The Tasty Rabbit

King Foghorn Leghorn did not know what to do. No matter how many soldiers he sent to stop the Tasmanian Devil, the monster could not be defeated. But, a thought struck him.

"I say, I say, what if I made a peace offerin'? I could let that devil eat my a prized rabbit, yes I could."

So, King Leghorn sent his guards to fetch the prized rabbit to throw him outside of the kingdom's walls for the devil. He thought the taste of his prized rabbit might be the thing to finally satiate the Tasmanian Devil's appetite. It might not have been his brightest idea, but the king was getting desperate. Besides, King Leghorn wasn't exactly know for his brain.

Bugs was awakened from his golden laced sheets by the royal guards grabbing him. "Eh, what's up, doc's?"

"The king has ordered that you be sacrificed to the monstrous Tasmanian Devil," replied one of the guards as they dragged Bugs towards the wall.

"Who's doin' what now???"

Before Bugs could do anything, the guards threw him over the wall, and he landed in the forest surrounding the kingdom.

Bugs got up and dusted himself off.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. Who does that guy think he is? Waking me up from perfectly good sleep and throwing me out here. I ain't fixin' to be some ugly faced, overgrown rat's dinner."

Little did Bugs know that the Tasmanian Devil was right behind him. Bugs heard the low growl of the beast but yammered on.

"Heck, I feel bad for the poor creature. All he probably wants is a friend. Shoot, everyone he comes into contact with probably just runs away. That king sure isn't doing him any favors by sending soldiers after him. I wish I could get that Tasmanian Devil into the king's castle. He'd destroy the whole place!"

Bugs tactics were working well. The gears in the devil's head started to turn.

He poked Bugs on the shoulder, "Excuse me, um how would I get into that there castle?"

"Don't worry about it shorty. I'll get you in."

That night Bugs dug a tunnel under the walls, right under the castle, and into the King Leghorn's bedroom. The devil was following right behind him in the tunnel. The king was completely unaware of the two intruders in his bedroom. He was snoring like a freight train.

The Tasmanian Devil puffed up his chest as he prepared to rip the king's bedroom and castle apart. Right before he was about to start Bugs said,

"Hold on just one sec."

Bugs went to the kitchen, grabbed an enormous box of carrots, came back, and sat down in a giant comfy chair in the corner of the bedroom. "Sorry, I wanted to have a good view and a snack for the show... You may proceed."

Bugs watched happily as the Tasmanian Devil proceeded to tear apart King Foghorn Leghorn's entire castle apart.

He chuckled to himself as King Foghorn Leghorn was startled awake to the sight of his home being destroyed. "Please, I say, please don't touch that! Please stop a rippin' up all my stuff!

The destruction continued for hours until all that was left was rubble and Bug's in his chair. Bugs grinned and said, "Well, that's all folks."

(Image of the Looney Tunes ending screen: Source wikimedia)

Author's Note: The original Jataka tale that inspired this story was titled, "The Horse that Held Out till the End." This story was about a very prosperous kingdom and the king's prized war horse. One day, seven other kingdom's attacked this kingdom due to their jealousy of the kingdom's prosperity. The king sent his best horse and knight out to fight. They successfully defeated six armies, but the horse was wounded. The horse insisted on fighting, knowing the knight would die on an inferior horse. They defeated the last army, and the horse began to perish. As the horse died, he told his king to let all captives go, and to not retaliate. He said to show them mercy and get their word that they would not attack again. Then the horse died. It was a very noble horse who sacrificed his own life. I turned it into Looney Tunes by first making the seven armies the Tasmanian Devil. I wanted to make Foghorn Leghorn the king because he was one of my favorite characters I had yet to use. I liked the idea of Bugs and the Tasmanian Devil teaming up against King Leghorn, so I took that idea and ran with it.

Title: Eastern Stories and Legends

Author: Marie Shedlock

Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)