A little known fact about rabbits is that when a young bunny gets to a certain age, its fellow lagomorphs throw him or her a big coming-of-age party at which they present the big-eared bounder a book. The contents of this book are to be kept secret from humans, so I can't tell you too much, but the general structure of what fills the pages is a manual of sorts, the collected wisdom of those who came before, a guide on how to live as a little fluffster.
Sitting between the chapter on how to decide which cables to chomp for maximum attention and the chapter about how to turn a human garden into a rabbit paradise through a sustained campaign of digging is a chapter entitled "How To Frighten Your Humans". Within that is a large, illustrated section on "Sleeping Positions To Induce Panic", where a whole host of positions are shown that give the sleeper an appearance of lifelessness.
Thistle has studied his copy well. Here we see him demonstrating position 7, one of the more advanced of the set, throwing in variation 4, "Eyes Wide Open".
Well done Thistle, a perfectly executed manoeuvre. Now, if you'll excuse me, while I reflect on your obvious skill I'm just going to have a sit down and see if I can convince my heart rate to drop below a drum roll...