The Rabbit
Once there was a rabbit who lived in a cage in front of a house. The cage was small with just a little bit of room to explore, and some water and some food that the little person who lived inside the house would bring out. But the rabbit was happy in its little cage because the neighbors would come and visit and poke their fingers into the cage and touch his nose.
Sometimes, the little person who lived in the house or the big person who lived in the house would come outside and clean the rabbit's cage and let the rabbit out of the cage. This made the rabbit very happy. Now, the rabbit could explore the yard and eat plums that fell from the tree, or eat fresh grass that had not been trampled or cut.
But, the rabbit had to be wary when he was out of the cage. You see, the rabbit's cage wasn't there to keep him from going out, but to keep other things from coming in.
The rabbit worried about the two cats who lived in the house, but the little person and the big person were usually careful to keep the cats and the rabbit separate. But sometimes they were distracted, especially after a very little person came onto the scene.
One day, the big person brought the really little person outside and let the rabbit out of its cage. Then unbeknownst to the big person, the little person inside the house let the cats out of the house. Now, the two cats and the rabbit were fending for themselves.
The rabbit was worried. He was reasonably certain he could handle one cat but not both at the same time. And sure enough, the cats conspired: one cat was behind the rabbit and the other cat was in front of the rabbit and they were sharpening their teeth and pushing their claws out of their paws.
At an instant, the cats jumped onto the rabbit from both directions, but the rabbit quickly leapt away. But the cats were quick to respond, chasing the terrified rabbit and nipping at his fluffy tail.
With nowhere to go, the rabbit hopped desperately to the backyard where the chickens lived, hoping the cats would prefer chicken meat over rabbit meat. This worked - the cats stopped chasing the rabbit because they were overwhelmed with so many choices of prey. And then the chickens started making noises. And the noises alerted the big person and the little person, who came to the rescue.
They picked up the rabbit and put him back in the cage and closed the door. And they had a stern word or two for the cats.
The End
