“Taking the basket in his mouth, the hare trotted off rapidly toward the nearest village. When he reached there, however, fearing the grown people, he delivered the messages to the children and gave them all the pretty eggs.”
A delightful little legend, isn’t it? And Spring must have been well pleased with the hare for choosing to deliver his messages to the children, for on this day it is the young people who first know of the coming of Spring.
Hares Made of Eggs
The Easter hares shown in Fig. 53 are made of eggs. Goose eggs are the best to use—they are so much larger than hen’s eggs.
Blow the egg if you desire to keep the little hare; if you wish later to eat it, boil the egg hard.
Take two little tufts of cotton, roll and pinch them in shape for the ears, then two more tufts for the forefeet; fasten ears and feet to the shell with gum arabic, in the position shown in Fig. 53. Remember, the small end of the egg is the hare’s head; on this end, below the ears, draw with pen and ink the eyes, nose and mouth, using Fig. 53 as a guide.
Fig. 53.
If you make two hares, place them together on a fresh, green leaf of lettuce, and they will look very natural.
Did Palmer Cox have in mind an egg when he drew the picture of one of his famous Brownies? This queer little character certainly suggested one so forcibly that it was impossible to resist trying the experiment of making his likeness from an egg, and