The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

A little rabbit woke up under a tall palm tree. He thought, "What if the earth should break up? What would happen to me?"

Just then, some monkeys dropped a coconut. It hit the ground with a loud THUD right behind him. "The earth is all breaking up!" he cried. He ran as fast as he could.

Another rabbit called out, "Why are you running so fast?" "The earth is all breaking up!" cried the first rabbit. So the second rabbit ran with him.

One by one, more rabbits joined them. A deer, a fox, and an elephant all ran along too. Hundreds of animals ran, all calling, "The earth is all breaking up!"

The lion heard the noise and saw the great crowd running. He thought, "There must be some mistake." He ran ahead of them and roared three times.

All the animals stopped. They knew the roar of the King of Beasts. "Why are you running?" the lion asked. "The earth is all breaking up!" they all called back.

"But who saw it?" asked the lion. Each animal said the same thing: "Not me. Someone else told me." At last the lion came to the very first rabbit.

"Little one, what did you hear?" the lion asked gently. The rabbit told him about the THUD near the palm tree. "Come," said the lion. "Ride on my back, and we will look together."

The little rabbit climbed up. They rode like the wind to the palm tree. There, the lion spotted a large coconut on the ground. "It was only a falling coconut!" the lion said warmly.

The lion carried the rabbit back to the other animals. He told them the coconut had made the sound. Everyone felt calm, and they walked home together, safe and peaceful.

The little rabbit curled up under his palm tree, warm and sleepy. One small sound had started all that running. It is brave to stop and see for yourself.