How The Rabbit Escaped The Tiger

Barnaby the Rabbit was bouncing with excitement! Today was the Sunny Meadow Party, and he had his best carrot-patterned bow tie on. He was so busy thinking about the games and the yummy clover snacks that he didn’t even see the big, stripy Tiberius the Tiger sitting right in front of him!

Suddenly, Barnaby bumped into something furry and solid. He looked up and his ears drooped. “Uh oh,” he squeaked to himself. “Looks like this is the end of the party for me.”

But Barnaby was a clever bunny. He wiggled his nose and thought, “Wait a minute! Maybe I can play a little trick!”

He puffed out his chest and said in a loud, clear voice, “Excuse me, Mr. Tiger! I was just coming to find you! The Small Animals Association – that’s all of us little guys – we had a very important meeting!”

Tiberius the Tiger blinked his big yellow eyes. “A meeting? About what?”

Barnaby hopped closer, looking very serious. “Well, Mr. Tiger, after a lot of thinking, we all decided that you are the strongest and the most… stripey… animal we know! So, we voted! And guess what?”

Tiberius leaned closer, his tail twitching. “What?” he rumbled.

“We picked you to be our KING!” Barnaby announced proudly. “You are now the King of all the Small Animals!”

Tiberius’s eyes went wide. A king? Him? He puffed out his chest even bigger. “Me? Your king? Well, well, well! You little critters finally realized how important I am! I’m very glad you made the right choice.” He gave a big smile, showing all his teeth. “Now, don’t you worry your little cotton tails anymore! From now on, I, King Tiberius, will protect all of you from any other mean animals!”

Barnaby’s heart did a happy hop. “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!” he said, bowing his head. “You are the best king ever! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really shouldn’t be late for the royal… uh… I mean, the Sunny Meadow Party!”

And with a quick wiggle of his nose and a polite nod to the very proud King Tiberius, Barnaby hopped away as fast as he could towards the sounds of music and laughter. He made it to the party just in time for the carrot cake! He knew he was very lucky, and sometimes, a little bit of cleverness could save the day.