Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump was a Wizarding fairy tale that was featured in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Plot summary
A long time ago, in a land far far away, a King decides to keep all the magic in the world for himself. In order to get all the magic, he needs to gather all the witches and wizards in world, so he forms the Brigade of Witch Hunters who have packs of wild dogs. But first, he needs to learn how to use magic, so he calls for someone with magical ability to teach him. No real witches or wizards respond, but a Muggle pretends to be a wizard, and teaches him, despite not knowing any magic himself.
Soon, the Muggle demands money and treasures for his services, and he hides all these objects in his small house. Babbitty, the king's washer woman, hides and watches the Muggle as he pulls two twigs from a tree and later pretends these are wands.
While the king and the Muggle are practicing, they hear Babbitty laughing hysterically from her cottage. This enrages the King, who demands that the Muggle perform in front of his subjects to show off his new abilities. The Muggle tries to back out by saying he has to go out of town, and can't help him, but the King threatens to send the brigade after him and should anyone laugh at him, the Muggle's head will be cut off. The Muggle heads go to Babbitty's house, where they spy on her, and find out that she is a real witch. He asks her to help him, or he'll turn her in.
Amused, Babbitty agrees to help out the poor Muggle. He tells Babbitty that she will hide in the bush tomorrow, and make it seem as if the King himself can do magic. While performing "their" magic, they astonish the crowd by making a hat disappear, levitating a horse, but when one of the brigade asks if the King can make his dead dog return to life, the King tries. Babbitty does nothing, because she knows no magic can raise the dead. The crowd laughs at the King, and the King wants to know why the spell isn't working. The Muggle points to the bush, and says a wicked witch is blocking them. Babbitty runs from the bush, and when the hounds chase after her she "disappears", leaving the dogs barking at a tree.
The Muggle tells the crowd that Babbitty turned into an apple, and that the tree must be cut down, because she is an "evil" witch. The crowd is wild, and the tree is cut down. As the crowd starts to leave, they hear a cackling coming from the stump. Babbitty tells the crowd that real witches and wizards can't be cut in half, and that they should cut the Muggle in half to prove it. The Muggle confesses he is a fraud, and the witch tells them that the King is cursed, and he'll wish for death everytime a witch or wizard is harmed. Babbitty demands a statue be built of herself, to remind them of what they've done. The King promises. Soon after, an old rabbit appears out of a hole in the stump, with a wand in it's mouth, revealing that she's an animagus, and leaves the kingdom. Forever after, the statue of Babbitty remained on top of the stump.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard