In a big, green forest, all the animals were worried because a big, greedy lion was eating everyone up! To stop him, they came up with a plan. They promised the lion that they would send one animal each day for him to eat, so he wouldn’t need to hunt them down. The lion, thinking this was a great deal, agreed happily.
One sunny morning, it was the little rabbit’s turn to go to the lion. But instead of hurrying, he took his sweet time. When he finally arrived, the lion was pacing back and forth, his big mane bristling with anger.
“Why are you late?” the lion roared so loudly that the leaves on the trees shook a little.
“Oh, mighty lion,” said the rabbit, not a bit afraid, “on my way here, I met another lion who said he was the real king of the forest!”
“What?!” growled the lion, his eyes wide with shock.
“Yes,” continued the rabbit calmly, “he told me he was stronger and braver than you, and that he should be the king instead!”
The lion’s fur puffed up with anger. “Take me to this lion! I will show him who is the real king!”
So, off they went. The rabbit hopped ahead, leading the lion to a deep, old well. “Look inside,” the rabbit whispered, “he’s hiding down there.”
Peering into the well, the lion saw his own reflection in the water and thought it was his rival. He roared loudly, and the sound echoed back even louder. Convinced the other lion was roaring back at him, the lion jumped right into the well to confront this challenger, only to find himself splashing into cold, deep water.
The rabbit hopped away, relieved and safe. The other animals in the forest were saved too, all thanks to the rabbit’s clever trick.
And that, dear friends, is how a little rabbit taught us that sometimes, being clever is better than being mighty. So remember, use your brains, and like the little rabbit, you can solve big problems too!
