In a deep, dense forest, on the edge of the woods, several rabbit families had made their homes. In each such family there were many small, fluffy, and mischievous little rabbits. But with one old gray rabbit mother, by rabbit standards, there grew only one single son. She loved him dearly and carefully protected him from all sorts of troubles. But as the little rabbit grew older, he began to resent his mother's care. He constantly tried to run away from her and refused to listen to what his wise and experienced mother told him.
You're always following me around, always insisting that I can't do this.
The little rabbit, who considered himself grown up, complained angrily.
Well, how could it be any other way? I love you so much. There are so many dangers in the forest. Most predators dream of nothing but catching us and eating us.
Replied the wise mother rabbit.
That's all nonsense. I've lived here for so long and haven't met a single predator yet.
That's only because I've protected you from them. And if you listen to my advice, you'll soon learn to avoid predators yourself...
The rabbit mother began to say.
I don't want to, I won't.
Said the little rabbit and dashed away.
The mother rabbit tried to catch him, but how could she keep up with such a small and quick rabbit. And the little rabbit ran so fast that soon he was far from home. He had never run so far before.
Finally, freedom!!!
The foolish rabbit cried out loudly.
And suddenly he heard: "oda, oda." It was an echo, but the little rabbit didn't know that. He thought someone was talking to him.
Who's there? Come out and show yourself.
The rabbit cried out loudly again.
"Zhis, zhis..."
That's all he heard in response.
Who are you? And how dare you speak to me like that?
The little rabbit shouted even louder and arrogantly.
The echo replied "rit, rit."
The little rabbit became even more angry. And he began to shout even harder.
Come out, I said.
This noise from the little rabbit's cries was heard by a fox. She was passing by and was looking for something or someone to have for breakfast. The fox ran toward the sounds and saw a small little rabbit sitting in the middle of the forest clearing, shouting. The fox looked around and saw no one nearby. The fox thought it might be a sick rabbit, but listening to the conversation, the fox realized that the shouting little rabbit was simply stupid. After all, he was talking to an echo.
Why are you shouting?
Asked the fox.
And who are you? Were you the one talking to me?
The little rabbit asked in surprise.
Don't you know what an echo is?
The fox was surprised.
An echo?
The little rabbit asked again.
Yes. An echo is fragments of sounds that come from the forest.
So I was talking to myself?
The little rabbit asked in surprise.
Exactly.
The cunning fox said, laughing and anticipating a tasty dinner.
Who are you? Are you by any chance a predator?
The little rabbit suddenly decided to ask.
No, of course not, I eat berries and plants. What are you doing here? Where are your parents?
The fox replied.
I'm here all alone. I ran away from home. I'm already grown up, and my mother doesn't understand me at all. She's always telling me what to do. I'm tired of it.
The little rabbit said with pride in his voice.
You must be hungry?
A little.
Come visit me. I'll treat you to delicious herbs and berries. You won't go home anyway.
At that moment, the little rabbit's mother appeared in the clearing. She too had heard his cries and hurried to find her foolish son. When the mother rabbit saw that her little rabbit was talking to a fox, she was terrified. The mother rabbit jumped right onto the fox's head and covered the predator's eyes with her paws.
Run, my son. This is a fox—the most cunning predator. She'll eat you!
The mother rabbit cried out.
The little rabbit ran as fast as he could. He ran for a long time without looking back, but then, exhausted, he stopped. The little rabbit realized that his mother was in mortal danger, and he wanted to run back, but he saw his mother running toward him. She hugged her son tightly.
Forgive me, Mother. I was so foolish. All your teachings are so important. From now on, I will always, always listen to you.
The frightened little rabbit kept repeating.
I'm so glad you understood that.
The mother rabbit said, comforting her son.
They returned home. The little rabbit began to listen to his mother in everything and never ran away from her again.
