Splitting hares.

Who ever coined the phrase "Dumb Bunny" obviously didn't have a house rabbit.

Tonight Oswald was running and playing and getting into general naughtiness, his usually evening routine. He begged for his nightly corn-chip. And after his fifteen minutes of freedom were up, Jeremy got up from the couch to put him back in his cage.

Lately, Oswald has taken to playing "jello rabbit" when it's time to go back in his cage, which is when he turns his body into one furry lump that seems positively boneless. It makes it hard to pick him up, so Jeremy started giving Oswald a gentle nudge with his hands and this usually motivates Oswald to run towards his cage.

Fool him once, shame on us. Fool him twice, shame on him, so tonight he tried a new strategy.  Pancake rabbit.  Jeremy nudged. Oswald flattened himself out. He nudged again. The bunny became flatter, front and back legs sprawled out so the rabbit could get get even closer to the floor.  So Jeremy took his hands, placing them behind Oswald's front legs, no easy feat with them stretched out far in front of the rabbit, and gave a gentle push forward towards the cage.  Rabbit stayed stretched out and nearly flattened. Jeremy pushed another two inches towards his cage. 

At this point, we were just laughing and Jeremy was not really making any concerted effort to get Oswald into his cage. We wanted to see how far it would go. Bunny was totally annoyed, ears flat, and insistent on keeping himself pressed as close to the floor and stretched out as possible.  It looked like Jeremy could have just pulled Oswald along and dusted the hardwood floors with his furry little body.  As soon as Oswald got within six inches of his cage, he stood up and backed up into Jeremy's legs, his ears still flattened against his head, as if to say "Oh no. I'm not going back in there!" 

So Jeremy continued in the same vein, nudge the rabbit, the rabbit pancaked himself to the floor in one flop, Jeremy pushing the rabbit along the hardwood towards his cage.  Eventually, Jeremy meant business and gave a slightly harder nudge that made Oswald hop into the cage. 

Realizing he had been tricked into his flight instinct, Oswald quickly turned around and tried to keep Jeremy from closing the cage door. He put two paws through the grid of the door and pushed. Jeremy pushed back. As the door closed, Oswald stood up on his hind legs and tried to shove his paws, his nose, any part through the narrowing gap of the once opened door.  Jeremy latched the door, and Oswald put his two front paws through the bars and twitched his nose from one side to the other looking at us with hope that we'd take pity on his prisoner status and let him back out.

Sorry pal. You'll have to wait til tomorrow when Ruth wakes up, I thought.  She'll free you.