Lawrence the rabbit

Lawrence wasn't a rabbit like the others. He was one of the big ones. Two meters in length, with front teeth longer than a human head, he was a fine specimen. But being tall and strong isn't what life is all about in the world of lagomorpha. And there was one thing about Lawrence that had made him an oddity since birth. He could only leap straight.

While his fellows were zigzagging all over the place, Lawrence would make a bee-line to where he was going. And that didn't go down well with the others. Outcast, ridiculed, heckled, he would often sit all alone on the edge of the prairie, wallowing in his misery.

One day, as he was just minding his own business as usual, the other rabbits made fun of him once more. “Lawrence, Lawrence, straight as an arrow. Can't make a turn, no matter how narrow!”, they would chant at him. But this time, he didn't just listen to them in silence.

“You're all so stupid!”, he yelled back. “Wherever we go, I always get there first. And also, I'm bigger than you. You're all just jealous, you idiots!” And then he ran away, straight over the prairie, as fast as he could. The other rabbits didn't chase him, because they knew they couldn't catch up.

As Lawrence finally couldn't run anymore, he lay down on the dry grass, his body heaving under his strained breathing. Just as he thought he might as well take a nap, he heard a wheezy voice from behind.

“Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence.”, the voice said, and he realized that it belonged to a hare so old, her fur had turned white. Her eyes were milky, but her gaze remained steady as she kept speaking. “It's true that you're big, and that the others can't catch up with you if you run straight. But the world is round anyway, so even if you always keep going straight, you'll end up in the same place again. And if you don't make any detours wherever you go, you'll miss all the fun.”

“You stupid old hare”, said Lawrence. “So you waited for me here just so you too could make fun of me?”

“No”, said the hare. “I came here to tell you something important. I hoped you would notice on your own, but since that doesn't seem to be the case, I'll just have to tell you myself.”

“Tell me what?”, said Lawrence. “What important thing could you know about me, anyway?”

“Lawrence,”, said the hare, “remember this well. Zigzags are just a lot of different straight lines put end to end.”