WHY DOES THE RABBIT HAVE LONG EARS

WHY DOES THE RABBIT HAVE LONG EARS?

Moderated and summarized by Wendy Arnold in December 2003

KEY: green = request for help; purple = dilemmas/questions/considerations; blue = hyperlink to websites

ROUNDUP

From the original request to help source an old traditional song, 16 e-discussion members contributed with a wide range of 'rabbit' stories, songs and activities. These ranged from

- a child's version at http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/academics/LS/5th/NA/SH/najessm.htm

- It's Not Easy Being a Bunny, by Marilyn Sadler (illus. by Roger Bollen), Random House

- 'Rabbit' in the IATEFL storytelling in ELT publication

- 'Very Young Learners ' by V Reilly & S. Ward OUP . P154

- You're a Hero, Daley B by Jon Blake and Axel Scheffler
published by Walker Books

- A rabbit ears song found at http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/3192/

- Do your ears hang low? By Caroline Jayne Church published by Chicken House www.doublecluck.com

- "Do your ears hang low?" Klutz press have a nice version of this song on their Kids Songs Jubilee CD available from

http://klutz.com/catalog/product.php?itemNo=5206&cat=search

- The Chicken House (ISBN 1-903434-63-7) and introduced in REALBOOK NEWS Issue 13

- 'My Cat likes to Hide in Boxes' by Eve Sutton published by Puffin

- 'Six Dinner Sid' by Inga Moore published by Hodder in 1990

- a miming song 'Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose' which is sung to the same tune as that rather rude song about Sir Jasper - i.e. to 'John Brown's body'

- The BBC sing-along version of the Peter Rabbit
song
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/tweenies/songtime/songs/p/peterrabbitsgotaflyuponhisnose.shtml
I combined it with the lovely picture book "Guess How
Much I Love You?"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0763621064/qid=1071834606/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3_3/202-4007285-9863809

- the Fun Song
Factory video tape (plus lots of others)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004CPYE/qid=1071834967/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1_1/202-4007285-9863809

As for cats, what about the rhyming book Slinky
Malinky?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140544399/qid=1071834715/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_18_2/202-4007285-9863809

- Rabbits with long ears article in: JET, May 1994.

Andrew Wright (Hungary) asked for help ' … Has anyone come across a story about why the rabbit has long ears? Something to do with the rabbit not remembering what his name was and having to return to God to ask him and God getting fed up and pulling his ears longer and longer. I need to find the source. Is it a traditional story? Has anyone seen a version of it by a particular named person? ...'

Dennis Newson ( Germany) replied with this version

' … HOW RABBIT GOT HIS EARS by Jessica

"Tell us a story!" begged the children of the Pawtucket tribe as they gathered around
the campfire. The Grandfather agreed to do so.

"I will, but first please bring me some food and drink," he asked.

The children obeyed and brought him fresh water from the stream, beans, venison, and
a slice of pumpkin pie.

The Grandfather began his story.

"In the days when the earth was new and the animals could still talk (but that's another
story), there was a hare. This hare was so very proud of his long lean tail that he would
often go parading it around, showing it off to all the other animals, holding it high.

One day, when Rabbit had gone especially far, he stopped to rest under a tree. But he
did not stop showing off his tail. He yelled to every animal, near and far, broadcasting
his beautiful tail.
'Look at my tail! Isn't it beautiful!?' shouted Rabbit.

Suddenly he heard a voice. It was deep and slow and rather angry. 'Who awakens me
from my sleep?' It boomed. It had come from the very tree that Rabbit had leaned
against. Rabbit was silent. Maybe the voice hadn't seen him.

'WHO?!' It demanded.

Finally, Rabbit said in a tiny voice, 'It was me talking about my tail.'

Suddenly a face popped out of the branches. It was Owl!

'Your tail?'

'Yes, it's quite beautiful,' Rabbit said a little more bravely.

'Why do you awaken me with news of your tail?' boomed Owl.

'Because it's important for all to know of its beauty,' said Rabbit.

'Why do you not apologize to me for your rudeness?' demanded Owl.

'I don't see why I should apologize to you. After all, you don't even have a tail and
you're ugly and brown,' said Rabbit.

'Looks do not matter to me. If you are smart, you will apologize,' said Owl.

'No,' refused Rabbit.

With that, Owl flew into a rage, swooped down, grabbed Rabbit's stubby ears with his
talons, and yanked. Rabbit's ears came forward, and his tail popped right into his body,
leaving only a little tuft of hair at his backside. Now Rabbit had long ears and a stubby
tail, and before he could say anything, Owl flew off.
And as you know, Rabbit still has long ears and a short tuft of hair at his backside.

That is my story," the Grandfather said, "and now I am tired. Goodnight children and
have good dreams."

And with that, the Grandfather turned and went to his house and went to bed.

----------

I found it at:

http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/academics/LS/5th/NA/SH/najessm.htm

As far as I can see, it's claimed that it is a native American story retold by a child.

Silvana Rampone (Italy) responded with this version but she didn't know the source

Why do rabbits have long ears?

Once upon a time the King of the animals decided to give all the animals names.

He said: “You are a lion”

“You are a monkey”

“You are a crocodile”

“You are a frog”

“You are a tiger”

“You are a hippo”

“You are a RABBIT”

But rabbits have terrible memories and rabbit couldn’t remember his name. “Oh no! I can’t remember my name!”

So the rabbit went to the King and said “I’m sorry. I can’t remember my name!”

“You are a rabbit” said the king.

“Ok, thank you!” said the rabbit. The rabbit went away. “I’m a rab-ra-r” ““Oh no! I can’t remember my name!”

So the rabbit went to the King and said “I’m sorry. I can’t remember my name!”

“You are a rabbit” said the king.

“Ok, thank you!” said the rabbit and went away. “I’m a rab-ra-r” ““Oh no! I can’t remember my name!”

So the rabbit went to the King and said “I’m very sorry. I can’t remember my name!” The king was angry and he shook the rabbit by the ears, “You are a rabbit, rabbit, rabbit”

“Oh,yes, I’m a rabbit”.

The rabbit went for a walk and he saw a...(lion)

“What’s your name?” said the rabbit.

“My name’s....(lion)

The rabbit said “My name’s rab-ra-r. Oh,no! I can’t remember my name. Goodbye!”

Suddenly his ears grew just a little bit. And he continued until he saw...

The rabbit’s ears were long and he suddenly remembered the King. “My name’s rabbit. Hello hippo, my name’s rabbit. Hello...”

And that is how rabbit got long ears.

Dominic McCabe (Africa) responded with ' … You must be thinking of the story 'Rabbit' in the IATEFL storytelling in ELT publication you contributed to. the story you want is on page 70 and I am sure Joe McKenna who contributed it will be able to tell you more. Good story. Reminds me of the Trickster stories collected by Alan Garner in the late 70's early 80's (I think)... '

Andrew Wright (Hungary) responded with ' … Thank you, for the source, for the tale of the tail and for the web site! It is not the version of why the rabbit has long ears which I had heard but it already shows me that it is a traditional story rather than one created in our times. So thank you for that. It is a lovely version and I like the bits of extra about the grandfather and so on.

Andrew Wright (Hungary ) continued … 'Silvana! You've found it! That's the one I heard! Now does anyone know where this one came from that Silvana has found? Is it another traditional version? From where? ..'

Andrew Wright (Hungary) thanked Dominic with ' … Thank you for reminding me about that story from Joe McKenna but it is not the one which I originally heard. But it just adds wonderfully to the collection which is building up about why rabbits have long ears. It is lovely to think of people over the centuries in so many different places all worrying away about why rabbits have long ears. It is such a relief to worry away about rabbits' ears rather than the current state of the world! …'

Wendy Superfine added ' … This version of ' Why do rabbits have long ears ' sent in by Silvana is the version in 'Very Young Learners ' by V Reilly & S. Ward OUP . P154 It gives an acknowlegement as 'an adaption from a story in JET magazine called Mr Rabbit's long Ears ' ..'

Niki Joseph (Portugal) asked ' … and is it in the Ward and Reilly book where the kids make a rabbit with ears that get longer and longer? that's a great idea! …'

Gail Ellis (France) added ' … As we are on the subject of rabbits, I have a great rabbit story which must have been inspired by rabbit with long ears.

It is called You're a Hero, Daley B by Jon Blake and Axel Scheffler
published by Walker Books and available from Amazon.

It begins likes this:

Daley B didn't know what he was.
Am I a monkey? He said.
Am I a koala?
Am I a porcupine?

Daley B didn't know where to live.

Should I live in a cave? He said
Should I live in a nest?
Should I live in a web?

Daley B didn't know what to eat.

Should I eat fish? He said
Should I eat potatoes?
Should I eat worms?

Daley B didn't know why his feet were so big.

Are they for water-skiing? He said
Are they for the mice to sit on?
Are they to keep the rain off?

And the story continues ......

Debbie Candy added ' … mind you, my other half has just sung me a rude version. I'm sure the kids wouldn't know it though unless they had rugby players in the family!

http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/3192/

Do your ears hang low ?

Do your ears hang low ?
Do they waggle to and fro ?
Can you tie them in a knot ?
Can you tie them in a bow ?
Can you throw them o'er your shoulder
like a continental soldier ?
Do your ears hang low ?

Do your ears stick out ?
Can you waggle them about ?
Can you flap them up and down
as you fly around the town ?
Can you shut them up for sure
when you hear an awful bore ?
Do your ears stick out ?

Do your ears stand high ?
Do they reach up to the sky ?
Do they hang down when they're wet ?
Do they stand up when they're dry ?
Can you semaphore your neighbor
with the minimum of labor ?
Do your ears stand high ?

Gail Ellis (France ) replied ' … Do your ears hang low? By Caroline Jayne Church published by Chicken House

a lovely book version with a lift the flap surprise …'

Lucy Mellersh added ' … Debbie mentioned the song "Do your ears hang low?" Klutz press have a nice version of this song on their Kids Songs Jubilee CD (which comes with a little illustrated lyrics booklet) …'

http://klutz.com/catalog/product.php?itemNo=5206&cat=search

Opal Dunn continued ' … A new edition of Do your ears hang low? was recently published by The Chicken House (ISBN 1-903434-63-7) and introduced in REALBOOK NEWS Issue 13. Vibrant cartoon-like illustrations make this fun to read. Alas no music is included but the story stands up without it for those of you who don't know the tune…'

Rosemary Scott suggested some other stories which lend themselves very well to '… 'My Cat likes to Hide in Boxes' by Eve Sutton published by Puffin many years ago but stands the test of time!!I bought 2 copies so that I could cut one up, put the lovely bold pictures in plastic wallets and the children can then do a whole variety of activities with them e.g. close their eyes, pick a picture and then try to remember the words that go with it. They can also refer back to the book for the words and the sequence of events. I've had my book plus set of pictures for years..they're globally mobile - I take them with me wherever I go!!

'Six Dinner Sid' by Inga Moore published by Hodder in 1990. A fast moving story with lots of action about a neighbourhood cat called Sid. Soft colours and superb 'olde worlde' illustrations…'

Shelagh Rixon added ' … I haven't been following all the 'rabbit' exchanges, but there is a miming song 'Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose' which is sung to the same tune as that rather rude song about Sir Jasper - i.e. to 'John Brown's body' Lots of bits of rabbit anatomy are mentioned, but not ears. However, the words could be 'bent' a bit to include them and the miming of ears would be good. If anyone is interested I could type it out for the group. Sorry if someone has mentioned it before…'

Carol Read (Spain) responded with ' … I've been following all the rabbit exchanges with fond interest ... I find rabbits totally wonderful for my 3, 4 and 5-year-old classes ... so much so that the main character of my recent story-based course for this age group is ... guess what? ... a rabbit! Not all the stories are about the rabbit, but the rabbit exists as a puppet and is always present as our classroom helper and friend. His name is Robby and the children and I love him dearly. Since we're talking (mainly) about rabbit ears, I just thought I would add a word about the communicative possibilities of these! As a puppet, Robby has soft ears with light wire inside so you can bend them in any direction. This means he can put an ear towards you to show he's interested and listening closely to what you say, or for you to whisper him a secret, put his ears up straight to look surprised, put his ears up straight and slightly apart to look excited and happy, put his ears down to look sad, cover his eyes with his ears to look shy, put his ears out sidewards to look naughty and mischievous etc.. It's definitely mainly the fact of having rabbit ears that gives him this emotional range (!) and the children respond as if he really exists (well, he does really ...). When he's not directly involved in the action, I put him somewhere nearby with ears tuned in to what's going on and refer to him from time to time e.g. Let's sing the song again for Robby! / Let's count again so Robby can check we're right! etc.. He's also very useful for managing the class e.g. Ssh! Robby can't hear the story! or, if you lay him down on the floor and cover him with a cloth: Ssh! Robby's sleepy. Let's be very quiet so he doesn't wake up! etc.. I've grown to find using a puppet indispensable with my classes of very young children in all sorts of ways, and wonder if anyone else out there teaching very little ones feels the same?

I also know the song you mention, Shelagh, (it's brilliant!) and happen to already have it typed up with actions (thanks to Mike Beaumont at the University of Manchester from whom I first learnt it) so to save you doing it, here it is below:

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose

(To the tune of John Brown’s body)

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose (Waggle ears on head; flap arms; touch nose)

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose (Repeat actions as above)

And he flipped it and he flopped it (Flick nose one way; flick nose the other way)

And it flew away (Flap arms)

Shiny nose and curly whiskers (Rub nose with circular motion; spiral outwards with both hands)

Shiny nose and curly whiskers (Repeat actions as above)

And he flipped it and he flopped it (Flick nose one way; flick nose the other way)

And it flew away (Flap arms)

(Repeat whole song missing out phrases and doing actions only to taste.)

Sandie Mourao (Portugal) suggested ' … I really enjoyed reading Carol's descriptions of using Robby rabbit with your very young learners, and just wanted to reiterate how important using a puppet with this age group is. Carol's puppet, Robby, is truly lovely and very plush and cuddly. Children quickly develop a relationship with any kind of puppet, if it is used in the way Carol describes.

They all know that the puppet isn't real, but the wonderful thing about children is their ability to make fantasy so much part of what they live and breath. I have used cardboard puppets, sponge puppets, fluffy ones, material ones, expensive ones, cheap ones, homemade ones... they all work! I have even <<gutted>> my daughters, no longer used, little teddies and made them into puppets... don't let your children see you doing this as it could cause immeasurable damage!!!

A little story just to show you how attached children become to the fantasy of puppets:
Occasionally I forget to take the puppet into class, for one reason or another! And so I have to invent a story about the puppet, he's sick, forgot to jump into my bag, didn't wake up... etc. One day, I forgot teddy, this particular group's puppet, and made up a story about him having a cold and using a whole packet of tissues to blow his nose. Another faux pas, I left my mobile phone in my pocket and it rang half way through my lesson. I ignored it, as I do in classes, and the children became very excited. <<Sandie, Sandie answer your phone, it might be teddy asking you for some more tissues!>> That's how real they feel their puppet is!

I have began to take puppets to parents meetings, and when I introduce myself I also introduce the puppet as my partner in crime! I explain how important the affective relationship with <Teddy>, is for the children. The parents go home and tell their kids they met Teddy, (Polly Freddy, whoever it is), and the kids come into school delighted that their parents know who their puppet is... it strengthens the home school relationship too…'

Denise Hannaoui (Greece) added ' … There's a book called It's Not Easy Being a Bunny, by Marilyn Sadler (illus. by Roger Bollen), Random House, Inc. (Cat in the Hat Beginner Book series). It's about how a rabbit didn't like being a bunny because of his long ears. He decided to live with other animals in the forest, but for each animal he lived with, there was always SOMETHING that wasn't "perfect" about them. So, he decided to go home to his bunny family again and not worry about his long ears!

As a seasonal art project, I am having my students make winter scenes using colored paper. When they're finished, we make a list of all the things that they see in their pictures, and I print out the words for them to cut and paste onto their scenes. Just a simple, but fun, vocabulary activity! …'

Carol Read (Spain) responded to Sandie about using puppets with ' … - Yes, almost anything can be used as a puppet. Things that jump to mind from my own teaching past include a pair of fish oven gloves (whose mouths opened in the mitten part of the glove), named Freda and Finny (this was actually with a slightly older age group). As the course progressed they developed different personalities and the interactive possibilities were endless ... Another year I had an umbrella with a duck's head on the end (can't think where I got it from!) which I improvised with one day and which thereafter somehow became a regular part of classroom life. The key to making puppets work successfully though I think is the way you feel about them yourself ... if you enjoy and "believe" (!) in your puppet, the kids will too.

- Sandie's anecdote highlights one of the key benefits of using a puppet with very young children. Through the presence of the puppet and things that happen in class (e.g. Oh, dear, Freda's not feeling very well today. / Let's have a look at what Teddy's got in his bag! / Guess what? Today is Robby's birthday! etc) English is used for real time classroom events happening in the "here and now" of the children's lives rather than removed or remote from their everyday experience - i.e. they're living English not just learning English.

- The last thing Sandie mentions, which is so vital, is nurturing the home-school relationship and involving parents in their children's learning. It's a great idea to "introduce" the puppet to parents and an explanatory letter at the outset of the course can also help. Another thing you can do for a very special treat, is for children to take the puppet home to stay for a night. This definitely does need close collaboration with the parents to make sure the puppet comes back (!), but children love it and it provides for loads of possibilities e.g. guessing what the puppet had for breakfast, saying who he/she met, where he/she slept etc and I was once told anecdotally by one mother that the child who had taken the puppet home had mainly played using it to "teach" English to a younger sibling! ..'

Susan Holden replied about using puppets ' … I'm really enjoying the puppet accounts (not to mention the rabbit saga).

On puppets, I used to use small child-made ones as finger puppets with 7-8 year olds in Italy. We used ping-pong balls with holes cut into them to put one finger in. Then they invented their own characters and drew the features with felt pens. Some children stuck on bits of hair, hats and so on.
Some of the puppets had incredible personalities. The children used them in interactive dialogues, and some of them invented 'strange' voices to fit their characters. As Carol (I think) said earlier, this use of a puppet has an incredible 'freeing up' effect, and is wonderful with shyer children, who aren't afraid to talk 'through' their character.

Lucy Mellersh (Germany) added with a whole host of weblinks to animals songs ' … The BBC has a sing-along version of the Peter Rabbit
song
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/tweenies/songtime/songs/p/peterrabbitsgotaflyuponhisnose.shtml

I combined it with the lovely picture book "Guess How
Much I Love You?"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0763621064/qid=1071834606/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3_3/202-4007285-9863809
Which is about a little hare (apologies to the
purists, but it's close enough for me).

I used the Peter Rabbit song and another called
Sleeping Bunnies (this is an all-time favourite with
my classes) which I can't find a melody for, but here
are the lyrics:

See the little bunnies sleeping till it's nearly noon,
Shall we go and wake them up, with a merry tune?
They're so still, are they ill?

WAKE UP BUNNIES!!!

Hop little bunnies hop hop hop
Hop little bunnies hop hop hop
Hop little bunnies hop hop hop
Hop hop hop hop hop

As far as I remember, both songs are on the Fun Song
Factory video tape (plus lots of others)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004CPYE/qid=1071834967/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1_1/202-4007285-9863809

As for cats, what about the rhyming book Slinky
Malinky?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140544399/qid=1071834715/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_18_2/202-4007285-9863809

Sandie Mourao (Portugal) came back with a reference ' … My contact at Mary Glasgow has found the Rabbits with long ears article in: JET, May 1994.