Rabbit the hunter

　　"Wow! Check out the size of this!" Rabbit said,twitching his nose. He hopped into the middle of the left footprint, then took six long hops² to reach the right one.

　　"This dude is some giant" he said out loud, talkingto himself because no one else was there. The forestwas silent. He couldn't even hear a wing flap, or abear breathing.

　　"I bet that giant's hunted everything!" said Rabbitangrily. And sure enough, when he checked, therewasn't anything left to hunt.

　　Rabbit went home to his grandmother and told her he hadn't huntedanything for dinner because the giant had been to the forest first. She patted him on the head. "Don't worry dear. I've picked some berries. We can have them for dinner.""I don't want stupid berries. I want to eat something I've hunted!"Rabbit grumbled³ to himself. He didn't say it out loud because he didn'twant to hurt his grandmother's feelings.

　　The next day Rabbit got up earlier, hoping to hunt before the giantcame. No luck. Everything had gone already. "It's not fair!" criedRabbit, stamping his feet.

　　Each day Rabbit got up earlier and earlier, and each day the same thinghappened. The giant got there first.

　　Rabbit became angrier and angrier. "I will set a trap for the giant. And when I catch him, I'll shoot him with my bow and arrow." He strung anet across the track to catch anyone who walked down it. Then he wenthome to his grandmother, thinking "this will be the last night I have toeat berries for dinner. Tomorrow I'll be able to go hunting."The next morning Rabbit got up extra early and went to check on his net. "Oh no!" He wailed⁴.

　　"The giant has walked right throng⁵ it and made a bighole!" He went home and told his grandmother.

　　"Don't worry dear, have a berry" she said.

　　"I don't want any more berries" cried Rabbit "Iwant to eat something I have hunted." Then he looked at his grandmother and thought for amoment. "You know some magic. Will you make mea special net?" he pleaded.

　　"Alright. If it will make you happy." She told Rabbit to go away because the magic was secret. When he came back she gave him a net as thin as a spider's web, but stronger than any net ever made.

　　Rabbit tied it across the track inthe forest. The next morning, he got　　up extra early and rushed out into the forest. He hopped round a bend in the track and skidded⁶ to a halt. There was a blinding light comingfrom his magic net. It was so bright, he couldn't look at it for more thana second. "Oh No!" he wailed. "I've captured the SUN".

　　"Let me out of here," roared Sun in a deep load voice that shook the forest. Rabbit fell backwards⁷ onto the track, then hopped home as fastas he could to tell his grandmother.

　　"You must let Sun out of the net," said his Grandmother "Look howdark it is everywhere." "I'm scared" said Rabbit.

　　"I know" answered his grandmother, "but if you don't let Sun out of the net it will always be dark. Here's a magic knife. Go and cut the net." Rabbit hopped back into the forest.

　　"Let me out of here" roared Sun, thrashing aroundin the net with his big feet. Rabbit slowly movedforward, his little legs shaking with fright. The closerhe got, the hotter it became. Closer and hotter,closer and hotter.

　　Little legs shaking and sweatgushing from him, Rabbit shielded his eyes and reached up to cut the net with the magic knifeSun struggled free then jumped upwards⁸. One of his big feet kicked Rabbit on the shoulders, almost knocking him over. The sky filled with light again and all the animals cried out in happiness.

　　Rabbit looked at his sore shoulders. They were scorched⁹ brown with the heat from Sun's foot - and they are still brown to this day.

　　The End

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