An emperor almost killed by bunnies?

 The Great Emperor (first a dictator), Napoleon Bonaparte, was almost killed in a stampede of bunnies. Yes, those furry white creatures with the terrified look and pompom-sized tails. The bigger irony of an emperor almost killed by bunnies is that it was during a bunny hunt he organised.

 In July 1807, after signing the Treaty of Tilsit, the one that ended the war between France and Russia, Napoleon wanted to celebrate. He asked his chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, to arrange a rabbit hunt for him and his generals. Berthier skipped across town (no, I'm making this up) to gather thousands of rabbits (no, I'm not making this up). Instead of wild rabbits, he found domestic, farm-raised rabbits.


Napoleon and his generals were hoping to have a laugh and a good time killing thousands of bunnies, but when the cages opened, hell broke loose. Instead of scampering in fear, the rabbits thought they were going to be fed. They charged at Napoleon and his generals with a war cry of squeaks, and his generals, experienced in battle no less, retreated to the carriages to escape the rabbits.


So that is pretty much the comical experience of how Napoleon Bonaparte was almost stampeded by bunnies.

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