In an old winter forest, full of tall mighty trees, winter had arrived. Little leaves fell from the branches, the grass dried up and frost covered everything around with a blanket of snow. 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 will 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 squirrel puts on a greyish coat, it is fluffier and warmer than her usual reddish outfit. And the little 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 do not walk alone, and the foxes' fur becomes thick and dense.
A hare named Shustrik loves his winter coat very much. He is always very happy when the first frosts arrive, and as soon as the snow falls, he is the first to run off to play snowballs and build snowmen. But winter for Shustrik is not only joy from snowy drifts and crackling frosts, but also great danger.
It so happens that foxes love to hunt hares. Every day brings a chase. Shustrik always keeps his ears alert and looks around — wondering if a cunning fox is lurking 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.
The fox Lyusya does not like winter. She lives in a burrow that needs to be well insulated against the ground. Lyusya lives alone and has no friends. She is always very envious of the wolves, who travel together in winter — it is easier for them to find food. And Lyusya cannot 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 constantly sinks into the snow and expends so much energy that she often goes hungry. And it is not easy to spot a little hare in his beautiful winter coat in the white snowy forest.
It is difficult for Lyusya to keep warm in winter, especially at night, when a strong frost sets in. She retreats 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 must go into the forest again to search for food.
One day, on a particularly frosty winter day, Shustrik decided to make a place to sleep under a spreading green fir tree. He had been hopping through the forest for a long time, choosing a suitable tree. Along the snowdrifts here and there, small hare tracks were visible.
Having found a beautiful tall fir tree on the forest edge, the hare began to arrange a sleeping place. He arranged the fir branches so that 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 became so absorbed that he did not notice how the fox Lyusya had been watching him from behind a neighbouring tree for a long time.
Lyusya could not believe that she had managed to track down the little hare so easily. She reluctantly left her burrow to search for food, as the frost outside was trying to nip her nose. But suddenly, she managed to come upon a hare's track.
It did not wind through the snowdrifts as usual; she followed it, sniffing carefully, and her instinct did not deceive her — the tracks led straight to the hare, who seemed not to notice her at all. No, there could not be a better moment for the fox to grab the long-eared one and eat him! But Lyusya was not in a hurry. She watched with interest as the hare arranged his home and sang a little song:
You cold frost of mine,
Do not bite my nose!
Do not bite my ears,
I will build myself a little house.
And the fox Lyusya decided to play with the hare. She could eat him anytime, but she had not been able to talk to anyone for a long time. She waited until the hare turned away and finished his song, hid behind a tree and said:
I will eat you by your ear,
Why did you come out to the edge?
I will eat you by your nose,
Do not shed tears, little hare!
Shustrik was frightened, turned around, looked around, but saw no one. He tucked his ears back and did not know which way to run so as not to be caught. He gathered courage and decided to ask:
What is this joke at such a late hour?
Show yourself to me now!
I am not afraid of anyone,
Except for one beast...
And the fox Lyusya stood behind the tree, delighted at how cleverly she had frightened the hare, but was not in a hurry to leave her hiding place. As soon as she showed herself to the hare, he would immediately run away, and then she would have to chase him through the forest. Lyusya thought and said:
Tell me, little hare,
Why are you trembling like a coward?
And while you are hiding here,
Tell me, who are you afraid of?
The hare was confused. Shustrik could not understand where the voice speaking to him was coming from, but there was something familiar in this voice, it reminded him of someone. But he reasoned thus: if a predator is speaking to him, then for some reason it does not attack immediately, which means he needs to talk it over, and then, when it becomes clear where it is hiding, run away as fast as his legs can carry him. He answers timidly:
I am afraid of the red fox,
Clever, cunning and shameless!
She creeps up and attacks,
And leads you round her little finger!
When Lyusya heard this, she wanted to laugh even more. She liked the way the hare spoke 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,
Tell me more, little bird!
What is she like? Clever, beautiful?
Playful and mischievous?
Shustrik listened to the voice, and suddenly remembered! This was the huntress fox! Now he understood who was talking to him; it seemed 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!
I know there is none sweeter,
Among all the forest beasts.
Lyusya was delighted by such words; her cheeks turned red, and she began to wave her fluffy tail from side to side. The hare did not waste time; as soon as he saw the tip of the red tail from behind the tree, he ran off in the opposite direction from the fox — and he was gone without a trace. And the fox Lyusya was so embarrassed that she decided to stop talking and eat the hare as quickly as possible. She said as a parting shot:
I cannot help but agree!
But now it is time to eat.
Prepare yourself for wonders,
Says to you, a fox!
Having said this, Lyusya jumped out onto the edge 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 would certainly not catch him in the winter snowdrifts.
So it turned out that the long-eared one was cleverer than her; he deceived her, won her over with flattery, and disappeared. Lyusya was upset that the hare had tricked her, but there was nothing to be done; she trudged back to her burrow and went to bed hungry.
