The Clever Rabbit and the Lion

There once lived a great big lion with fuzzy brown fur and a wild mane in the jungles of India. The lion was the king of the jungle. All the other animals were scared of him because he was so big and strong.

The lion was also very lazy. He did not want to hunt for his own food like the other animals. Instead the lion ordered all the monkeys, deer, birds and small critters to bring him food.

"I am your king!" the lion would roar. "You have to bring me tasty fruits off the tallest trees, juicy deer meat, and the plumpest birds every day for my meals!"

At first all the jungle animals rushed to bring the lion food because they were afraid he would gobble them up if they didn't obey. The monkeys picked bunches of bananas, the antelope carried over dead rabbits, and the mice scurried over with seeds and nuts.

But after many days, the animals grew tired of hunting all day long just to feed the lazy lion who did no work. So they started bringing him smaller amounts of food.

When the lion saw the tiny meals, he got very angry. He smashed his paws on the ground and snarled, "Bring me double the amount of food tomorrow or I'll eat you instead!"

All the animals were sad and scared again. But a little brown rabbit came up with a clever idea to outsmart the bossy lion.

The next morning, the sneaky rabbit pretended to be sick. He lay totally still in his burrow, coughing and groaning loudly just as the lion came by looking for breakfast.

"Oh great Lion King, I cannot bring you any food today because I am too weak and ill," said the rabbit.

The lion grabbed the rabbit in his sharp claws. But the quick-thinking rabbit had a trick up his sleeve. "Oh but kind lion, you are the biggest, strongest, most powerful animal in the whole jungle. If you give just one tremendous earth-shaking roar, the force of it will turn into a giant feast fit for a lion king!"

The lion liked this idea a lot. He took a big breath, threw back his mane, and let out the loudest, most thundering ROAR he could! But no food appeared.

So the lion roared again even louder. And again. He roared till he was out of breath and could barely squeak. But still no food magically appeared.

Finally the tired, hungry lion gave up roaring and slowly slunk away with his tail between his legs. And from then on, he did not dare bother the other animals for food again.

Thanks to the little rabbit's clever idea, all the jungle animals were free from the lazy bullying lion. The small but smart rabbit had outwitted the king of the jungle himself!

Moral: Wisdom is greater than strength. With humility and cleverness, even the small can overcome the mighty.