Week of Feb. 28 -- March 6, 2010 by Dennis Mammana on Creators.com

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Week of Feb. 28 -- March 6, 2010

The wintertime sky features some of the largest and brightest stars and constellations of the year: Orion, Taurus, Gemini, Auriga and more. In fact, these are so prominent that some of the tiny or faint constellations can often become lost in their glow.

One of the more obscure constellations visible to Northern Hemisphere stargazers during winter months is known as Lepus, the hare. Look for this tiny star grouping just below brilliant Orion, the hunter, and just west of the sparkling "dog star," Sirius.

Lepus is a faint and ancient constellation and, like so many others in our sky, its true origins are lost in time. Some fascinating stories have been passed down through the ages, however.

One tells that Lepus may be connected to the legend of the Easter Bunny. It is said that when the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring changed a bird into a hare, she took away its ability to fly, but, in return, gave it great speed and, once a year, allowed it to lay eggs.

Another story tells that Lepus was commonly believed to be the prey of Orion, but one has to wonder why such a formidable hunter — accompanied by two great hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor) and a great bull in front of him — would bother chasing a measly rabbit!

Even more interesting is the story that, in ancient times, there were no hares on the island of Leros.

A young boy of that city, developing an interest in the animal, brought a pregnant female hare from abroad and took great care of it until it gave birth. Townspeople became quite interested themselves, and began raising hares as well.

As you can imagine, it wasn't long before the island was completely overrun with hares. Hoping to combat the situation, their masters stopped feeding them, but soon, the hares attacked the crops and consumed everything in sight. Now the inhabitants of the island were facing a true calamity so they banded together and eventually managed to drive the hares from the island.

It was after this that the image of a hare was placed among the stars — so says the story — to remind people that nothing in life is so desirable that it does not entail greater pain than pleasure in the aftermath.

Whether or not you believe the story's moral, the constellation is there to this day for all to see.

To find out more about Dennis Mammana and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.