Sharpie and friends act out the Jataka tale about the timid rabbit. This Jataka tale has been retold many, many times, but Sharpie, Possumm, et al., include a few things that are left out of most modern retellings of the story.
As usual, the full script is below.
Possum: Let’s tell the Jataka tale of the timid rabbit.
Sharpie: Hm, we’ll have to change some of the animals in this story.
Sharpie: Once, Buddha’s followers saw people who claimed to be more holy than everyone else. But the Buddha said, “When you examine their religion, there is nothing more to it than the noise the rabbit heard.” Then the Buddha told this story:
Possum: Once upon a time, a rabbit was asleep under a Bengal quince tree, a tree sacred to the Hindu deities Shiva and Lakshmi. Suddenly the rabbit woke up.
Nicky Rabbit: What if the earth broke apart? What would happen to ME?
[Noise of Bengal quince hitting ground]
Nicky: Ah! The earth is breaking up! RUN!
Possum: She jumped up and ran, without looking to see what made the noise.
Castor Beaver: Uh, where are you running?
Nicky: The earth is breaking apart!
Castor: Uh oh. Run!
Mr. Bear: Why are you two running?
Nicky: The earth is breaking apart!
Mr. Bear: Oh no! Run!
Possum: Soon many animals were running, though none of them knew why.
Animals: Run away! Run away!
Possum: At last the Lion heard them shouting that the world was breaking up.
Animals: Run Away! Run away! Run away…
Birago Lion: I know the earth is not breaking up. I need to stop them before somebody gets hurt.
Birago: ROAR! Why are you all running?
Mr. Bear: The world is breaking up!
Birago: Who saw it breaking up?
Mr. Bear: Not me. Ask Packie.
Packie Rat. Not me. Ask Castor.
Birago: Castor, did you see the world breaking up?
Castor: Nah, not me. Ask Nicky.
Nicky: I heard the earth breaking up!
Birago: Come show me where. Ride on my back.
Nicky: Right here!
Birago: That’s just a Bengal quince fruit that fell. That’s the sound you heard.
Possum: So the Lion went back to the other animals and told them there was nothing to worry about. They were all relieved.
Sharpie: The lion in this story is supposed to be the Buddha in a previous life.
Nicky: Today the animals would use social media, and turn it into a conspiracy theory.
Birago: Thank goodness the lion was willing to trust the evidence of his senses.