“Where are you headed, my friend?”
Appearing from nowhere, Wollu, the wolf surprised Rubby, the rabbit. Wollu’s voice was full of sarcasm. He was salivating heavily with the thought of having a rabbit for lunch.
The hungry lone wolf had spotted the fat rabbit sometime back, and had followed her stealthily. Finding the wolf in a sniffing distance and realising that he would outrun her in no time, Rubby tried her luck cracking a conversation with Wollu.
“Good morning Wollu. I am going to meet my friend Bobby. He is waiting for me at the other side of the farm. I am actually getting late. Do you mind giving me a lift?” Rubby asked in one breath.
Wollu said to himself, ‘Wow!!! Lucky day for me. Catch one; get another free.’
Rubby further said, “You run superfast. If you are going towards fields, I would be grateful if you carry me.”
“Oh, sure. It is my pleasure.” Wollu was pleased to hear his praise. He wanted very much to be called a superfast runner.
Rubby hopped onto Wollu’s back.
Carrying Rubby, Wollu ran to the other side of the farm. Rubby sat majestically holding onto the Wollu’s ears. It was a rare sight to see.
All animals and birds on the way were startled to witness this spectacle.
“What in the world! A rabbit bossing around a wolf!”, a sparrow chirped.
“The poor wolf!”, joked a monkey. “And a lucky rabbit!”, laughed another.
“A rabbit riding a wolf, now that’s going to be the talk of the town”, a duck squeaked.
‘I may be mocked by many, but who cares!’ Wollu thought. The dream of having two rabbits for lunch made him swallow the bitter pill of ridicule.
On the way, Wollu could not resist asking Rubby, “Is Bobby chubby like you?”
“Yes, he is. He is big and lazy too.” Wollu was not prepared to waste any more time. He did not speak further. Thinking about the delicious lunch he ran faster.
“Stop, stop!!” Rubby pulled back Wollu’s ears on reaching a patch of grassland.
Wollu halted abruptly. He asked Rubby in astonishment, “But, where is your friend?”
“This is my friend, Bobby Bull.” Rubby pointed to a plump bull grazing peacefully.
Before Wollu could react, Rubby jumped off and ran to the bull.
“I let you ride me on my back this far. You cannot just leave me like that.” Wollu tried chasing Rubby.
In a flash, Rubby jumped onto Bobby’s hump. Holding his horns, he said, “You may have faster legs, but I have a quicker mind.”
“How can a bull be a friend with a rabbit?” The disappointed wolf grumbled.
Bobby raised his head, “Why not?” The bull gave a fierce bellow.
The tired wolf had no other way but to leave the place having learnt a lesson of life: Obvious assumptions can go wrong at times.
As the wolf dragged himself away, the relieved rabbit teased back,
“Where are you headed, my friend?”
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