Children

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The Boastful Rabbit

There once lived a rabbit
That liked to run through the grass
He never worried about being eaten
Saying, “Yeah right, I’m too fast!”
He’d hop and jump along
Boasting with every bound
Saying, “No one in the forest
can catch the fastest rabbit around!”
All of his friends would tell him
Be careful what you say
The things you speak right now
Will come back again someday
But laugh he would
“You guys are all mad!”
“You rabbits only wish
you had the speed that I have!”
Then he’d hop and skip
And yell to all the land
“You foxes come and get me,
if you think you can!”
And try they would
But they all would fail
They could never get close
To his fury little tail
And after every chase
He’d brag to all his friends
“Those foxes would give anything
just to have my skin!”
But every one else paid
For his naughty little habits
When the foxes couldn’t catch him
They’d eat the other rabbits
“We can’t take anymore of your trouble!”
They told him with a scorn
He replied, “Don’t get mad because I’m the fastest
that was ever born!”
Then far from the distance
They heard a sly voice say
“If you’re the fastest in the forest
you’ll race with me today”
The rabbit replied, “Who is that speaking?”
“And what’s in it for me?”
The fox replied, “I’m the smartest fox in all the land”
“What’s in it for you? Let’s see”
“If you beat me then my friends and I
Will never eat another rabbit
Till the day we die”
“But if you lose
You know what I’ll do”
“I’ll become the smartest and the fastest
fox that ate you!”
The rabbit’s friends pleaded with him
“You can’t trust those guys!”
“Surely you know that foxes
are all known to lie!”
of course he didn’t listen
Saying, “I’m not scared of any fox!”
“I’ll run circles around him
like he’s an old fat ox”
Then he called out to the fox
“I’ll race with you today!”
“And after I beat you
then what will you say?”
the fox replied, “I will say nothing”
“I promise you so”
“My fellow foxes and I
will just get up and go”
The rabbit’s friends made one last plea
Please listen to what we say
You will surely pay
If you race that fox today
He replied, “You rabbits are so jealous
that it is I and not you!”
“You rabbits only wish
that you could do the things I do!”
And with that he headed off
With his own boastful stride
Without a single fellow rabbit
Standing by his side
Then the fox came out from cover
With a sly grin upon his face
And said, “I see my speedy rabbit
has made it here to race”
He said, “We’ll start at the count of three
and then run side by side
to the edge of the forest trees
where the judges will decide
At the count of three they were off
The rabbit sped away
He was almost to the edge of the forest
When he saw something in his way
Four hungry foxes
Stood with their mouths open wide
The rabbit yelled, “What’s going on!”
As he tried to break his stride
He tried to turn around
And run the other way
But instead he fell, face down
As the sly fox began to say,
“You fool rabbit, I tricked you!”
“Yes it is true!”
“I am the smartest and the fastest
fox that ate you!”

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