This story, dear children, may seem untrue, but it really happened, because my grandfather, who told it to me, always used to say: “It must be true, my son, otherwise no one could have told it to you.”
So listen well…
One Sunday morning, at harvest time, when the buckwheat was in bloom, the sun was shining in the sky, a warm breeze blew across the stubble, the larks sang in the air, the bees buzzed among the blossoms, the people in their Sunday clothes walked to church, and all creatures were content – even the hedgehog.
The hedgehog stood in front of his little house, hands on his hips, enjoying the fresh morning air and humming a quiet tune, the sort of song hedgehogs usually sing on a blessed Sunday morning.
As he hummed contentedly, he thought: “While my wife is bathing and drying the children, I could go to the field and see how my turnips are growing.” Since they grew right next to his house and were the main food for his family, he considered them his treasure.
No sooner thought than done.
He shut the little door behind him and set off toward the field.
He hadn’t gone far when, turning around a sloe bush at the edge of the field, he saw the hare!
The hare, too, had come out to check on his cabbages.
The hedgehog greeted him politely:
“Good morning, neighbor!”
But the hare was a proud, conceited fellow. He merely lifted his nose arrogantly and replied:
“What are you doing out here so early, you little cripple?”
The hedgehog grew angry. Not that he was quarrelsome by nature, but insults about his legs he could not bear. So he answered with pride:
“You think your legs are better than mine?”
The hare laughed and declared:
“Of course they are better! My long legs let me run much faster than you with your crooked paws!”
The hedgehog couldn’t stand it any longer and exclaimed:
“Very well, let’s make a bet! If we run a race, I will beat you!”
“What?” The hare burst out laughing even louder. “You? With those short legs? That’s ridiculous!”
But since the hare always liked some fun, he agreed:
“All right then! What shall we wager?”
The hedgehog said:
“A gold coin and a bottle of brandy.”
The hare struck his paw confidently:
“Done! Let’s start right away!”
But the hedgehog shook his head:
“Not so fast. I haven’t had breakfast yet. I’ll go home, eat something, and in half an hour we’ll meet back here.”
The hare agreed, so the hedgehog went home…
On the way, he thought:
“The hare relies on his long legs, but I will outsmart him! He may be fast, but he is foolish.”
When he got home, he called to his wife:
“My dear, quickly get dressed, you’re coming with me to the field!”
“What’s going on?” asked the hedgehog’s wife.
“I’ve made a bet with the hare. We’re going to race, and I must defeat him!”
“Heavens, husband!” she cried. “Are you out of your mind? How could you ever beat a hare?”
“Silence, wife!” replied the hedgehog. “This is men’s business! Dress yourself and come along!”
And so the poor hedgehog’s wife had to obey.
When they arrived at the field, the hedgehog explained to her:
“Listen carefully. We will run in this furrow. The hare will run in one, and I in the other. You stand at the far end of the field. When the hare reaches you, you must call out: ‘I’m already here!’”
She agreed.
Then the hedgehog climbed up the hill, where the hare was already waiting.
“Are you ready?” asked the hare mockingly.
“Of course!” answered the hedgehog.
“All right then! On three!” The hare began to count:
“One… Two… Three! Go!”
The hare shot off like the wind.
The hedgehog, however, took only a few steps, curled himself down into the furrow – and stayed where he was.
Meanwhile, at the far end, the hare arrived – only to find the hedgehog’s wife waiting there, who called out:
“I’m already here!”
The hare stopped short, eyes wide in disbelief.
“That’s impossible! We must run again!” he shouted and dashed back.
But when he reached the top of the field, there was the hedgehog himself, crying:
“I’m already here!”
The hare raged.
“Once more!” he shouted.
So he ran again… and again… and again.
Seventy-three times in total!
But every time, whether at the top or at the bottom, there was either the hedgehog or his wife calling:
“I’m already here!”
On the seventy-fourth run, however, the exhausted hare collapsed in the middle of the field.
The hedgehog, well pleased, collected the gold coin and the bottle of brandy, called his wife, and together they went home – happy and content.
And if they haven’t died, they live there still.
And since that day, no hare has ever dared to race against a hedgehog again.
Moral:
🔹 No one, no matter how great, should mock the weaker.
🔹 And when one marries, one should marry an equal – for even the hedgehog married a hedgehog wife!
