The squirrel lived a carefree life. Beneath the trees in the forests below, lived a rabbit. The rabbit and the squirrel were good friends. The squirrel spent a lot of time with the rabbit.
The rabbit lived in a burrow near the tree. The squirrel would accompany the rabbit as it went across the forest in search of food.
The Rabbit moved across the grassy ground in search of food. He was extremely nervous, always on the lookout for predators for he had many enemies in the forest.
In particular, the rabbit was fearful of a fox that lived in the forest. The forest was a very wily and cunning creature. He would usually only eat the leftover meals of the other animals like the tigers, cheetahs, etc. He had long wanted to get the rabbit. He thought of the rabbit as a tasty snack.
More than once he had almost caught him. Once, the rabbit escaped just in time. The rabbit became very fearful. He greatly limited his movement and stayed close to his burrow. He no longer went for long walks with his friend, the squirrel.
The squirrel was unhappy see the sad predicament of his friend. His active and happy friend had turned depressed and sullen. The squirrel feared for his friend’s health. He was also extremely angry at the fox for terrorizing his friend this way.
The squirrel pondered over the sad situation for a long time. Suddenly, he hit upon an idea. He was pleased with himself. He had always thought of himself as clever. The next day, when he met the rabbit, the squirrel told him about the plan. “Don’t worry”, he said, “We will teach that rascal of a fox a lesson he will never forget”. The rabbit was pleased and happy that he had such a good friend like the squirrel.
They set about digging a small pit. The rabbit was good at digging with his paws. In no time, he had made a small pit about two feet deep. The squirrel then ran to his tree. At the foot of the tree he had placed a pile of thorns and some sharp sticks. He called over to the rabbit to help him.
The two friends carried the material to the pit. Then they carefully placed the thorns and the sharp sticks in the pit. They then placed a few leaves on top of it. As per the next part of the plan, the rabbit lay just besides the pit and pretended to be injured. This was a clever ruse. Every now and then the rabbit would let out screams and shrieks like an injured animal.
The fox woke up hearing the commotion. He looked up from his den and saw the rabbit. “Hee! Hee!” he laughed. “Breakfast has come to my den today”, he told himself.
Smacking his lips, he walked towards the rabbit which still continued to pretend he was hurt. As the fox came close, the rabbit grew afraid but still managed to stay just as the squirrel told him. The fox came nearer and nearer with a wicked grin on his face. As he came close enough, he pounced on the rabbit. This is what the two little animals had planned. Just as the fox launched himself in the air, the rabbit deftly moved aside. The fox landed with a thud on the bed of dry leaves the two friends had carefully constructed. The thorns hidden beneath the leaves pierced him. He yelped in pain. But he could not extricate himself from the pit.He lay there bruised and bleeding for many hours. A troop of monkeys which were passing by heard his cries. Taking pity on the fox, they pulled him out of the thorny pit. Scared and ashamed of the experience, the wily fox left the forest for good. The rabbit and his friend, the squirrel lived happily.
Children, this story teaches us not harass the weak and vulnerable people among us. We must protect those who are weak. This story also teaches us how by using our mind we can defeat adversaries who are stronger than we are.