There was a rabbit and a rabbitess living together in a small house in one of the forests. Days passed, and the rabbitess became pregnant. The two started building the small nest together until the rabbitess would give birth in it. A full month passed, and the rabbitess gave birth to five small rabbits. They rejoiced at the birth of their children, and they danced and sang. The rabbitess started nursing the small children every day. As for the rabbit, he would gather clover and herbs for her to eat so she could nurse her little ones.
Days passed, and while the rabbit was going to gather clover, he found another rabbit sitting alone crying. The rabbit approached him and said to him: What makes you cry, my friend? The second rabbit said with visible sadness: My wife was struck by illness and died. I have three small children who were nursing from her. I fear they will die of hunger. The first rabbit was good-hearted and loved doing good deeds.
He started thinking of a solution for his friend and after a while said: Listen, oh rabbit. My wife gave birth a few days ago. She is good-hearted. If we explain to her what happened to your wife, perhaps her heart will soften, and she will nurse your children with hers.
The second rabbit was happy and said: Come, let’s run to her then. My children feel extreme hunger, and I fear something bad might happen to them. Indeed, they went to the rabbitess and explained to her what had happened. The rabbitess was affected and started crying. She said to them: Hurry and bring the small children. Indeed, they hurried to bring the small children. The rabbitess started nursing the small children and adopted them as her children.
The small children weren’t happy with the presence of strangers among them. They said to their mother: How, oh mother, do you nurse others who share our food with us?! We don’t like them being with us. The mother said: Oh my children, their mother died, and they no longer have a mother to nurse them. What we are doing is good, and Allah will reward us for it.
Days passed, but the small children were always in conflict with their brothers. The mother wasn’t happy with this constant conflict among them. As for the blood siblings, they always played with each other, leaving the other small ones alone.
One day, the blood siblings went out to play in the forest, while the stranger brothers remained in the house. The small brothers from them stayed playing outside the house and went deep into the forest. The little ones saw a large field of clover surrounded by a fence on every side. The field had a small door. This field was a trap set up by the deceitful fox so rabbits would enter it, then he would close the door on them and eat them.
The little ones didn’t know the fox’s trick, so they entered playing and eating until the fox felt them. He ran after them, caught them, and put them in a small wooden cage to eat when he got hungry. The little ones started crying, regretting deeply leaving the house. A full day passed, and the little ones didn’t return to the house. The rabbit and rabbitess felt fear for their little ones.
The next day, the rabbitess couldn’t bear their absence, so she said to the rabbit: Come, let’s go search for our little ones. I’m afraid for them. The rabbit said: Come. He said to the rest of the little ones whose mother had died: Wait here, and don’t leave the place until we come back to you. The rabbitess and her husband the rabbit went out to search for the little ones. A long time passed, and the rabbit and rabbitess didn’t return to the house.
The little ones said: We can’t stay like this in the house while our little brothers are in danger. We must search for them. They indeed went out searching for the little ones. After hours, they found their way to the clover field. One of them said: Our brothers must be here. One of them saw the deceitful fox. One of them said: Let’s wait until night to enter. But they said: The fox will close the door on us and eat us. Another suggested making a tunnel under the ground, so if the fox saw them, they would flee to it. Everyone agreed and finished it at night. They entered and saw their sisters in the cage.
One of them suggested waiting until the fox opened the cage, then they would cut his tail and escape to the tunnel. Indeed, that happened. They took their sisters through the tunnel, and thus they all escaped from the fox’s claws. All the rabbits met in the forest, praised Allah for their survival, and thanked their stranger brothers for helping them. They all returned to the house and lived happy, loving each other with their parents, and they knew no conflict after that.