The Hare’s Bride

Once upon a time there was a woman and her daughter who lived in a pretty garden full of cabbages. One winter, a little hare came into the garden and ate up all the cabbages. So the mother said to her daughter, "Go into the garden and chase the hare away."

The girl went out and said to the little hare, "Shoo, hare, you are eating all our cabbages!"

The hare said, "Come, girl, sit on my little tail and come with me to my little hut."

But the girl would not.

The next day, the hare came again and ate the cabbages. The mother said, "Go and drive the hare away."

The girl said, "Shoo, little hare, you are eating all our cabbages!"

The little hare said, "Girl, sit on my little tail and come with me to my little hut."

Again the girl refused.

On the third day, the hare came and ate the cabbages. The mother said, "Go and chase that hare away!"

The maiden said, "Shoo, little hare, you are eating all our cabbages!"

But this time the little hare said, "Come, sit on my little tail and come with me to my little hut."

And the girl sat on the little hare’s tail, and the hare carried her far away to his little hut. Then he said, "Now cook green cabbage and millet-seed, and I will invite the wedding guests."

Soon all the wedding guests arrived. Who were the wedding guests? I can tell you, just as another told me. They were all hares! The crow was the priest who would marry the bride and groom, the fox was the clerk, and the altar stood under a rainbow.

But the girl was sad, for she was all alone. The little hare came and said, "Open the doors, open the doors! The wedding guests are merry."

The bride said nothing, but wept. The little hare went away.

Then the little hare came back and said, "Take off the lid, take off the lid! The wedding guests are hungry."

The bride again said nothing and wept. The little hare went away.

Then the little hare came back and said, "Take off the lid, take off the lid! The wedding guests are waiting."

The bride still said nothing, and the hare went away. But then she dressed a straw doll in her own clothes, gave it a spoon to stir with, and placed it by the pan of millet-seed. Then she hurried back to her mother.

The little hare came once more and said, "Take off the lid, take off the lid!" He reached up and struck the doll on the head so that her cap fell off.

Then the little hare saw that it was not his bride. He went away, and he was very sad.