The Proud Rabbit

      

       Once upon a time, there was a proud rabbit. He liked to show off to other animals that he was the fastest animal in the village. He used to tease others including his best friend, the deer that they could not run as fast as he could. The deer was upset by his bad attitude.

       One day, the deer decided to challenge the rabbit by inviting him to take part in a running competition held specially for both of them. The rabbit agreed without hesitating.

       ‘I am not afraid of you! Loser!’ said the rabbit proudly. He was so confident that he would win in the competition.

       On the competition day, all the animals in the village came to watch the competition. Once the whistle was blown, both the rabbit and the deer sped off at the starting point. Both of them were running almost at the same speed for the first few minutes.

       All of a sudden, the deer accidentally stepped on a stone. He fell down and hurt his leg. As he tried to get up and run again, he realized that he could not run for the competition! Despite the pain that he felt, he was determined to walk to the ending point on his hurt leg. The rabbit noticed the difficulty faced by his friend. He was happy that the deer would not be able to compete with him anymore. He continued to run as fast as he could and left the deer very far behind him.

       After a few minutes, the rabbit realized that the deer would be too slow to take over him. The arrogance started to haunt him. He decided to take a nap under a tree nearby. Time passed by. The deer was still struggling on the tract while the rabbit was far deep in sleep. Step by step, the deer had already passed the place where the rabbit was and he was heading towards the ending point. The other animals around were shouting excitingly to give him support. The loud noise woke the rabbit from his sleep. He was extremely shocked to see the deer who was almost reaching the ending point!

       The rabbit sped off like a hungry predator, thinking that he would be able to take over the deer. Unfortunately, his effort was in vain as the deer reached the ending point. The deer was announced as the winner. All the animals were shouting in loud cheer. The rabbit was so ashamed of himself for being so proud and over-confident. He began to change his attitude after that incident. He apologized to all his friends and he never teased them again. The deer was happy that his friend had turned into a new leaf.