Bye Bye Bunting

Out for a Stroll – Rabbits Watching

A delicate sepia sketch, from the same book as above, shows this toddler ensconced in his rabbit skin while walking outdoors with his mother in a winter setting. This illustration differs from 00690000 in two key ways:

• this rabbit skin is obviously being used as protection against the cold and not just as a toy
• this rabbit skin has been fashioned into a type of vest with toggle fastenings

Similar to 00690000, the ears and the skin from the back of the rabbit’s head are still on the rabbit fur wrapping, and the hunting aspect of the rhyme is not at all depicted in the illustration. This image leaves out the father entirely. Most important in this sketch is the meeting between the rabbit skin wrapped baby and the intact versions of the animals in their natural environment. They are eyeing each other curiously in this apparently ironic portrayal.