“One, two, three!”
And away he went like the wind.
But the Hedgehog took about three paces, then he went back, ducked down in his furrow, and stood there as comfortably as you please, and laughing as if he would split his sides.
Now, the moment the Hare came rushing up to the other end, the Hedgehog’s wife called out to him:
“Here I am already!”
The Hare was quite taken aback, for he made sure it was the Hedgehog himself who was sitting there calling to him, since, as every one knows, a hedgehog’s wife looks exactly like her husband.
“There’s something not quite right here,” said the Hare. “We must run again back to the starting-point.”
And away he flew like the wind. But the Hedgehog’s wife never moved.
When the Hare got to the other end, the Hedgehog called out:
“Here I am already!”