The Foolish Timid Rabbit

Once, a highly nervous and timid rabbit was sleeping under a palm tree. He woke up with a terrifying thought: 'What will happen to me if the earth breaks apart?' Just at that exact moment, a heavy palm nut fell from the tree and landed with a loud *thud* on a dry leaf right behind him.

The rabbit jumped up in sheer terror. 'The earth is breaking apart!' he screamed, and began running as fast as he could without even looking back.

Another rabbit saw him running and asked why. 'Run for your life! The earth is breaking up!' The second rabbit started running. Soon, a hundred rabbits were running. They passed the deer, the boars, the elk, the buffalo, the rhinos, the tigers, and the elephants.

When the other animals heard the rabbits screaming that the earth was breaking apart, they all panicked and joined the stampede. A massive, blind herd of terrified animals was charging straight toward a steep cliff, ready to run off the edge to their deaths.

The Bodhisatta, who was born as a majestic Lion, saw the stampede. Knowing the earth was perfectly fine, he ran to the front of the herd and let out three deafening roars. The terrifying sound shocked the animals into stopping just before the cliff.

The Lion asked the elephants why they were running. 'The tigers know,' they said. The tigers pointed to the rhinos, who pointed to the deer, until it finally came down to the first little rabbit. The Lion took the rabbit back to the palm tree and showed him the fallen nut. The animals realized their foolishness and thanked the Lion for saving their lives.