In an old winter forest, full of tall mighty trees, winter arrived. Little leaves fell from the branches, the grass dried up, and frost covered everything around with a snowy blanket. Only the little fir trees stood fluffy and green, dusted with snow.
In the winter forest there are its own rules. There are winter sleepers in the forest, for example, Mishka has been sleeping sweetly for a long time in a cosy and warm den, the hedgehog is also sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball in some deep snowdrift. They'll sleep like this for a very long time, until the first spring sun. There are winter fashionistas.
As soon as the snow falls, the beautiful little squirrel puts on a greyish coat, it's fluffier and warmer than her usual reddish outfit. And the hare changes his grey coat for a white one not only to keep warm, but also to make it easier to hide from forest hunters in a white snowdrift.
Winter hunters — foxes and wolves, also prepare thoroughly for the arrival of cold weather. Wolves unite in packs and don't walk alone, and the foxes' fur becomes thick and dense.
A hare named Shustrik loves his winter coat very much. He's always very happy when the first cold arrives, and as soon as the snow falls, he's the first to run off to play snowball fights and build snowmen. But for Shustrik, winter is not only joy from snowy drifts and crisp frosts, but also great danger.
It just so happens that foxes love to hunt hares. Every day brings a chase. Shustrik always keeps his ears perked up and looks around — wondering if a cunning fox is hiding behind a snowdrift. The hare has no permanent home; during the day he hops through the forest, and if he gets tired, he lies down to rest under a snowy bush.
Vixen Lyusya doesn't like winter. She lives in a burrow that needs to be well insulated against the ground. Lyusya lives alone and has no friends. She's always very jealous of the wolves, who travel together in winter — it's easier for them to find food. And Lyusya can't even always catch a small hare.
When winter turns out to be cold and snowy, it becomes especially difficult for Lyusya to chase hares through the snowdrifts; she keeps sinking into the snow and spends so much energy that she often goes hungry. And it's not easy to spot a little hare in his beautiful winter coat in the middle of a white snowy forest.
It's hard for Lyusya to keep warm in winter, especially at night when a hard frost sets in. She crawls into her burrow, curls up in a ball, just like a hedgehog, and covers herself with her big fluffy tail. And as soon as the night passes — she has to go back into the forest to search for food.
One day, on a particularly frosty winter day, Shustrik decided to make himself a sleeping place under a sprawling green fir tree. He'd been hopping through the forest for a long time, choosing a suitable tree. Along the snowdrifts here and there, little hare tracks were visible.
Finding a beautiful tall fir tree at the forest's edge, the hare began to arrange his sleeping place. He arranged the fir branches so they looked like a real roof, brought plenty of snow, and sprinkled it on top to keep the warmth in. And the long-eared one got so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice how vixen Lyusya had been watching him from behind a neighbouring tree for quite some time.
Lyusya couldn't believe she'd managed to track down the little hare so easily. She reluctantly left her burrow to search for food, because the frost outside was just waiting to nip at her nose. But suddenly, she managed to come across a hare's track.
It didn't wind through the snowdrifts as usual; she followed it, sniffing carefully, and her instinct didn't deceive her — the tracks led straight to the hare, who seemed not to notice her at all. No, there couldn't be a better moment for the fox to grab the long-eared one and eat him! But Lyusya wasn't in a hurry. She watched with interest as the hare arranged his home and sang a little song:
You cold frost of mine,
Don't bite my nose, that's fine!
Don't bite my ears,
I'll build a little house here.
And vixen Lyusya decided to play a game with the hare. She could eat him anytime, but she hadn't had anyone to talk to in ages. She waited until the hare turned away and finished his song, hid behind a tree and said:
I'll eat you by your ear,
Why did you come to the edge, my dear?
I'll eat you by your nose,
Don't waste your tears, hare, those!
Shustrik got frightened, turned around, looked all around, but saw no one. He tucked his ears back, not knowing which way to run to avoid being caught. He gathered his courage and decided to ask:
What's this joke at such a late hour?
Show yourself right now, I have the power!
I'm not afraid of anyone,
Except for one creature, that's the one...
And vixen Lyusya stood behind the tree, delighted at how well she'd frightened the hare, but wasn't in a hurry to come out of hiding. If the hare saw her, he'd immediately run away, and then she'd have to chase him through the forest. Lyusya thought about it and said:
Tell me, little hare,
Why do you tremble with such care?
And while you're hiding here,
Tell me, who do you fear?
The hare was confused. Shustrik couldn't figure out where the voice talking to him was coming from, but something about this voice seemed familiar to him; it reminded him of someone. But he reasoned this way: if this predator is talking to him, then for some reason it's not attacking right away, which means he needs to talk his way out, and then, when it becomes clear where the predator is hiding, run away as fast as he can. He answers not boldly:
I fear the reddish fox,
Clever, cunning, and shameless in her talks!
She creeps up and attacks,
Wraps you around her finger with her acts!
When Lyusya heard this, she wanted to laugh even more. She liked how the hare was talking about her; she was fond of compliments. Lyusya wanted to hear more from the hare about the cunning fox. She said to him:
About the little fox, my sister dear,
Tell me more, my little dear!
Is she smart and fair?
Playful and full of care?
Shustrik listened to the voice, and suddenly remembered! This was the huntress fox! Now he understood who was talking to him; it was funny to Shustrik that the fox was praising herself. And the long-eared one came up with a plan to escape from the fox. He said to her:
I know that the fox has,
A tail as fluffy as a queen's, alas!
I know there's none more dear,
Among all forest creatures here.
Lyusya was delighted by such words; her cheeks turned red, and she began to wave her fluffy tail from side to side. The hare didn't waste time; as soon as he saw the tip of the reddish tail from behind the tree, he ran off in the opposite direction from the fox — and his trail disappeared. And fox Lyusya was so embarrassed that she decided to stop talking and eat the hare quickly. She said as a parting shot:
I can't help but agree!
But now it's time to eat for me.
Prepare yourself for what's to come,
Says to you the fox, I'm done!
Saying this, Lyusya jumped out onto the clearing from her hiding place, ready to grab the hare, but saw only tracks going far, far away. She realised that the hare had long since escaped, and she definitely couldn't catch him through the winter snowdrifts.
So it turned out that the long-eared one was more cunning than her; he tricked her, won her over with flattery, and disappeared. Lyusya was upset that the hare had fooled her, but there was nothing to be done; she trudged back to her burrow and went to bed hungry.
