Once, a rabbit built a fantastic warren, where he lived very happily. He had designed it so well that, when a great rainstorm arrived - which flooded nearly the whole wood, and the homes of many animals - his remained untouched. Soon, one after another, the homeless animals came to his door, asking if they could spend that winter with him, in his warren. He invited each visitor in, and gradually the warren filled up until there was no room left. This discomfort didn't bother the rabbit, because he felt he was being generous.
One day in spring, when all the animals had returned to their old homes, the rabbit was hopping along so absent-mindedly that he didn't realise that a lynx was lying in wait for him. One of the animals who had spent the winter in the rabbit's warren saw this, and warned the rabbit just in time, shouting an invite to the rabbit to quickly take shelter in his home.
The lynx destroyed that home, but the rabbit managed to escape and run to hide in the home of another friend. For a whole day, the lynx followed the rabbit from burrow to burrow, from cave to cave; but the rabbit always managed to save his skin, helped all the time by the friends he had offered shelter to in the winter.
He felt enormously happy, not only for having escaped the lynx, but also at having made so many friends in the forest, thanks to his own original generosity.
Giving without expecting anything in return can often be greatly rewarded..
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