Winter in the forest is always great fun! The forest creatures — little animals, birds, beetles and spiders spend their days outside playing with the fluffy snow. Little bear Sasha usually sleeps through winter. But when the winter cold retreats and you can already feel spring approaching in the air, Sasha quietly wakes up and comes out of his den to see his friends.
Sasha is a very cheerful and active little bear. He's always the first to suggest interesting games, and the other animals happily join in his schemes.
But sometimes the games that the little bear comes up with are not only fun but also dangerous. Once he suggested racing under hanging icicles, and after that, the rabbit had to stay in hospital for quite a while because an icicle fell right on his paw.
And Sasha's mum forbade him from going out and getting into mischief. But children are children, and Sasha couldn't stay home for long. The moment he was back outside, unsafe but very amusing ideas would pop into his head all on their own.
Little bear Sasha's best friends were twin rabbits Tolik and Vovik and a beautiful squirrel named Marusia. This time, the little bear decided to invite his friends to play on the ice. He gathered them near the big forest lake and said:
How about we play a crossing game? Shall we have a relay race on the ice? Whoever gets to the other end of the lake first wins!
We're in! — the young rabbits Tolik and Vovik replied in unison.
But squirrel Marusia wasn't keen on joining the dangerous game. She said to her friends:
It seems to me it's starting to warm up and the ice might not be very strong...
Are you scared? — the rabbits teased Marusia in unison.
Didn't your mum tell you it's dangerous to walk on thin ice? — Marusia said, feeling hurt.
She did tell me, she did, — answered Sasha, — but how would she know if the ice is already thin? I reckon it'll hold us just fine. Shall we check?
Why don't you go first? — said Tolik and pushed the squirrel towards the ice.
There was a crack, but nothing happened. The squirrel got frightened, squeaked, and in one leap found herself in a tree.
I'm not playing games like that! I don't want to fall through the ice! I'm going home, — she said and ran off.
For a while, none of the animals dared step on the ice. They could still hear the crack they'd heard. But little bear Sasha said:
What's wrong, little rabbits, lost your nerve? Are we playing or what? Or do you want to go home too?
I think I'll go home, — came Vovik's voice.
What do you mean? — called out Tolik as his brother rabbit was about to leave.
I don't want to fall through the ice!
Vovik, don't be silly, stay here, let's play, it'll be fun, — Sasha tried to convince his friend.
Alright, I won't go home, but I'm not going on the ice either. I'll watch from here and tell you who wins.
And so they agreed. Rabbit Tolik and little bear Sasha took their starting positions. They decided to cross the lake one at a time, there and back. And Vovik would keep time and say who was faster.
Tolik decided to go first. He approached the edge of the lake, squeezed his eyes shut, and when his brother Vovik said, "Go!", the rabbit started hopping across the ice as fast as he could. At first everything was fine. In the middle of the lake, Tolik opened his eyes and stopped being afraid that the ice would crack. But on the way back, he started to see small cracks appearing with each hop. The closer he got to the shore, the louder the cracking sound became.
Ooh! I barely made it! Sasha, you'd better not go on the ice, it nearly cracked under me! — said a frightened Tolik.
No way! You just want to win without a fight, but I won't give up that easily. Vovik, start the timer, — said the little bear as he stepped onto the ice.
Step one — a terrible crack was heard.
Step two — a huge blue crack ran across the lake.
Step three — the little bear looked around in horror and realised the ice beneath him was cracking.
Step four — and the bear fell through into the cold water!
Oh! What do we do?! — cried the young rabbits in unison.
It's cold! Help! I'm drowning! — cried the little bear, desperately trying to grab onto the slippery ice, but he couldn't manage it.
The young rabbits rushed to help their friend, but the ice started cracking under them too, so they quickly returned to the shore. And the bear kept trying to grab onto the ice.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard in the forest and shouts:
Sasha! Sashenko, little bear, hold on!
It was the little bear's mum running through the forest as fast as she could. It turned out that the squirrel had warned her that the animals were playing a dangerous game. And the mother bear hurried to the lake.
She saw her poor, miserable and freezing little bear and rushed into the icy water after him. She grabbed her son and pulled him to shore.
By that time, the rabbits had brought a warm woollen blanket and wrapped the little bear up. He spent a long time warming up at home, drinking tea with honey and mint. But even so, he ended up spending the rest of the winter in bed with a fever.
And his mum strictly forbade Sasha from playing dangerous games and scolded the young rabbits for not using their heads in time. But squirrel Marusia — well done! She saved the little bear from trouble!
