Once upon a time, in a big, green forest, there lived many animals. There was a strong lion who was the king of the forest. But this lion was also very lazy. He didn't like to hunt for his food. So, he made a terrible plan. He called all the animals to a big meeting under an old tree.

"From now on," the lion said in a loud voice, "one animal must come to my cave every day for my lunch. If you do this, I will not hunt and kill others randomly. If nobody comes, I will be very angry and kill many of you!"

The animals were very afraid. They discussed the problem. They didn't want the lion to kill many of them, so they agreed to his plan, even though they were unhappy and sad. They made a list, and each day, one animal went to the lion's cave. This went on for some time. There were fewer animals in the forest.

One day, it was the turn of a small, white rabbit. The rabbit was small, but he had a quick brain. He didn't want to be the lion's lunch. He thought and thought and finally had an idea. He decided to go to the lion's cave very late.

The lion was waiting, and he was very angry and hungry. "Why are you so late?" he shouted when the rabbit finally arrived. His stomach was making loud noises.

The rabbit looked afraid. "Oh, King of the jungle," he cried. "I am so sorry. I started early, but another lion stopped me on the way. He said he was the new king of the forest and that I was his lunch! I told him I belonged to you, the real king of all animals. I only just got away from him!"

The lazy lion was furious. "Another king? In my forest? Impossible! Where is this other lion? Show me!"

The clever rabbit agreed. "Follow me, my king," he said. He led the angry lion across the forest to an old, deep well full of water. "He lives down there, in that hole," the rabbit whispered, pointing to the well.

The lion walked to the edge of the well and looked down. He saw his own face in the water – another lion looking back at him! He thought it was the other lion. He gave a loud roar. The 'other' lion in the water looked just as angry.

Without thinking, the lion jumped into the well to fight the other lion. He fell deep into the water and, because he couldn't swim well and the well was deep, he never came out.

The clever rabbit ran back to the other animals in the jungle and told them the good news. They were all very happy and thanked the rabbit. From that day on, the animals lived safely and happily in the forest, all thanks to a small, clever rabbit.