This rabbit was born in the woods and was scared of everything. If a
branch cracked anywhere or a bird flew past or a lump of snow fell
from a tree, his rabbit heart went down, down, down into his furry
boots. Now this little rabbit was afraid for a day, for two days, for a
week, for a whole year. But when he was grown up, he just got tired of
being a scared rabbit.
"I am not afraid of anybody!" he shouted through the woods. "I am not
afraid at all! I am not afraid of anything or of anybody, and that's
all there is to it!"
One day, the rabbits gathered to listen to him. The little ones ran,
the old rabbits hobbled along to hear Long-Ear, Cock-Eye, Short-Tail's
boastings.
They listened and couldn't believe their own ears, for there never had
been anything like a rabbit, unafraid of anything or anybody before.
"Oh, you Cock-Eye," called one, "do you mean to say you aren't even
afraid of a wolf?"
"Not even a wolf, nor a fox, nor a bear. I am afraid of no one," said
Cock-Eye.
Now this was altogether too amusing. The little rabbits giggled,
covering their faces with their front paws. The kind old mother rabbits
laughed and even the wise old rabbits, who had had a taste of the paws
of the fox, and had felt the fangs of the wolf, smiled. So very funny
was this rabbit that suddenly everyone was seized with merriment. They
started jumping, tumbling, turning somersaults, and playing tag as if
they had all suddenly gone mad.
"What is the use of talking so much," finally shouted Cock-Eye, drunk
with his own boldness. "I tell you if I were to meet a wolf, I'd eat
him up myself."
"My, what a funny rabbit!" said the crowd. "And what a foolish rabbit,
too." They all knew he was funny and foolish; still they laughed at
him and jested with him about the wolf. And as they were speaking of
the wolf, the wolf stood right there listening, though they did not see
him.
The wolf was walking through the forest on his own wolfish business.
Then he grew hungry and began to think how fine it would be to have a
bit of fresh rabbit. Suddenly quite near by, he heard rabbits talking,
laughing and shouting his name. He stopped short, sniffed the air and
crept nearer and nearer. When he was very near the merry-making
rabbits, he learned that they were making sport of him, and that
Cock-Eye, Long-Ear, Short-Tail was laughing at him more than anyone
else.
"Eh, Brother! Just wait and I'll gobble you up," said the Gray Wolf to
himself, as he tried to spy out the boastful, bold rabbit.
Meanwhile, the rabbits, aware of nothing, made merry and merrier.
Finally, the boaster climbed up on the stump of a tree, sat on his hind
legs, and said,
"Hear, all ye cowards! Listen and look at me! Now I will show you some
tricks. I ... I ... I...."
The words were frozen on his lips, for just then he saw the wolf
looking, looking straight at him. The other rabbits did not see the
wolf, but Cock-Eye did and he didn't dare to breathe.
Then happened the most extraordinary thing. Through sheer fear, the
Boaster jumped up like a rubber ball, fell on the wide forehead of the
wolf, rolled over his back, turned a somersault in the air, landed on
his feet, and ran as if he were trying to run out of his skin.
Long, long did the unfortunate rabbit run. It seemed to him the wolf
was right behind him and that in another moment he would feel the
wolf's fangs. The poor limp rabbit ran on until he had no strength left
and finally he closed his eyes and fell under a bush, dead with
weariness.
[Illustration]
Meanwhile, the wolf was running in another direction. When the rabbit
fell on his forehead, the wolf thought he had been hit by a gun shot
and he ran away as fast as he could, saying to himself, "There are
plenty of other rabbits in the forest. This one seems quite crazy
anyway and not fit to eat."
Now for a long time the other rabbits did not realize what had
happened. Some ran into the bushes, some hid behind stumps, others
crawled into their holes. After a while they grew tired of hiding and
little by little, they crept out and looked around.
Then said one, "Our rabbit certainly scared that wolf. If it had not
been for him, few of us would have escaped alive. But where is he, our
Fearless One?"
And everyone began looking for him. They looked everywhere, but
Cock-Eye was nowhere to be found. They began to think the Gray Wolf had
eaten him up, when they discovered him, lying in a hole under a bush,
almost dead from fear.
"Good for you, Cock-Eye," shouted the rabbits all in one voice. "You
certainly frightened that wolf very cleverly. We thought you were
boasting all the time, when you were telling us you were not afraid of
anything or anybody."
At once the bold rabbit came to life. He crept out of the hole, shook
himself, squinted his eyes, and said:
"And what did you think, you cowards?"
And from that day, the bold rabbit was convinced that he was really not
afraid of anyone.
[Illustration]