3264. Thieving rabbit © Bruce Goodman 12 July 2025

When old Mrs. Hollingsworth shot a rabbit in her garden one night she apparently didn’t realize she had missed and instead had shot old Mr. Bainbridge. Every night some of her valuable vegies would go missing. Rabbits were the cause. Mrs. Hollingsworth had tried traps and poison and rabbit repellent. Nothing worked, so she resorted to her gun. Not that she was much of a shot, but the BANG would frighten the rabbits away – at least for a while. She didn’t even check to see if she had hit the rabbit – it could wait until morning. So old Mr. Bainbridge lay there all night as dead as a doornail with two stolen leeks in one hand and a parsnip in the other. The truth came out the next morning, which prompted old Mrs. Hollingsworth to eventually declare to the judge, “It was an accident, Your Honour. I thought he was a bunny.” Old Mrs. Hollingsworth was given a very light sentence. It was a relief to go home. It was a relief for her too to have gotten rid of her pesky former husband of many years back. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story