If you say ‘rabbit!’
when you are upon a boat-
dogs go overboard!
By the Book (sic)
By the Book (sic)
Recent Comments
Tag Archives: #Rabbit
Rabbit on a boat Haiku
Never say ‘Haibun’ on a boat
Never say ‘Haibun’
when at sea, upon a boat;
your dog, might not float.
It is said, by some, that you should never say ‘Rabbit’ in a boat. The reason being, that your dog, if there is one present, might leap up, in search of said ‘Rabbit’ and go overboard in its efforts to chase it.
This has probably happened in the distant, and dim, past, and may even have some grounding in a far removed event. Dogs do love to chase things; some dogs are trained to chase rabbits. It might even be a built in memory of previous dog generations where an ancestral mutt ploughed headlong into a field after its prey.
A point, at this point, I don’t know whether the above applies to hares or not – that information I haven’t got. They are virtually the same, apart from: the name, the mad March thing, the longer ears, and not much else – to suggest that there is any real difference would only be splitting ha—
Anyway, never should you say, ‘Rabbit’, ‘habit’, ‘jab it!’, ‘dab it!’ or the like, when you are all at sea, in a sea-worthy, sea-going craft.
I laughed, when I first heard of this, and thought it no more than a silly myth.
Heading to see soon after, with Minster the Dachshund in tow, I happened to call across to the master of the vessel, ‘I’m sorry we delayed your departure time, the train was cancelled, we got to the station much later than anticipated, and in order to get here roughly on time, we had to cab it!’
Poor, Minster. It took her hours to swim back to port.
Another ‘Never Say ‘Rabbit’ in a Boat’ Poem.
Never say it;
for who knows what may befall
the crew, passengers, and boat.
It may be hard to stay afloat
when your dog jumps ship,
when you let the ‘R-word’ slip,
and it answers to the call.
Negger say ‘Raggit on a Goat!’
You know you want to;
gut it shouldn’t gee done;
your goat nay sink,
cacksize into the drink;
and all gecause
you said ‘Raggit’
on a goat.
The ‘R’ Word
Never say the ‘R’ word*
when afloat, or upon a boat,
it might send your hungry mutt overboard;
though, if completely wet,
they can only get drier –
and they will still be adored,
at home, in front of the drying fire.
.
• = R*b*i*
‘Never say rabbit on a train’
Never say rabbit on a train –
I know, not a boat, a train;
because if you do (but you shouldn’t, so don’t);
but, if you do, who knows what will happen?
“Never say ‘Rabbi’ in a boat!”
“Never say ‘Rabbi’ in a boat!”
Owan: Never say ‘rabbi’ in a boat.
Duloe: Rabbi? It should be ‘rabbit’, never say ‘rabbit’ in a boat; though, saying that, saying ‘rabbit’ in a boat doesn’t make much sense either, but it makes more sense than ‘rabbi’.
Owan: Yes. But, what should I be saying in a boat?
Duloe: ‘Land ahoy! Raise anchor! Shiver me timbers!’
Owan: When was the last time you went on a boat? 1780?
Duloe: I come from a long line of seafarers – it says so on my family tree. My father went to sea at Newquay, as did his brother, and my mother, too. Until they got bored and gave it up.
Owan: Your parents were ‘surfers’ and they went in the sea at Newquay to surf – with a surf ‘board’.
Duloe: How do you know all this stuff?
Owan: Because we are brothers.
Duloe: Oh. Did your parents also go to sea, then?
Owan: RABBI!!!!!
Their dog then proceeded to jump overboard.
Both: Oops!
Graeme Sandford 