"The Rabbit" is a poem by [Lord Alfred Douglas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Douglas), published in an 1898 collection called _Tails with a twist_. This is the version in the 1928 edition of the complete poems of Lord Alfred Douglas: >THE RABBIT > > The Rabbit has an evil mind, Although he looks so good and kind. > > His life is a complete disgrace, Although he has so soft a face. > > I hardly like to let you know How far his wickedness will go. > > Enough, if this poor rhyme declares His fearful cruelty to hares. > > He does his very best to keep These gentle animals from sleep, > > By joining in with noisy throngs Of rabbits singing ribald songs. > > To wake their fears and make them bound, He simulates the Basset-hound. > > And if he meets them after dark, He imitates the greyhound's bark. > > <sub>Douglas, Alfred Bruce. "The Rabbit." [*The Complete Poems of Lord Alfred Douglas, including the Light Verse*][1]. London: Martin Seckere, 1928. [p. 154][2]. Accessed at hathitrust.org 28 January 2024</sub> A variant version of Douglas's lines appears in 1909 in the *Wisconsin Medical Journal*, of all places. A report on a dairy show includes this snippet: > What Wallace Irwin said about rabbits might with a slight stretch of the imagination have been applied to much of the milk that formerly reached the market: "The rabbit has a pleasant face, its private life is a disgrace, I really cannot tell to you the dreadful things that rabbits do." > > <sub>"The National Dairy Show." Part of the "[Editorial Comment][3]" section of [*Wisconsin Medical Journal*][4], vol. VIII (June 1909–May 1910), No. 5, October 1909. pp. 265–266. Excerpt is from [p. 266][5]. Accessed at archive.org 28 January 2024.</sub> This opens up the possibility that [Wallace Irwin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Irwin) published an adaptation of Douglas's poem that was more widely read than the original. However, such a poem is not easily found in Irwin's works available online. In the 1920s, Anne Carroll Moore edited *The Three Owls*, a series of three volumes on children's literature. The second volume contains an essay by Marjorie Williams Bianco mentions "that well-known rhyme beginning:" > The rabbit has a pleasant face; His private life is a disgrace. > > <sub> Williams Bianco, Marjorie. "Easter Rabbits—and Others." [*The Three Owls: Second Book. Contemporary Criticism of Children's Books*][6]. Written and Edited by Anne Carroll Moore. New York: Coward-McCann, 1928. [pp. 249–254][7]. Accessed at archive.org 28 January 2024. Passage quoted is on [p. 252][8].</sub> This is closer to what Hastings quoted than what Douglas wrote. Williams Bianco calls it a "well-known rhyme," suggesting that perhaps some version of Douglas's poem circulated popularly in the 1920s, when both Christie's story and Williams Bianco's essay appeared. However, since this postdates the publication of Christie's story, Williams Bianco could be quoting Christie. Finally, a version of this poem does appear on Poetry Nook, credited to that prolific scribbler, Anonymous. Alas, no date is given: > **The Rabbit** by Anonymous > > The rabbit has a charming face: Its private life is a disgrace. I really dare not name to you The awful things that rabbits do; Things that your paper never prints— You only mention them in hints. They have such lost, degraded souls No wonder they inhabit holes; When such depravity is found It only can live underground. > > "[The Rabbit][9]." Retrieved from poetrynoook.com 28 January 2024. This anonymous version varies considerably from Douglas's poem, but is close to what Captain Hastings says. It seems that various rhymes about the depravity of the fluffy creatures circulated in the oral tradition, with both Douglas and perhaps Irvin contributing specific versions. [1]: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4105011&seq=1 [2]: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4105011&seq=176 [3]: https://archive.org/details/wisconsinmedical8190stat/page/264/mode/2up [4]: https://archive.org/details/wisconsinmedical8190stat/mode/2up [5]: https://archive.org/details/wisconsinmedical8190stat/page/266/mode/2up [6]: https://archive.org/details/threeowlsbookabo00moor/mode/2up [7]: https://archive.org/details/threeowlsbookabo00moor/page/248/mode/2up [8]: https://archive.org/details/threeowlsbookabo00moor/page/252/mode/2up [9]: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/rabbit-0