One day a rabbit was sitting under a tree and thinking out loud about life.
“Our world is full of worries, danger lurks at every step,” he said thoughtfully to himself. “Firstly, trouble can happen: an earthquake, a landslide or a hurricane. Secondly, you are always afraid of hunger: after all, supplies of food and water may run out. And, finally, you can always be attacked by thieves or robbers...”
Then the rabbit remembered some important matter of his - and ran away.
The rabbit did not even know that three jungle inhabitants heard his speech and were scared to death. These were lapwing, earthworm and monkey.
Chibis was horrified at the thought of an earthquake and a hurricane and said in a trembling voice:
“What if the sky falls on me while I’m sleeping?!” It’s good that if it falls during the day, I can fly away. But if it falls while I'm sleeping, it will crush me!
The earthworm was afraid of hunger:
- Oh, if the reserves in the soil on which I feed run out, then I will die, I will die!
And the monkey immediately thought about the thieves and said with tears in his eyes:
“More than anything in the world, I value the land.” But at night I have to leave her because I’m not used to sleeping on the ground. What if thieves and robbers come and steal the land while I sleep?!
Since then, the lapwing always sleeps on its back, with its tiny legs raised to support the sky if it suddenly collapses.
The earthworm immediately spits out everything it eats so as not to reduce soil reserves.
And every night the monkey descends from the tree three times to feel the ground and make sure that the robbers have not yet stolen it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru