Once upon a time not so long ago, a Little Rabbit was born in a burrow along the edge of a beautiful forest. Her mother and father cared for her diligently, and she was growing up healthy and strong.
Then one day as her parents were heading toward the burrow at the end of the day, a fox leaped from behind a tree, chased her mother down, and killed her and ate her. The Little Rabbit’s father ran as fast as he could until he got home, where he told the Little Rabbit what had happened. They were both very sad and very afraid, and the father did not leave the burrow for many days.
But they needed to eat, and so one day he left the burrow to look for food. He was very cautious and very nervous. As he was nibbling on some small green plants not more than a few steps from the entrance to the burrow, the wily fox leaped from behind a tree, chased him down and ate him right on the spot. The Little Rabbit was shaking inside the burrow because she knew what had happened. She crawled down as far as she could in the burrow, and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning the Little Rabbit awoke very hungry, but she was afraid to leave the burrow. Then suddenly, from a distance, she could hear the voices of two children who were passing through the forest on their way home. She crawled up to the entrance of the burrow and poked her nose out to sniff the air. There was no sign of the fox, so she peeked out of the burrow to see where the voices were coming from. The two children were walking right toward her burrow, but for some reason the Little Rabbit was not afraid. They looked liked such happy, gentle children.
When they got a little closer, they spied the Little Rabbit peeking out of her burrow. They walked a little closer and then sat down to wait for the Little Rabbit to come out. Finally she did.
“How are you, Little Rabbit?” they asked.
“Not very well,” replied the Little Rabbit. “My parents have been killed by an evil fox and I am all alone here in my burrow. I am afraid to come out and forage for food, and I fear that I shall starve if I don’t eat soon.”
“Well,” said the children, “why don’t you come with us? You can live at our house and we will feed you and keep you safe from all harm.”
The Little Rabbit was very happy. She trusted these children, and she said that she would love to live with them. She hopped out of her burrow and jumped into the arms of one of the children, and they took her home. They took very good care of her, and she lived with them for several years.
Then one day she decided to go into the forest to look for some food. While in the forest, she met three other rabbits, who were very excited to introduce themselves to her. They thought that she was very pretty.
“Hello, Little Rabbit,” said the first one.
“You are a very pretty rabbit,” said the second one.
“Would you like to go for a walk with us?” asked the third.
The Little Rabbit was confused, and then she blurted out, “I am not a rabbit!”
The three rabbits looked surprised, and then chuckled loudly to each other.
“If you aren’t a rabbit,” asked one of them, “then what are you?” “I am a person,” she answered angrily.
“A person!” laughed the second rabbit. They fell to the ground and began laughing hysterically.
“Do people have long ears and fur?” asked the third.
“Some of them do,” she cried. “I’ve seen them.” The tears began rolling down her face in rivulets. “I am not a rabbit!” she said again. By this time, the three rabbits realized that she was serious. They asked her where she lived and how she found food, and she told them that she lived with the other people in a house not far from where they were in the forest. Before they could ask her anymore questions, she hopped away and went home.
That night, she talked to the two children and told them what had happened. They didn’t have the heart to tell her that the three rabbits had been right. And so she went to sleep that night, secure in the reality that she was a person and not a rabbit.
The next day, she went into the forest again. Something told her that she needed to go, but wasn’t sure what it was. And so she went despite her doubts. She was in the forest for quite a long time, and a part of her was hoping to see the three rabbits again. After all, they did think that she was pretty, and they had been nice to her aside from their rude laughter. But they were nowhere to be seen. She nibbled on some fresh greens, drank from a babbling brook nearby, and then started home.
After hopping just a few yards, she stopped. Her heart began pounding, and her stomach knotted up. Her breathing became shallow, and she stood still, being very, very quiet. She smelled something ominous. “The fox! Oh, no!” She had never seen a fox, she thought. She didn’t even know what a fox was, she thought. Then how could I even say “The Fox,” she asked herself. Something strange was happening. And then she saw him. He was not more than 15 yards away, lurking behind a bush, ready to pounce on her and kill her. She was frozen with fear!
A split second before the fox leaped toward her, she spied something out of the corner of her eye. They were three rabbits, dressed in strange costumes and wielding three sharp swords with curved blades, known as scimitars.
A fourth rabbit jumped from behind a tree and shouted, “Here, take this and defend yourself!” He hurled one of the scimitars in her direction, and without thinking, she deftly caught it by the handle and reared up on her hind legs to face the fox.
The fox leaped toward her, mouth drooling and fangs bared. Her heart raced. Images of her dead parents flashed through her mind’s eye. The adrenalin coursed through her veins. The fox sailed through the air! She took one step to the side very quickly, disorienting the fox. And then with all the strength she could muster, she made the scimitar do its work. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The blade of the scimitar sliced through the air back and forth with graceful power! Whit! Whit! The tip of the blade cut into the fox enough to draw blood but not enough to kill him. Confused and frightened, the fox raced into the woods, where he could be left alone to lick his wounds.
“Three cheers for the Rabbit! Hooray for the Rabbit!” they cheered. Tears welled up in her eyes. They were tears of relief. “I am a Rabbit,” she cried, joyfully.
“Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!” cheered the other rabbits. As she turned to thank them, she was amazed at what she saw. Forty rabbits came out from behind all the trees that surrounded her. And then, a forty-first rabbit, dressed more fashionably than the rest, emerged.
“Who are you?” she asked.
The forty-first rabbit answered, “I am Ali Baba. And these are the 40 Robber Rabbits.”
“Robber Rabbits?” she asked.
“Well, not really. I mean, we don’t rob from just anybody. We help animals in the forest protect themselves from predators. The wolves and foxes called us Robber Rabbits and the name just caught on.”
“I see,” said the Brave Little Rabbit. And then she said, “I thank you for helping me to save my own life. But even more than that it has helped me to see that indeed I am a Rabbit. And I am proud to be a Rabbit!”
“Three cheers for the Brave Little Rabbit!” shouted Ali Baba and the 40 Robber Rabbits.
“And three cheers for me,” thought the Brave Little Rabbit. “Three cheers for me.”