Once upon a time there lived a very timid little Rabbit who was always trembling for fear that something terrible was going to happen to him.
One day he went to sleep under a big palm-tree and, when he awoke, he shivered and shook with fright, and said, “What if the earth should fall in? What would become of me, then?”
Just at that very moment, some monkeys up in the tree dropped a big cocoanut. It fell down with a bang upon the ground.
“Oh, dear me! oh, dear me! what a terrible noise!” gasped the little Rabbit. “Oh, dear me! the earth is falling in. Where shall I run and hide?” and the little Rabbit ran bouncing away through the jungle. He never looked behind him to see what had made the noise; he just ran on and on in a panic of fear.
Another little Rabbit saw him running and called out, “Why do you run so fast—and where are you running?”
“Oh, don’t ask me, for I cannot stop to tell you,” he shrieked, as he galloped along.
The second little Rabbit ran by his side saying, “Tell me! Tell me! What is the matter!”
“Run, run!” gasped the first little Rabbit. “The earth is falling in. The earth is falling in, and I am running away.”
So the second Rabbit ran as fast as he could go.