兔年談兔，是迎新歲的指定動作。我也想湊湊熱鬧。然而筆者才學淺，不敢亂掉書包。《信報》林行止先生學貫中西，他最近談兔的幾篇文章十分值得一讀，讀者有時間的話應該細心讀一下。這裏我只想拉雜談兔。
      先從Rabbit講起。Rabbit大概是小孩最早學會的英文字。部分原因是童話故事。和兔淵源最深的當數Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland（《愛麗斯漫遊仙境》），主角Alice在故事開始時因為好奇而跟一隻懷有袋表的白兔(White Rabbit)，後來隨牠跌落兔窟（rabbit-hole），進入仙境：
      '…when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her. There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself "Oh dear! Oh Dear! I shall be too late!" (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite naturally); but, when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waist-coat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.'
      從上面的引文可見，Lewis Carroll的原著雖是童話，但其語言精煉微妙，意境深遠，使該作品的地位遠超童話而成為英語文學中的經典之一。
      林行止先生在專欄中提及，此書最初譯為《兔窟傳奇》，因為一切皆由Alice跌落rabbit-hole而起。Rabbit-hole也可寫作burrow，但Alice's Adventures in Wonderland中的用字是前者。
      西方童話中以兔為主角的另一部經典是Beatrix Potter的The Tale of Peter Rabbit 。其中最為人熟悉的故事，是Peter Rabbit偷進農夫Mr McGregor的園地偷胡蘿蔔吃，但被Mr McGregor發現和追捕的驚險故事。
      Rabbit．Hare．Bunny．Leveret
      英語書信和對話中談到兔年，多作Year of the Rabbit。為什麼不是Year of the Hare，或是Year of the Bunny 就不得而知。是否因為hare是野兔，不能登大雅之堂？當然不是，這只是習慣而已。Hare在美國英語（American English）中較常用，不單指野兔，也泛指兔。因此American English中也有人說Year of the Hare。
      芬蘭作家Arto Paasilinna 著有暢銷小說《The Year of the Hare》，跟《Alice's Adventures in Wonderland》一樣是關於追逐野兔而展開的奇遇。
      港人喜歡博彩，以前澳門賽狗在香港也流行一時，賽狗時有“電兔”在前疾走，吸引眾狗追趕，故港人舊時俗話有說快如電兔。但要記住，電兔是electric hare，不是electric rabbit，大概因為獵狗追的是野兔。
      廣東話稱rabbit為兔仔，英語中bunny才是小兔，而周歲內的小兔另有專稱：leveret，字根是法語的lievre。

      純良又狡猾
      兔給人純良的印象，但成語中有“狡兔三窟”，古人可能跟我們的看法不一樣。筆者屬兔，可以作證，屬兔的人既是溫純，也有狡猾一面。人性好壞並存，兔子也大概一樣。