Once upon a time a hare lived in a wood. She thought that she had many friends. Among her friends were a horse, a bull, a goat, a ram and a calf.
One day the hare went out for a walk with her friends. They were very happy talking together. Suddenly barking of some dogs was heard at a distance. The dog is no friend of hare. So, she became greatly frightened when she heard the dogs. She requested the horse, saying, “Please carry me to a place of safety before the dogs come.” The horse left the place in a hurry.
Then the hare approached the bull and said, “Please drive away the dogs with your horns.” But the bull pointed to the goat and replied, “Please excuse me. I have to meet a friend soon. I am sure; the goat can easily drive away dogs. So, please ask him.”
The goat also did not agree to help her. He thought that he might hurt the hare in his fight with the dogs. So, he requested the hare to ask the ram to help her. The ram said, “Unfortunately, dogs eat sheep as well as hares. So, I do not want to lose my life in trying to help you.” Then the hare went to her last friend, the calf. The calf replied, “Our older friends did not help you. I also cannot.”
In the meantime, the dogs had come very near. So the hare had no time to lose. She decided to run away. She turned to her false friends and said, “I thought that I had many friends but really I have none.” So saying, the hare ran off as fast as possible and thus saved herself.
