“Animal Legend Novels for Children” Series

This series， crafted by renowned childrens animal fiction authors， is a tailor-made animal legend masterpiece for children. Through vivid and exciting stories， it showcases a vibrant， emotionally sincere animal world， allowing children to feel the touching emotions between humans and animals， comprehend the animals resilient survival instincts， understand the twists and growth of life， witness the reality of survival in nature， and gain the courage and strength to face difficulties.

Shen Shixi

Shen Shixi， a contemporary animal fiction author renowned as the “King of Animal Novels，” currently serves as a member of the Childrens Literature Committee of the China Writers Association and as a director of the Shanghai Writers Association.

Chang Xingang

Chang Xingang is a member of the China Writers Association and a professional writer at the Heilongjiang Writers Association. He has won the first and second China Writers Association National Excellent Childrens Literature Prize， the China New Era Excellent Childrens Literature Award （First Prize）， the Cross-Strait Mid-Length Youth Novel Award （First Prize）， and the Zhuang Zhongwen Literature Award. Works such as The Brilliance of a Wild Fire， The Biting Summer， Solo Boat， and Winters Tale have been translated and introduced abroad.

The first time Grandma Rabbit saw Huihui， she witnessed a scene she would never forget.

Huihui is a rabbit， a true wild rabbit.

Grandma Rabbit found Huihui while searching for acorns buried in the snow on the mountain， and it took great effort to rescue him. The scene was truly terrifying. Huihuis leg was tightly caught in a wire trap specifically for wild rabbits， nearly severed. When Grandma Rabbit found him， Huihuis tears had almost dried up， and he was crying so hard he couldnt make a sound. Grandma Rabbit could imagine Huihuis struggle to escape after being trapped， and from her experience， she knew that an animal caught in a humans wire trap had only one fate： death. Therefore， seeing the pitiful wild rabbit before her， Grandma Rabbit did not hesitate to bite the wire trap until she broke one of her teeth to free Huihui.

The rescued Huihui wanted to glance at the wire trap that had caught his leg， but Grandma Rabbit covered his eyes with her hand， saying， “Dont look at it！”

But in the end， Huihui managed to see the evil wire trap， trembling as he stared at it. The wire trap was hidden among bushes and underbrush about waist-high.

Leaning in Grandma Rabbits arms， Huihui looked up to see blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. The broken tooth was still in Grandma Rabbits mouth.

“Where are your parents？ Why did they let you run out alone？” Grandma Rabbit asked while carrying Huihui home.

Huihui blinked sadly， unable to remember how he ended up in the trapped area.

Along the way， Grandma Rabbit rested several times. Huihui didnt know where Grandma Rabbit was taking him， as he was in a semi-conscious state. At first， he felt like he was walking through a forest， then through a thicket; he tried hard to open his eyes， but his eyelids felt too heavy to lift. Later， they passed through a dark tunnel， which caused Huihui to faint again， perhaps due to exhaustion. Huihui later learned that this dark tunnel， dug by Grandma Rabbit， led to various places.

After entering her home， Grandma Rabbit spat out the broken tooth she had been holding in her mouth， dug a small hole， and buried it.

When Huihui opened his eyes， he saw a group of white rabbits surrounding him. These white rabbits had been curiously observing him for a while， even as he was unconscious. The white rabbits， with their large red eyes， couldnt understand why Grandma Rabbit had brought Huihui home. Huihui had a coat of grey fur and deep brown eyes. When he looked at others， the color of his eyes deepened， reflecting the forest behind him in his pupils.

“Grandma， is it a mountain mouse？”

“Mountain mice arent this big. Is it a wolf cub？”

“Its a goat， an ungrown goat！”

The white rabbits， chattering endlessly， discussed the strange animal lying before them.

Annoyed， Grandma Rabbit said， “Stop your nonsense！ You spend all day cooped up at home and hardly know any animals other than yourselves.”

Chastised by Grandma Rabbit， the white rabbits， realizing their guesses were far from the truth， ceased their chatter， eagerly waiting for Grandma Rabbit to tell them about the mysterious visitor.

Wanting to play a joke， Grandma Rabbit lowered her voice dramatically， speaking slowly as if telling a scary story at night： “It--is--a--leopard--cub！”

The white rabbits remembered the stories told by Grandma Rabbit： a starving leopard devouring five rabbits in one go， still licking the blood off the ground， insatiable. Its greedy appetite seemed bottomless， never satisfied， even if it devoured every living thing in the forest. Terrified， the white rabbits scurried to hide.

Grandma Rabbit said， “Look at yourselves！ You cant even detect a lie. What I said was a lie， to trick you！ I wanted to see who would be brave enough to stand in front of it despite my words， but you all ran away， quite nimbly at that.”

“Grandma tricked us？”

“Its not a meat-eating leopard？”

“Its just a homeless wild rabbit，” said Grandma Rabbit.

“A wild rabbit？！”

“This is a wild rabbit？”

“Wild rabbits have grey fur？”

Touching Huihuis nearly severed leg， Grandma Rabbit said， “Do you see？ Through him， I wanted you to understand the dangers of the outside world and learn to discern lies.”

Huihui stayed in Grandma Rabbits house. He was too weak even to turn over， and his nearly severed leg was wrapped by Grandma Rabbit with thick， thorny leaves. The crushed thorny leaves oozed a milk-like white fluid， helping the wound to clot and reduce inflammation.

Grandma Rabbit shooed the curious， nosy white rabbits out of the house， not allowing them to disturb Huihuis rest. Exhausted from blood loss， Huihui didnt even want to open his eyelids anymore.

A rabbit named Fatty Brother in the white rabbit group was chased away three times by Grandma Rabbit but stubbornly lingered at the door. Finally， she threatened， “If you keep loitering here， forget about your evening snack！” Fearing the loss of his treat， Fatty Brother quickly exclaimed， “Im going. I never said I wouldnt！” He was genuinely worried about Grandma Rabbit canceling his snack. Fatty Brother told his siblings that Grandma Rabbit had given Huihui all the special food saved for the New Year， like hazelnuts and pine nuts， and even let him sleep on her soft， big bed. “Ive only slept on Grandmas big bed once， and that was when I was sick. Usually， she wont even let me sit on it！” Fatty Brother said， feeling a bit jealous. After leaving the doorway， Fatty Brother lingered outside Grandma Rabbits window instead， sticking his nose through like an annoying wolf， sniffing the air inside with a whistling sound.

This time， Grandma Rabbit lost her patience with Fatty Brother. She picked up a hard acorn shell from the ground and threw it at the window， hitting Fatty Brother right on his sniffing nose. Fatty Brother yelped and pulled his head back in. When really angry， Grandma Rabbit wouldnt say a word but would take action instead， a method that all the rabbits feared.

Huihuis leg continued to hurt. Half-asleep， half-awake， he heard Grandma Rabbit scolding Fatty Brother but was too weak to open his eyes.

As dusk approached， Huihui finally woke up. He saw Grandma Rabbit busily preparing the next round of medicine for him.

As soon as Huihui tried to speak， his throat made a “gurgle” sound. Hearing this， Grandma Rabbit straightened up and looked at him， asking， “Youre awake？ Do you need something？”

Huihui gestured with his eyes for Grandma Rabbit to come closer. Grandma Rabbit moved closer to Huihui， bringing her ear near his mouth.

“I want to tell you， Im a wild rabbit，” Huihui said in a faint voice， clarifying his identity.

“I know youre a wild rabbit.”

“Im not the same as you.”

“Different or not， youre still a rabbit！”

“They ... seem not to like me，” Huihui said， worried.

Grandma Rabbit reassured him， “Dont worry about other things for now. Just focus on healing your leg and consider this place your home！”

Hearing Grandma Rabbits words， Huihuis anxious heart relaxed slightly. Grandma Rabbit gently closed Huihuis eyelids with her hand， saying， “Have a good dream， poor child.”

Even in his dreams， Huihuis injured leg spasmed. He woke up twice from crying in his dreams， and each time， he saw Grandma Rabbit sitting beside the bed， looking at him with compassion and muttering to herself， “That cursed wire trap！ It hurt Huihui too deeply.”

“Animal Legend Novels for Children” Series （Total Four Volumes）

Written by Shen Shixi， Chang Xingang， Gerileqimuge Heihe， and Wang Yan

Jinan Publishing House

May--July 2023

124.20 （CNY）