Fear Has Big Eyes

Once upon a time, there lived a little old grandmother, a giggling granddaughter, a clucking hen, and a little mouse from a hole. Every day, they went to fetch water. The grandmother had big buckets, the granddaughter had smaller ones, the hen had a bucket the size of a cucumber, and the mouse had a thimble-sized one.

The grandmother drew water from the well, the granddaughter from the trough, the hen from a puddle, and the mouse from the imprint of a piglet's hoof. On their way back, the grandmother's water went "splash-splash-splash!" The granddaughter's went "splash! splash!" The hen's went "splash-splash! splash-splash!" And the mouse's went "splash-splash-splash! splash-splash-splash!"

One day, they went to fetch water as usual. They filled their buckets and were heading home through the garden. In the garden, there was an apple tree with apples hanging from it. Under the tree sat a little hare. A breeze blew, shook the tree, and an apple fell—plop!—right on the hare's forehead.

The hare jumped up and landed right at the feet of our water carriers.

They got so scared that they dropped their buckets and ran home. The grandmother collapsed onto the bench, the granddaughter hid behind her, the hen flew up onto the stove, and the mouse scurried under the stove. The grandmother groaned:
"Oh! A huge bear almost crushed me!"
The granddaughter cried:
"Grandma, a scary wolf almost pounced on me!"
The hen clucked from the stove:
"Cluck-cluck-cluck! A fox sneaked up on me and almost grabbed me!"
And the mouse squeaked from under the stove:
"Such a big, whiskered cat! I was so scared!"

Meanwhile, the hare ran into the forest, lay down under a bush, and thought:
"What a fright! Four hunters chased me, all with dogs! How my legs carried me away!"

As the saying goes: "Fear has big eyes: they see what isn't even there."

More fairy tales

• Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf
• Good, but Bad
• Grief
• The Soldier's Overcoat
• Ivan the Peasant's Son and the Miracle Yudo