The White Hare of Inaba

The White Hare of Inaba

Long ago, when animals could still speak in human words, a white hare lived on the island of Oki.

The island was beautiful. Grass and flowers covered its slopes, and the sea murmured all around it. But the hare often came to the shore and gazed into the distance.

Beyond the water lay the land of Inaba.

“If only I could go there once,” he dreamed. “What are the fields like? What forests grow there? What does the grass taste like?”

But the hare could not swim so far, and he had no boat. Every day he simply sat beside the water and wondered about the opposite shore.

One sunny morning, a large crocodile swam nearby.

The hare immediately became alert.

“Perhaps he could help me cross,” he thought.

But instead of simply asking for help, the hare decided to use a trick.

“Mr. Crocodile!” he called. “What a beautiful day!”

The crocodile swam closer.

“It certainly is. Why are you sitting here all alone?”

“I’m admiring the sea,” said the hare. “And wondering which are more numerous in the world: hares or crocodiles?”

The crocodile laughed.

“Crocodiles, of course! You hares live on a little island, while the sea is enormous.”

“Are there really so many of you?”

“Certainly!”

The hare pretended to doubt him.

“Could you form a line all the way from Oki to the shore of Inaba?”

“Easily!” the crocodile boasted.

He dived beneath the water and soon returned with countless other crocodiles.

They lined up one after another, their backs forming a living bridge across the sea.

The hare almost jumped with delight.

“Wonderful! Now I must count you. Stay still while I walk over your backs.”

He jumped onto the first crocodile.

“One!”

Then the second.

“Two!”

Third, fourth, fifth...

The hare jumped farther and farther from his island and closer and closer to Inaba.

“Twenty-one! Twenty-two! Twenty-three!”

At last only one crocodile remained between him and the shore.

The hare sprang onto the sand and was so delighted that he forgot to be careful.

“Ha!” he cried. “I never wanted to count you at all! I only needed a way across the sea!”

The crocodiles stared at him.

They realized they had been tricked.

“So that’s why you made us stand here like a bridge?” one demanded.

“And now you laugh at us?” said another.

The hare immediately realized he had said too much.

He ran, but several crocodiles caught up. They ruffled his beautiful white fur, pulled out tufts of fluff, and left him on the shore frightened, miserable, and very sorry.

When they swam away, the hare sat on the sand.

His once fluffy white coat was a mess.

“Why did I trick them?” he whispered. “I could simply have asked for help. And worse, why did I boast after they had carried me across?”

Soon a group of young men came along the road. They were traveling to see Princess Yakami, who lived in Inaba.

One of them noticed the hare.

“What happened to you?”

The hare was ashamed to tell the whole truth and only said that he had quarreled with the crocodiles.

The man pretended to be helpful.

“Then bathe in seawater and sit in the strong wind. You’ll feel better immediately.”

The hare believed him.

He went into the salty sea and then sat in the wind. But his skin began to sting terribly, and he realized the advice had been bad.

“That’s twice today I trusted the wrong person,” he said sadly.

After a while, another young man came down the road. He carried a large bag on his back and had fallen far behind the others.

When he saw the hare, he stopped.

“Poor little fellow, you’re trembling. What happened?”

The hare was cautious.

“I already took someone’s advice,” he muttered. “It only made things worse.”

“I won’t force you to trust me,” the stranger said gently. “But if you want, tell me everything from the beginning.”

There was no mockery or anger in his voice.

So the hare gathered his courage.

This time he hid nothing. He told him about Oki, his wish to reach Inaba, the crocodile bridge, and how he had deceived those who helped him cross. He admitted his foolish boasting too.

“I really did behave badly,” he finished. “I understand that now.”

The young man nodded.

“It is good that you can admit your mistake. Now let’s help you heal.”

He pointed to a freshwater pond nearby.

“Wash the sea salt from your skin with clean water. Then find the soft kaba flowers beside the shore and gently roll in their fluffy pollen.”

The hare did exactly that.

First he bathed thoroughly in fresh water. Then he found the plants beside the pond and carefully rolled among the soft flowers.

The painful stinging faded.

Before long, soft white fur began to grow again.

The hare could hardly believe his eyes.

“It worked!”

He hurried to the kind traveler.

“Thank you! What is your name? I want to remember the person who did not laugh at me even after hearing about my mistake.”

“My name is Okuninushi-no-Mikoto,” the traveler replied.

The hare was amazed. This was no ordinary traveler, but a hero from the ancient stories of Japan.

“And the men who passed earlier?” the hare asked.

“My brothers,” said Okuninushi. “We are traveling to Princess Yakami. They hurried ahead, while I carry our belongings.”

The hare thought for a moment.

“I don’t know whom the princess will choose,” he said. “But now I know this: you do not recognize a good person by fine clothes or a loud voice. You recognize one by how they treat someone weaker who needs help.”

Okuninushi smiled and said goodbye.

The old story goes on to tell that Princess Yakami did indeed prefer the kind Okuninushi, and that the White Hare of Inaba became a famous figure in Japanese legend.

But for the hare himself, another lesson mattered more.

He had finally reached the land he had dreamed about for so long.

And along the way he had learned that cleverness may carry you one jump forward, but trust and kindness build much stronger bridges.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨