MMDCXLII

Introduction
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A tunic on the grass at morning.

Khazar ur pootapi.

Khazar ur pootapi.

"Do not hide from the rabbit."

The origin of this izanyoža stems from an encounter between the mythical star-crossed lovers Twožoza and Ismefa. As legend has it, Ismefa was in her garden tending to her šispí with her retinue of animal guardians, when Twožoza, who was passing by, spied her out of the corner of his eye. The sight of Ismefa tending to her plants pleased Twožoza, so he decided to conceal himself behind a bush near the edge of the garden and watch her for awhile. After kneeling for a few moments, Twožoza felt the need to switch positions, and in doing so, accidentally snapped a twig. Neither Ismefa nor many of her animal guardians seemed to notice, but the rabbit, with his long ears, heard the sound, and turned towards Twožoza. The rabbit approached, and Twožoza tried to duck, so that the rabbit wouldn't see him. Just after he had convinced himself that he had succeeded, he heard the voice of Ismefa calling out to him. She repeated the izanyoža you see above: Khazar ur pootapi, "Do not hide from the rabbit". She then added, playfully, Madero hono, "It is tame". Twožoza smiled and revealed himself, and the couple embraced.

Nothing infuriated Rage Nasko more than this anecdote from the romance of Twožoza and Ismefa. By his own admission, he could not understand why Twožoza was afraid of the rabbit. It's rumored that Nasko once stayed up for six days and six nights puzzling over Twožoza's cowardice. Perhaps he mistook the rabbit for a bear? Perhaps it was a magical rabbit, with pointed teeth and a fighter's spirit? Perhaps the rabbit carried a terrible disease? Whatever the reason, Twožoza's fear preoccupied Nasko, and he would not hear of anything else while pondering and expounding upon it. Anyožal Khanthol tried in vain to convince the Rage that, in fact, Twožoza was not afraid of the rabbit; that, rather, Ismefa was attempting to make light of the situation, while revealing to Twožoza that she saw him, and was pleased at his presence. Alas, Rage Nasko would have none of it. At times like these he would retire to his chamber, order roast rabbit for supper, and emerge several days later having completely forgotten about the legendary encounter.

To put an end to these disappearances, Khanthol enlisted the greatest writers in the land to write up a scroll in the ancient style, bury it near some ruins to the south, and then excavate it several days later, and present it to the king. This they did, and Nasko, to his delight, discovered that, in fact, the encounter transpired rather differently. Rather than hiding from the rabbit (or so the writers had written, under the direction of Khanthol), Twožoza slew the rabbit, and offered it to Ismefa as an engagement present. They feasted on the flesh of the rabbit, and were married the very next day. Rage Nasko, pleased that the encounter now made more sense, rewarded the scribes for their effort, mounted the scroll above the headboard to his bed in his chamber, and never spoke of the encounter again.

Today, when a speaker of Sathir wishes to convey that their interlocutor should not broach a particular subject for the benefit of all concerned, they warn them with this izanyoža. The saying has been expanded further, so that when one does accidentally say something one shouldn't, it is said that that person has khadazar pootapi, or "hid from the rabbit".


Vocabulary List

  • khazar (v.) to hide from (where the object is in the abessive; in the past with a third person subject, it's khadazar)
  • papi (n.) rabbit (in the definite abessive, it's pootapi)
  • šispe (n.) a type of flower unique to Ansenlas (in the plural, it's šispí)
  • mero (v.) to be tame (in the present with a third person subject, it's madero)
  • hono (pron.) third person pronoun (he, she or it, depending on context)

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