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THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE HARE
A German Folk Tale
There was once a woman who lived with her little
girl in a pretty garden that had cabbages in it. A
little Hare came into the garden and ate the cab-
bages. Then the mother said to the little girl:
“Go into the garden and chase the Hare away.”
So the little girl said to the Hare:
“Shoo! Shoo! little Hare, you are eating up all
our cabbages.”
Said the Hare:
“Come, little girl, and seat thyself on my little
Hare’s tail and go with me to my little Hare’s house.”
But the little girl would not do it.
The next day the Hare came again and ate the
cabbages. Then said the mother to the little girl:
“Go into the garden and drive the Hare away.”
So the little girl said to the Hare:
“Shoo! Shoo! little Hare, you are eating all
our cabbages. You are eating all our cabbages.”
Said the Hare:
“Come, little girl, and seat thyself on my little
Hare’s tail and go with me to my little Hare’s house.”
But the little girl would not go.
The third day the Hare came again and ate the
cabbages. At this, the mother said to the little
girl as before:
“Go into the garden and drive the Hare away.”
So the little girl said to the Hare:
“Shoo! Shoo! little Hare, you are still eating all
our cabbages.”
Said the Hare:
“Come, little girl, and seat thyself on my little
Hare’s tail and go with me to my little Hare’s house.”
So the little girl seated herself on the little Hare’s
tail and then the little Hare took her far, far away
to his little Hare’s house. When he reached there,
he said:
“Now you shall stay here, and cook green cabbage
and beans for me in the pot by the fire. I will ask
some friends to come in and make merry with us.”
The guests all came together. They were Hares,
and a Crow, and a Fox, and they stood out under
the rainbow, waiting to be let in to the little Hare’s
house.
But the little girl was sad, for she wanted to see
her mother. The little Hare came to her and said:
“Open the doors! Open the doors! Our guests
are merry!”
The little girl said nothing, but she began to cry.
The little Hare went away; then the little Hare came
back again and said :
“Take off the lid of the pot! Take off the lid!
The guests are hungry!”
The little girl said nothing but went on crying.
The little Hare went away; then the little Hare came
back again and said:
“Take off the lid! Take off the lid! The guests
are waiting!”
The little girl said nothing, but when the Hare
went away again,- she made a doll out of straw,
dressed it up in her own clothes, gave it a spoon
to stir with, set it before the pot, and ran back
home to her mother!
The little Hare came once more and said:
“Take off the lid! Take off the lid!”
When the little girl did not take off the lid, the
little Hare went up to see what was the matter.
Then he poked the doll by the pot. Over it fell,
its cap rolled off, and the little Hare saw it was
nothing at all but straw! So he had to let his friends
in and feed them all by himself.
— Adapted from Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm.
