speckle-backed buck lies up here”

”Does he?” said Grampus ”Well, if so, that's the hare I want to see, for I know he'd give us a good run Here, Jerry” (Jerry was the huntsman), ”just put the hounds into that place”