Ballad of the Lost Hare

A young hare with mischief in his bones ignores his mother's warnings and flees the burrow for the wide world beyond. At first, freedom tastes sweet, the fields stretch endlessly, adventure calls from every shadow. But each encounter (the gruff goat, the wild mustang, the furious bull) sends him running, always running, never settling, until the world that once seemed so full becomes exhausting and strange. When exhaustion finally claims him beneath a cold sky, home has vanished into memory, and the little wanderer understands too late that some departures cannot be undone. Written in 1882 verse, this quiet tale carries the gentle melancholy of an era that trusted children with bittersweet endings. It's a story about the cost of heedlessness, the ache of belonging, and the difference between escaping something and finding something worth staying for.