======Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump======
=====Story Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Wizarding]] fairytale
  * **Author:** [[Beedle the Bard]]
  * **Appears In:** [[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]
  * **Known Readers:** [[Hermione Granger]], [[Ron Weasley]], [[Albus Dumbledore]]
=====Plot Summary=====
"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump" is a popular children's story in the [[wizarding world]]. The tale is set in a kingdom ruled by a foolish [[Muggle]] [[King]] who despises [[magic]] yet simultaneously desires to be the sole possessor of it. He forms a "Brigade of [[Witch]]-Hunters" to capture and execute all [[wizards]] and [[witches]] in his land.
However, the [[King]] also wants to learn [[magic]] himself. A cunning charlatan with no magical ability exploits this desire, presenting himself as a powerful [[sorcerer]] and offering to be the [[King]]'s private instructor in exchange for gold and jewels. Unable to perform any real [[magic]], the charlatan is soon discovered by [[Babbitty Rabbitty]], the [[King]]'s elderly washerwoman, who is secretly a real [[witch]]. After she laughs at his pathetic attempts to do [[magic]], the charlatan threatens to expose her to the [[Witch]]-Hunters unless she agrees to help him fool the [[King]].
[[Babbitty]] reluctantly agrees. During a public demonstration, she hides in a bush and secretly performs the [[spells]] the charlatan pretends to cast. She successfully makes a hat disappear and levitates the [[King]]'s horse, astonishing the crowd. However, the Captain of the Brigade then challenges the charlatan to bring his dead hound back to life. [[Babbitty]] knows that no [[magic]] can raise the dead and refuses to assist. When the charlatan inevitably fails, he exposes [[Babbitty]], accusing her of blocking his [[spells]].
[[Babbitty]] flees into a nearby forest with the [[King]] and his men in pursuit. She disappears behind an old crab apple tree just as the [[Witch]]-Hunters arrive. The enraged [[King]] and charlatan declare the tree to be [[Babbitty]] in disguise and order it to be cut down. As the woodcutters fell the tree, a loud cackling laugh emanates from the remaining stump. The stump proclaims that a [[wizard]] or [[witch]] cannot be killed by being cut in half and threatens to inflict a similar, agonizing pain upon the [[King]]. It demands that a statue of [[Babbitty]] be erected upon it as a permanent reminder of the [[King]]'s foolishness.
Terrified, the [[King]] promises to cancel the [[witch]] hunt and build the statue. Shortly thereafter, a stout old [[rabbit]] holding a [[wand]] in its teeth is seen hopping away from a hole beneath the stump's roots and leaving the kingdom. The stump continues to cackle at the [[King]] for many years.
=====Characters=====
  * **[[Babbitty Rabbitty]]:** The protagonist, a clever old [[witch]] and an [[Animagus]] who can transform into a [[rabbit]]. She works as a washerwoman for the foolish [[King]].
  * **The King:** A greedy and foolish [[Muggle]] monarch who is easily deceived by the charlatan.
  * **The Charlatan:** An unscrupulous and non-magical swindler who pretends to be a [[wizard]] to gain wealth.
  * **The Captain of the Brigade:** The leader of the [[King]]'s [[Witch]]-Hunters.
=====Themes and Moral=====
The central moral of the story is the limitation of [[magic]], most significantly that it cannot reverse death. This is a fundamental law of [[magic]] in the [[Harry Potter]] universe and a recurring theme throughout the series, especially in relation to the [[Resurrection Stone]] and [[Horcruxes]].
The tale also serves as an introduction to the concept of [[Animagi]]. [[Babbitty]]'s escape is a classic example of an [[Animagus]] transformation. However, as noted by [[Albus Dumbledore]], the story has created many popular misconceptions, such as the idea that an [[Animagus]] can speak in their animal form (the cackling stump was a trick performed by [[Babbitty]] from her hiding place) or that one can turn back into a human if their animal form is killed.
=====Role in the Harry Potter Series=====
This story is one of the five tales in //[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]//, the book of wizarding fairytales bequeathed to [[Hermione Granger]] in [[Albus Dumbledore]]'s will. When [[Hermione]] reads the stories aloud, [[Ron Weasley]] recognizes them from his childhood, highlighting the cultural difference between [[wizards]] raised in the [[wizarding world]] and those, like [[Harry Potter]] and [[Hermione]], raised by [[Muggles]].
While not as directly relevant to their quest for the [[Horcruxes]] as //[[The Tale of the Three Brothers]]//, this story reinforces the crucial lesson that the dead cannot truly be brought back to life, providing important context for the trio's understanding of the [[Deathly Hallows]].
=====Dumbledore's Notes=====
In his notes on the tale (as found in [[Hermione Granger]]'s copy of //[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]//), [[Albus Dumbledore]] praises it as the "most realistic" of [[Beedle]]'s stories. He elaborates on the story's core messages:
  * **The Limits of Magic:** Dumbledore emphasizes that the story correctly illustrates that there is no [[magic]] that can reawaken the dead.
  * **[[Animagus]] Misconceptions:** He clarifies that the story is the source of much confusion about [[Animagus]] transformations. He confirms that the talking stump was a piece of clever trickery by [[Babbitty]] from a hole beneath its roots, not a property of her being an [[Animagus]].
  * **Anti-Muggle Sentiment:** Dumbledore notes that in some older, less sanitized versions of the tale, [[Babbitty]] conspires with the charlatan to terrorize the [[King]] with fake [[Dark Magic]]. He also reflects on how the [[King]]'s desire to monopolize [[magic]] is a flaw shared by certain [[wizards]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump" was written by J.K. Rowling as part of the collection //[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]//. Initially, only seven handwritten copies were produced, with one being auctioned for charity in 2007. The book was later published for the general public in 2008, with proceeds going to the Lumos charity. (J.K. Rowling)