Year of the Bunny
I was looking forward to the Year of the Rabbit, I really was. In the last few years, weve had a tiger, a cow, a pig, and a rat. Nothing that you could really snuggle up with.
But bunnies. In anticipation, my mind wandered back to Sugar and Spice, the pair we got as pets when I was 7 years old. Spice wore a red collar and I would put him on his leash and hop him around the block, while my friend Jan pushed Sugar and her progeny (there were, of course, lots of progeny) in her pram. Kids in the neighborhood would occasionally manage to catch rabbits in the woods and bring them home to our family.
Spice was a particularly cuddly guy. Hed lie back in my arms and Id scratch his neck and hed sigh and open his mouth just enough for me to see his yellowish teeth. I might get a few flea bites from Spice, but they were nothing compared to the long angry red tracks that lined my inner arms for years on end the results of Sugar kicking me to get away. (To pet her, Id cruise the back yard with a crab net, hoping to swoop down on her and pull her out from the rosebushes.)
Anyhow, I guess I was hoping for cute little stuffed animals. Hares from marzipan, or bunny-shaped cakes.
What I got first was an article in the Shanghai Daily that there was going to be a crackdown on ordering live rabbits on taobao (a Chinese version of eBay) because too many of them were DOA.
Then Wang ayi (our housekeeper) asked me, while we were putting away groceries, Do you like rabbit(s)?
Yes, I said, mentally stroking the length of Spices velvet ears.
Good, she said. Everybody is eating them because, you know, this year is Rabbit. Theyre really cheap now, only about 30 RMB (less than $5). And really good for you. Not much fat at all.
Uh, no thanks, I hurried to say. I dont think I want rabbit for dinner.
* * *
The Chinese New Year holiday officially ended yesterday with the bang of Lantern Festival. Maybe the rabbits of China can rest a little easier now.
But then! I went to a Korean restaurant and found this on the menu:
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