The Hare’s Bride
Once upon a time, there was a woman and her daughter who lived in a garden where they grew cabbages. One day, a little hare came into the garden and ate all the cabbages. The mother told her daughter to go into the garden and chase the hare away.
The daughter approached the hare and said, "Shoo, little hare! You're eating all our cabbages." The hare replied, "Come, maiden, and sit on my little hare's tail. I'll take you to my little hare's hut." But the girl refused to do so.
The next day, the hare returned and ate the cabbages again. The mother told her daughter to go into the garden and drive the hare away. When the girl saw the hare, she warned him not to eat any more cabbages. The hare once again invited her to come with him to his hut on his tail, but the girl refused again.
On the third day, the hare returns and eats the cabbages again. The mother instructs her daughter to go to the garden and chase the hare away. The girl tells the hare to stop eating their cabbages. The hare then invites her to sit on his tail and come with him to his hut.
The girl agrees to sit on the little hare's tail and is taken to his hut. The hare asks her to cook green cabbage and millet-seed so that he can invite wedding guests. All the guests who arrive are hares, and the crow is present as a priest to officiate the marriage ceremony between the bride and groom, who are also hares. The fox acts as a clerk, and the altar is located under a rainbow.
The girl was feeling lonely and sad after being taken away by the little hare. The hare returns and urges her to open the doors as the wedding guests are happy and merry. But the bride remains silent and weeps. The hare goes away and returns again, asking her to remove the lid as the guests are hungry. But the bride remains silent and weeps once more. The hare leaves again and returns a third time, urging her to remove the lid as the guests are waiting. The bride still says nothing, but instead dresses up a straw-doll in her clothes and places it by the pan with the millet-seed, pretending it's her. When the little hare returns and asks to remove the lid, he sees the straw-doll and strikes it on the head, revealing it's not his bride. The little hare leaves, feeling sad.
After the prince and the princess took the king's leave, they got into the coach with eight horses, and began their journey towards the prince's kingdom, feeling extremely joyful and merry. Finally, they arrived safely at their destination and lived there for many happy years together.
