Boris Zakhoder: The Little Russian Hare. Printed book.

The book includes two fairy tales: "Rusachok" – about a curious little hare pondering who he should turn into when he grows up, and "The Wolf's Song" – about clever sheep who managed to outwit a wicked Wolf.

Rusachok the little hare was friends with a Tadpole. One day, the Tadpole greatly surprised Rusachok: his tail fell off, and he turned into an adult Frog. Rusachok also wanted to turn into someone when he grew up. True, his mother told him that by autumn he would turn into a big, handsome hare just like his father. The little hare decided to find out if there was some other creature he could become when he grew up anyway.

But no matter which animals or birds he met, there were always good reasons not to rush the transformation. A hunter was shooting at the capercaillie, which was dangerous and scary; the squirrel had too many chores, and he would have to hop around trees, making him dizzy; the fox was nice and pretty, but far too predatory, and he barely escaped the trickster; the mouse was too small and its ears too short; the hedgehog was too prickly; the beaver lived in the river, and it was wet there... Rusachok ran home and suddenly noticed that yellow leaves were already falling. He met his acquaintance, the little Frog, by the pond. This time, his old friend did not recognize him – that is how much Rusachok had grown. He saw his reflection in the pond and realized that he had finally become an adult hare, just like his father, and there could be nothing better than that. In short, he was perfect just the way he was.

In the fairy tale "The Wolf's Song," the main character—an old Wolf—is a villain and a bandit, and also a great lover of howling in a terrifying voice. He learned from a Fox about a flock of sheep without shepherds or dogs and decided it would be easy prey. However, the sheep turned out not to be as stupid as he thought. They said nice things to the Wolf, praised his solo singing skills, and asked him to be their lead singer—to sing with them before he ate them. The Wolf fell for the flattery and began to howl, and the whole flock of sheep started bleating, making so much noise that people and dogs immediately came running. That is how the sheep saved themselves from death.

The fairy tales were illustrated by the beloved artist Viktor Alexandrovich Chizhikov. His characters are spirited and cheerful, resourceful and kind. Even the villains do not cause fear, because evil, of course, will be punished, and the world depicted by the artist is always beautiful and wonderful.

Author: Boris Zakhoder

Illustrations: Viktor Chizhikov

Pages: 24 (offset paper). Paperback

Dimensions: 280×215 mm

Series: Thin masterpieces for the little ones