comet was misbehaving in other words
he was not doing what i wanted him to do
therefore he was doing something else
something that he wanted to do
that he did not consider misbehaving 
but rather enlightened self interest
therefore i made him wear the rabbit on his head
for being a dunce by not doing my bidding
and yet somehow i don't think he even made the connection
realizing it was the same as he would be obliged to do
for extra treats.
in other words it all works out in the end.