One day the hare went into the forest to look for food and saw a large baobab tree there. The hare looked up and noticed a beehive on a tree. The hare really wanted honey, but he was afraid that he would not be able to cope with the bees, and decided to go to the city for his comrades.
In the city, he happened to pass by the home of a rat, and she invited him to come in.
“You know,” the hare told her, “my father died and left me a beehive with honey as an inheritance.” Let's go eat together.
They set off, and when they came to the baobab tree, the hare said:
- Well, let's climb up.
They climbed a tree, lit torches and used smoke to drive away the bees. Then they put out the fire and began to eat honey.
Suddenly a lion appeared under the baobab tree - the owner of the tree, the beehive and the honey. He looked up and saw that someone was moving there.
-Who's there? - the lion roared.
“Be quiet, don’t answer him,” the hare whispered to the rat, “this old man is crazy.”
- Who are you? Why don't you answer? - the lion shouted again.
The rat was scared.
“It’s us,” she squeaked.
“Now,” the hare whispered to the rat, “help me climb into the torch and tell the lion that you will first throw the torch and then get off yourself.”
The rat did just that. The lion stepped aside, and the rat threw the torch with the hare. As soon as the torch fell to the ground, the hare jumped out of it and ran away.
- Well, come down! - the lion shouted to the rat. She came down.
- Who were you with up there? - the lion asked menacingly.
“With a hare,” answered the rat.
The lion ate the rat and went to look for the hare, but could not find him anywhere.
The next day the hare called the tortoise to go with him to eat fashion.
- Whose honey is this? - asked the turtle.
“My father,” answered the hare. They went to the baobab tree, climbed up, drove away the bees and began to feast on it.
Then the lion appeared again under the baobab tree.
-Who's up there? - he shouted.
“Be quiet,” the hare whispered to the turtle.
Leo repeated his question. The turtle got scared and whispered to the hare:
“You said that this is your honey, but it turns out that the owner here is the lion himself.”
- Who are you? Answer! - the lion shouted for the third time.
- This is us! - answered the turtle.
- Come down! - ordered the lion.
“Let’s go,” said the turtle.
- Well, today I’ll catch a hare! - the lion was happy,
“Put me in the torch and tell the lion that first you will throw the torch, and then you will go down yourself,” the hare whispered to the tortoise.
“Okay,” she answered, but she herself thought: “He wants to run away and leave me to be eaten by the lion. But nothing will work out for him. The lion will eat him first!”
She took a torch, stuffed a hare into it and shouted:
- Catch the hare!
Lov caught him and grabbed him in his paws.
- Well, what should I do with you? he asked.
“If you want to eat me, then keep in mind that my meat is very tough,” answered the hare.
- How can I make it softer? - asked the lion.
“Take me by the tail and spin me, and then hit me on the ground,” answered the hare.
The lion began to twist the hare by the tail, and when he was about to beat it to the ground, the hare slipped out of his paws and ran away.
- Well, come down too! - the lion shouted to the turtle. She came down.
- What should I do with you? - asked the lion.
“Put me in the mud and three until my shell comes off,” answered the turtle.
The lion carried her to the water, laid her in the mud and rubbed her until the skin came off his paws and blood appeared. The lion began to examine his abrasions, and at that time the turtle slipped into the water.
“Well, the hare outwitted me again,” said the lion and went to look for the hare.
He asked everyone he met about him, but to no avail. Meanwhile the hare said to his wife:
- Let's change our home.
And they moved to another place.
Finally, the lion was shown the hare's new home. The lion went there, but did not find the owners of the house.
“I’ll hide here,” the lion decided. “When the hare returns, I’ll eat both him and the hare.”
Returning home with his wife, the hare noticed the tracks of a lion on the road.
“Go back,” he said to his wife, “a lion passed here, he’s looking for me.”
“I won’t come back,” answered the hare, “I won’t leave my husband in trouble.”
- Think about your parents, come back! - the hare convinced.
And the hare returned.
The hare followed the lion's tracks and saw that they led straight to his house. "Wow! There's a lion inside," he thought.
The hare walked away from the house and shouted:
- Hello, home! Hello home! Hello home! Nobody responded.
- What's the matter? - the hare said loudly. “Every day I say hello to my house, and it always answers me.” Maybe someone else got in there today?
Leo heard this and replied:
- Hello!
- Oh lion, you are inside! - exclaimed the hare. “Are you going to eat me?” But I wonder where you heard people talking at home?
- Well, wait! - the lion shouted.
And the hare started to run. The lion chased him until he was exhausted, but he never caught up.
“The hare has outwitted me again, I won’t mess with him anymore,” he decided and returned home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru