Rattle rattle
The Rasselbock or Raspelbock is a mythical creature whose image is often in Hunter Klausen encounters and similar facilities. It is a stuffed rabbit's head with the antlers of a roebuck on it. In addition to the rascal, there is also the female counterpart: the rattle. The antlers of the Rasselgeiß are somewhat smaller. In some specimens, canine teeth on the upper jaw, which a hare also does not have, are remarkable . The term horned hare is also used for the rattle rattle and the rattle . The young animals are called forest rascals.
Alleged spread
Stories about the alleged occurrence of the rascal are mainly found in the central Thuringian Forest and in the Mark Brandenburg , but also occasionally in the Harz Mountains. There are said to be larger areas of occurrence in the Schwarzatal , at the Schmücke and at the Auerhahn, a forest farm near Stützerbach near Ilmenau . Occasional tracks in the snow are used as alleged evidence of its existence.
Regarding the behavior of the mythical animal, there is an indication that it is extremely shy and leads a withdrawn life, but should be very dangerous due to the relatively powerful antlers.
The rattle rattle has also become the motif for emergency notes from the city of Blankenhain in Thuringia. The municipality of Sitzendorf dedicated an exhibition to the mythical animals in the steam engine museum in 1994.
Related species
The mythical creature has similarities with the mythical creature Wolpertinger, which is known in Bavaria . The Hessian Dilldappe and the western Alpine Dahus are more distantly related mythical creatures. There is a strong similarity to the American jackalope (hare and pronghorn). In Austrian hunter's Latin, this mythical creature is called the Raurackel.
Phrase
Catching rattles is called in the vernacular as trying to undermine the authority of an elderly person or a seasoned person. The question Do you want to catch rascals with me? is to be understood rhetorically.