The Giant Mushroom

Once, there was a bunny named Skippy, who lived in a burrow, with his younger brother. One day, there was no food in the burrow for their breakfast. The brother was very
hungry and began to cry. Skippy felt very sorry for him and went out to find something suitable for a meal.

He searched all through the woods, but could not find
anything fit for his brother to eat.
He was so sad about his little brother being hungry,
that he felt like crying.

“I must ask my friends for some food,” he said.
So, off he went to his friends.

 

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“My dear friends,” he said, “my little brother is crying from hunger. I looked and looked, but I could not find anything for him to eat. May I have some of your food, please?” He asked all of his friends, but no one gave him even a crumb, or a wilted carrot top.
“Oh, no!” they all cried, “We don’t have anything extra. We have food for ourselves only.”

“Oh! Please, give me some small thing.
My little brother is crying!”
Bumpy pleaded and pleaded,
but they didn’t listen.

He went away, his head down and his little bunnytail dragging.
“Oh, my poor brother must be
very hungry by now,” he wailed.
He was so sad. He sat down in the middle of the meadow and cried.
“What can I give my little brother?” he asked the buttercups.

He thought and he thought.

Then, suddenly he saw a small bud fallen on the ground.
“What is this?” He picked it up.
Oh! A dried up mushroom bud! But how can
my little brother, eat this tiny thing? He wondered.
I must try to make something out of this, he thought.

“Oh!” he cried happily. He got a good idea.
“I will try.”
He dug a little hole in the ground and planted the bud.
“Oh! Please, little bud! Please, grow up! Grow, grow, grow up quickly! My little brother is crying in hunger,”
Skippy pleaded.

The sun, who was looking down on little Skippy, felt very sad.
Oh, poor bunny! He is trying to earn food for his brother. I must help him, he thought.
And he gave lots of sunshine and
warmth for the bud to grow quickly.

The rain too, was watching Skippy and felt sorry for him. I must help this poor bunny, who is trying so hard to feed his little brother, the rain thought.

He started raining to give lots of water for the bud to grow.

The earth too, felt sorry for him.
He seems to be a very good brother. I too, must
help this poor bunny’s effort, thought the earth.
And the earth gave the mushroom bud, support
and nourishment to grow.

With the help of the sun, the rain and the earth,
the mushroom bud grew very fast.
It grew, grew and grew.
And soon, it became a very, very big mushroom.

“Oh! It’s a giant mushroom!”
Skippy skipped around in circles, he was so happy.
He ran home and brought his brother back, to see the giant mushroom.
The little brother too, was very happy.
“This is too much for us. We should call our friends to share with us. We should not eat this all alone,” said Skippy.

Even though his friends didn’t give him anything, he wanted to give them what he could. And so he called all his friends.

All of them came running.
It was too big for them, too.
They could never finish eating the giant mushroom.

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“Skippy, thank you very much for sharing this tasty
mushroom with us, even though we haven’t given you,
anything. We are very sorry about it,” they said.

“No, it’s alright. After all, we are friends,” said Skippy.

He was very happy.

And of course, he didn’t forget to thank the sun, rain, and earth, who had helped him so much.

The Giant mushroom gave food
and shelter to all of them, every day. They all lived together happily,
under the giant mushroom, forever.