Babbitty Rabbitty is a fictional character in the wizarding world. She appears in both the real and in-universe versions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in which she is the title character of the story Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump.
Story[]
Babbitty in the garden
Babbitty Rabbitty is a witch and washerwoman for the palace. One day, while she is hanging out the laundry, she watches the King trying to learn magic with his instructor, the charlatan. The charlatan is a fraud who breaks a twig in half, gives it to the King, tells him it is a "wand" and teaches him fake spells to her amusement. On a different day, she watches the pair dance around while waving their "wands" in the air through her cottage window. Babbitty laughs at their foolishness which upsets the King.[1]
After the King tells the charlatan that he wants to perform real spells in front of people, the charlatan tries to tell the King he has to leave to avoid getting caught. When the King demands that he stay and help with the performance tomorrow, the charlatan goes to vent by Babbitty's cottage. But when he looks through the window, he discovers Babbitty polishing a real wand and using real magic to clean the King's sheets in a wooden tub.[1]
The charlatan tells her it is her fault that the King is upset and that he will reveal that she is a witch unless she helps him make the King perform magic. She smiles and agrees to help by hiding in a bush and performing the spells for the King. Babbitty then asks what she should do if the King tries a spell she cannot perform, but he tells her that her magic is more than equal.[1]
In the morning, the King and charlatan take to the stage while Babbitty hides. Babbitty helps the King make a woman's hat disappear and a horse fly. However, the Brigade of Witch-Hunters then bring the dead body of Sabre the hound to ask the King to bring him back to life. Babbitty knows magic cannot revive the dead so she can't do what the King wants and the hound will not return to life however hard he tries.[1]
The King is embarassed and screams at the charlatan for answers. The charlatan points at Babbitty and tells the King that she is a witch blocking his magic with evil spells. Babbitty runs away while the Brigade of Witch-Hunters pursue her with their hounds. She runs into a hedge and vanishes. The hounds sense her hiding in a tree and start barking at it. The charlatan says she has turned herself into the tree and they should cut it down. The old tree is felled while everyone cheers but then they hear loud cackling.[1]
Babbitty with the stump
Babbitty's voice is heard in the stump and she tells the King and the Brigade that a witch or wizard can't be killed if they are just cut in half. She invites them to test it out by cutting the charlatan in two. The charlatan is afraid and admits that he is a fraud. After he is dragged to the dungeon, Babbitty tells the King and his people that they have unleashed a curse upon their kingdom for cutting a witch in half. The only way the King can lift the curse is if they stop harming witches and wizards, leave them in peace and build a statue of Babbitty upon the stump to remind themselves of their foolishness.[1]
The statue of Babbitty Rabbitty
The King agrees and leaves with his people while Babitty keeps cackling in the stump. When everyone has left, the story reveals that Babbitty is an Animagus when she climbs out of the roots of the tree in the form of a stout whiskery old rabbit with her wand in her teeth. She hops out of the grounds and goes far away. Eventually, the King goes on to build a statue out of gold for her.[1]