Comparing Rabbit: "Rabbit and Coyote" vs. "The Trial of Rabbit"

One moonlit night, Rabbit snuck into a farmer’s garden. There he found an abundance of carrots. He grabbed a bunch to bring to his burrow. At dawn, the farmer woke up to find his garden half empty and Rabbit’s footprints leading away. The farmer came up with an idea to catch the pesky little thief.

The next night, Rabbit returned to the garden for what he hoped would be more easy pickings. He spied a figure standing in the garden. Thinking it was the farmer, Rabbit approached.

"Can I have some carrots?" Rabbit asked.

Silence again.

Rabbit figured the farmer was asleep and tried to shake him awake. But his paws stuck fast to the farmer. Rabbit, the biggest trickster in town, had been tricked! The figure was a scarecrow coated in beeswax.

That morning, the farmer went out to the garden and found Rabbit stuck to the beeswax. He put Rabbit inside a box and closed the lid. Then he left him there. "I have to do my morning chores, but when I’m done I will come back and deal with you," he said angrily.

A while later, Coyote walked by the garden. He saw that the box was moving and decided to investigate.

"Rabbit, what are you doing in here?" asked a surprised Coyote.

Rabbit thought quickly and replied with a sigh. "I am here waiting for my family. They are making me a great feast—with a special hot chocolate for dessert. I don’t know how to tell them that I already ate. I can’t possibly eat even a single bite, but they’ve worked the hardest they ever have to prepare it for me. If only there was someone to take my place."

Coyote, who was always hungry, gladly volunteered. He jumped inside the box. Rabbit made sure the lid was on tight before fleeing into the fields.

Monkey: Order, friends, order. We are about to begin the trial of Rabbit. (He looks around, confused.) Say, where is the accused?

Turtle: Even I, the slowest in the jungle, slower than molasses in January, have arrived here before him.

(From offstage, there is a happy song being whistled, then hummed. It gets louder. RABBIT enters the clearing, humming cheerfully.)

Rabbit: (jokingly) Hi, everyone! Well look at that. You’re making me a party!

...

Farmer: I accuse Rabbit of stealing my carrots. I cared for them since they were just baby seedlings.

Rabbit: I didn’t steal your vegetables. I rescued them! It was for their own good. They were sitting in your garden, so ripe and beautiful, at the perfect point to be picked. It would have been a crying shame to let them sit there any longer and get spoiled. So, basically, I saved them. You should thank me.

...

Rabbit: (sighing, now with honesty) I only wanted some carrots. (to FARMER, flatteringly) And yours are the tastiest I have ever had. I can taste the tenderness and care you give them in each and every bite. Mmm ...

Farmer: (softening his anger) Well, if you had asked me nicely, maybe I would have given you some. I do have a lot of carrots.

Rabbit: Say, that gives me an idea!

Coyote: Here we go again.

Rabbit: No tricks this time. I promise.