The Moon and the Rabbit

The moon above watched and gloried in the timeless love of the Good Man and the Good woman as they slept. With full silver joy it left the summer sky to its' daytime cousin knowing it would return soon.

And, as though feeling the moon's call to them, the next eve, Jean and Lucien lay together on a blanket on the warm summer grass, holding each other close. The warm dark covered them as they held each other and watched the night sky. Like a string of pearls, the Three Sisters offered their gems to the lovers. The jewel box of the Great Cross spun in the sky above them as they waited. Waited for the moon to return to them.

Slowly and resplendent the Orb of the Night began to rise, dominating all in the night sky. Still full and waning gibbous, it gloried to see them both again and allowed the full glory of its light to fall on them both. Jean gave a slight gasp of wonder as she watched, and moon's light bathed them both in silver. Lucien's arms tightened around her as he held her close.

'The Jade rabbit' he murmured in her ear. 'Can you see him? Pounding his mortar and pestle? It's a story all mothers tell their children in China. And a special symbol for all in medicine.'

'Tell me.' Begged Jean. And the Moon waited to hear as well.

'Long before time began, when the world was new and men only beginning to crawl from the mud,' began Lucien, 'the immortals reigned in the heavens and earth. Wise and majestic was the Jade Emperor, the first god, one of the Three Pure Ones. Sagely he ruled the immortals, but his tasks were many a heavy burden. Chief among these tasks was to create the elixir of life, without which the immortals would become as mere men and pass from this existence. He wearied of this task and decided to seek an assistant to come to the Moon Palace to help him. First, he looked to the immortals, but they also were busy with their immortal tasks and could not help.'

'Then he looked to Man. But observing them he found them foolish and immature. They were too selfish and untrustworthy to charge one with the responsibility for such a task. After much thought, the Jade Emperor decided that only a noble animal could be trusted with the job. So, he set off to find the most honourable and noble soul among the animals.'

'Disguising himself as a frail, poor and hungry beggarman dressed in rags, he came down to the earth and roamed the forest, crying out for help and succour. His cries were pitiable, and soon five noble animals came to him to offer aid, The Cat, The Dog, The Monkey, The Fox and The Rabbit.'

"I am old, and weak, Oh, help Me kind Animals, or I shall surely die," cried out the Jade Emperor pathetically.

'The Cat slunk off, for it is a selfish creature and would not share its' food. But each of the other animals promised to help and raced off to find food to bring to the poor beggarman. The Dog searched in its' kennel and found a bone. The Fox ran to a nearby stream and began to fish, soon catching a young trout to bring to the beggar. The Monkey darted to the treetops and collected all the finest fruits of the forest to present, although it was late in the season. But the Rabbit, poor Rabbit, dashed hither and yon, but could find no food to offer except tips of new grown grass, which The Rabbit knew would only make the beggarman sick.'

'Disconsolate, The Rabbit returned to the beggarman where he found him sitting by a fire, feasting on grilled trout and fruits.'

"Oh, Woe, Woe!" cried The Rabbit, "I have nothing to offer to you!"

'The Jade Emperor in disguise looked at the Rabbit kindly and said, "Do not worry little Rabbit, although the fish is small, I cannot eat the bone and the fruits are overripe, I shall survive another day."

But the Rabbit could not be comforted, for he saw how small the trout was, how dry was the bone and how poor the fruits were. In that instant, he realised that he could offer himself up for the poor beggar to eat. Dashing to the fire, with pure self-sacrifice, he threw himself into the embers and cried, "You shall not go hungry! Eat Me!"

'Instantly the Jade Emperor cast of his disguise and stopped The Rabbit from burning up in the fire. Standing there in his resplendent Heavenly Garb, He held The Rabbit in his arms and announced, "Rabbit, you are the most Noble and True of all the Creatures!" And the Jade Emperor carried The Rabbit to the Moon Palace, where he became the companion of the Moon Goddess, Chang'e.

'The Emperor taught The Rabbit how to grind and mix the ingredients of the Immortal Elixir with a mortar and pestle. The Rabbit worked hard and soon learned to make the elixir so well that the Jade Emperor was very pleased. He was so pleased that as a reward he turned The Rabbit's fur a pristine and luminous white. The smooth and glowing white fur of the rabbit was so beautiful and smooth that it reminded all of the most precious white jade. So, The Rabbit became known as Yùtù, The Jade Rabbit.'

Jean sighed and leaned back into Lucien's arms. She looked up at the moon and said, 'What a beautiful story.'

'If you look closely at the Moon tonight, dearest Jean,' finished Lucien, 'You can see Yùtù, with his mortar and pestle, pounding the elixir of life. And no matter where you go on this earth, you can look up into the sky and see him there, reminding us to give our ourselves, to live an ethical life of sacrifce for others.'

They both gazed at the silver disc descending in the night sky, seeking the image of the Jade Rabbit and pondering his gallant self-sacrifice. The Moon had heard the story many times, in many ways, in many languages and enjoyed hearing it again. It shone down on them both with extra radiance, causing the Jade Rabbit to shimmer and glow on its' surface.

For the Moon knew that the Good Woman, Jean, gave of herself fully and generously in all that she did. The Good Man, Lucien, was a fine doctor who wielded his mortar and pestle as the Jade Rabbit did, bringing health and long life to all his patients. So the Moon bathed them both in the light of his blessing and granted them a future as bright as itself.

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The story of the Jade Rabbit is an old myth with many variations across Asia. I heard it first from a Korean artist friend, then later told to me by friends from Singapore and Shanghai. I have taken a few liberties but hope no one minds too much.

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Wild