Even then , for some time , the lake was very dirty , and the lion , as king of the beasts , commanded that no one should drink till it was quite clear again . But the little hare , who was fond of having his own way , and was very thirsty besides , stole quietly off when all the rest were asleep in their dens , and crept down to the margin of the lake and drank his fill . Then he smeared the dirty water all over the rabbit 's face and paws , so that it might look as if it were he who had been disobeying Big Lion 's orders . The next day , as soon as it was light , Big Lion marched straight for the lake , and all the other beasts followed him . He saw at once that the water had been troubled again , and was very angry . ` Who has been drinking my water ? ' said he ; and the little hare gave a jump , and , pointing to the rabbit , he answered , ` Look there ! it must be he ! Why , there is mud all over his face and paws ! ' The rabbit , frightened out of his wits , tried to deny the fact , exclaiming , ` Oh , no , indeed I never did ; ' but Big Lion would not listen , and commanded them to cane him with a birch rod . Now the little hare was very much pleased with his cleverness in causing the rabbit to be beaten instead of himself , and went about boasting of it . At last one of the other animals overheard him , and called out , ` Little hare , little hare ! what is that you are saying ? ' But the little hare hastily replied , ' I only asked you to pass me my stick . ' An hour or two later , thinking that no one was near him , he said to himself again , ` It was really I who drank up the water , but I made them think it was the rabbit . ' But one of the beasts whose ears were longer than the rest caught the words , and went to tell Big Lion about it . Do you hear what the little hare is saying ? ' So Big Lion sent for the little hare , and asked him what he meant by talking like that . The little hare saw that there was no use trying to hide it , so he answered pertly , ` It was I who drank the water , but I made them think it was the rabbit . ' Then he turned and ran as fast as he could , with all the other beasts pursuing him .
They were almost up XXXXX him when he dashed into a very narrow cleft in the rock , much too small for them to follow ; but in his hurry he had left one of his long ears sticking out , which they just managed to seize .
At about as besides in near over that to with