The Rabbit and the Turtle Dove

One Day during the harvest season, a knight of noble lineage was out hunting, accompanied by two dogs and a falcon. Espying a small rabbit in a clearing, he set the dogs loose, but the frightened creature escaped into the high grain. Finally a reaper caught it.

"Give me the rabbit!" said the hunter, and the reaper gave it to him.

Pleasantly stimulated by the incident, the knight stroked the quivering animal and wondered what he should do with it. His heart advised him to give the furry prize to a highborn lady who had long denied him her favor. Without further ado he set out.

As he neared a village along the way, however, he came upon a maiden standing in an arbor not far from the road. The knight stopped and greeted her courteously. Whereupon the maiden said, "Pray, my lord, where did you get the pretty rabbit? If only it were mine! Do you wish to sell it?"

The knight paused, charmed by the girl's unusual loveliness. "You may have it, my beautiful child, if you truly desire it."

"Tell me what it is worth!" she demanded eagerly. "If I have what you want in return, this will be the happiest day of my life."

His reply came without delay: "I will give it to you in exchange for your love."

The maiden was puzzled. "My love, sir? What is that?" Her brows wrinkled for a moment. Then she looked up hopefully. "My lord, in my cabinet I have three pounds of rings, 10 precious stones, and a beautiful red-and-white silk belt into which my mother has woven strands of gold. If you are not jesting, and truly wish to trade the rabbit, I will give you all of these."

The knight replied that he wanted none of these things, but only her love.

"That is something I do not have."

"Let me seek and I will surely find it!"

She hesitated a moment. Then she laughed, "Well and good! Give me the rabbit and take my love!"

The knight cast a hasty glance about and asked if anyone had overheard them.

"Oh no!" replied the maiden, who was pure and gentle as a turtle dove. "My mother and the servants are all at church."

When he had heard this, the young man quickly dismounted, fastened his horse, and set down the falcon. Then he led the maiden into the arbor and gave her the rabbit. Pressing the tiny creature to her bosom, she let out a little cry of joy. Then she smiled at the giver, "Now you must take my love."

The knight drew her close to him, kissed her rosy mouth, and sought with such earnestness that it was not long before his search was rewarded. When he rose to leave, the girl's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, my lord! It would not be right for you to go without having found what you seek. How can you be sure in so short a time? Pray, look some more! Remember our bargain!"

The young man did as he was bid. But when the time came to depart, the lass put her arms about his neck and spoke tenderly, "Do not go yet. It would be a sin if you left before you were sure you had found my love. Pray, my sweet lord, look again."

And again he did her bidding. Then he mounted his steed. The girl watched with interest and suddenly cried out, "Why are you taking nothing with you? (concluded on page 80) Turtle Dove (continued from page 59) Why do you not take my love?"

The knight laughed merrily and rode away.

When the mother returned home, the daughter ran to her and showed her the rabbit.

"Where did you get it?" the mother asked.

The daughter told of her bargain and was dismayed when her mother pulled her hair and pinched her cheeks. She turned and fled, and began to cry bitterly, not so much from pain as because of the love she had lost. The knight had taken it with him, after all!

Each day now she watched near the arbor, hoping to catch sight of the knight. On the third day he came riding along and she called to him from afar, "Sir, you must return my love. I have led a most unhappy life since you took it with you. My mother has pulled my hair and pinched my cheeks. Please take back your rabbit and return my love."

Nothing was more to the young man's liking. He entered the arbor with her once again, and tenderly returned her love. When he left, he let her keep the rabbit, so that she felt she had gotten the better of the bargain. She ran to tell her mother the good news, and was again surprised and hurt when her mother pulled her hair.

A year passed and the knight decided to take a wife. His choice fell upon a noble lady who was beautiful and clever, sociable and wealthy. A great wedding celebration was planned and many lords and ladies were invited. The knight had not, however, forgotten the episode with the rabbit and decided that both girl and rabbit should be present at the ceremony.

On the day of the wedding, the knight was sitting at the side of his lady watching the guests arrive, when unexpectedly the young girl came riding up with the same rabbit in her arms. Remembering the bargain and how the girl had had her hair pulled, the knight began to laugh long and loud.

"What are you laughing at?" everyone wanted to know.

But he wisely refrained from telling them; however his betrothed continued to insist, and when he still refused, she grew angry. "If you do not tell me, you will never have me as your wife," she said.

Faced with this alternative, he told her the whole story. When he had finished the lady uttered a laugh and spoke haughtily, "Ha! What a foolish girl! I would never have said anything to my mother, as our riding master well knows!"

On hearing this, the knight was filled with anger. He thought to himself: "If that is the way things are and she truly has made sport with her riding master, my wedding plans will have to be changed!"

Jumping up, he hastened over to the girl he had so recently mocked and made her sit down beside him. The guests were shocked and urged him to rejoin his lady, but he remained where he was and asked them to listen to him. Then he told the story of the rabbit once again and also what his lady had said. He bade his assembled friends tell him which of the two women to choose as his wife, and they were fully agreed that the simple turtle dove was by far the better choice.