A bunny was born in the forest. He was afraid of everything: whether a branch would break off, whether a bird would flap its wings, or snow would fall from a tree - the bunny trembled and cried from fear. The bunny was so cowardly for a day, two, a week and, finally, a whole year. But as soon as he grew up, he immediately became bolder and said:
- I'm not afraid of anything! - and so, shouting this, he entered the forest.
- Are you big-eyed and aren’t you afraid of the wolf? - another bunny asked him.
“I’m not afraid of a wolf, a fox, or a bear!” - answered the brave bunny. All the bunnies in the forest were amazed at the bunny’s courage. And the brave bunny, even more proud of himself, added:
“If I see a wolf in the forest, I’ll immediately eat it myself!”
“Oh, you’re still very stupid,” one hare said to this.
And suddenly at this time a wolf actually appeared. He ran a lot through the forest, was exhausted and kept thinking: “It would be nice to meet a hare.” And then he suddenly heard the squeak of a bunny. The wolf began to sniff and, stealthily, walked forward.
The wolf came close to the playing bunnies and heard the boastful, cross-eyed, short-tailed little hare mocking him.
“Wait, little brother, I’ll show you now!” - the wolf said to himself and began to look at the bunny, boasting of his courage.
And the “brave”, so that his boast could be heard even more, jumped up on a stump and shouted:
- Listen to me, hey little cowards, I’ll show you an interesting thing... I... I... At that very time he saw a real wolf, he immediately took his breath away -
tion, and he could not speak. From the fear that gripped him, he suddenly silently fell from the stump onto the wolf's head. Then he came to his senses and quickly ran to the side. He ran so fast that he was completely exhausted; out of fear, he thought that the wolf was still chasing him and was about to grab him.
Finally, the bunny's legs stopped moving from fatigue. Closing his eyes, exhausted, he collapsed under a bush and was surprised that the wolf did not grab him.
The wolf, after the bunny fell on his head, thought that someone had shot him with a gun. Out of fear, the wolf started running without looking back...
When the bunny caught his breath under a bush, opened his eyes and did not see a wolf near him, he became so brave that he ran to the bunnies and shouted:
- Look, you see! I told you that I’m not afraid of the wolf!..
The little hares, hiding from the wolf, ran out of their shelters and, admiringly, cheerfully circled around the hare.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru