Ebba, the First Easter Hare

By Leen Lefebre

King Stern rules over a dark empire of hares. His brother Atta leaves. Before his love Hulde gives birth to their first child, he wants to find a field of his own, bathing in light. Every day Hulde runs to the frontier, where she stands on the lookout for Atta. But then the baby arrives, too soon.

At a rapid pace, Princess Ebba grows into a smart child. Hulde notices that this curious girl resembles Atta more and more – and that is not a gift. When they discover an abandoned bird’s nest in a rabbit cave, Ebba wants to go on a trip just like her father. But, is she as brave as him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leen Lefebre
• Release date: Mar 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463822920

Leen Lefebre

Leen Lefebre grew up in West Flanders where she works at the Local Heritage Service. As a kid, she threw herself upon each book that was available. Later, she turned around and settled on the worldwide web. She then emerged as a true explorer of literature, music, and sports. Leen is a dreamer and a doer – and this is how her stories rose up as charming and lively fairy tales for adventurers of all ages.Leen Lefebre groeide in Deerlijk op, in West-Vlaanderen, waar ze werkt op de dienst Erfgoed. Ze wierp zich al erg vroeg op elk boek dat voorhanden was. Daarna wentelde en nestelde ze zich in het wereldwijde web. Literair, muzikaal en sportief ontpopte ze zich als een ware ontdekkingsreiziger. Leen is dromer én doener. Zo zijn ook al haar boeken ontstaan: verhalen voor avonturiers – jong en oud.

Book preview

EBBA

THE FIRST EASTER HARE

Mieke, this one is for you, hen.

Atta,

meaning: father

starring as Daddy

Ebba,

meaning: strength

in the lead role of Princess

Hulde,

meaning: beloved

starring as Mummy

Radius,

meaning: rays of day

starring as Queen of Runners

Sapristy,

meaning: sacred one

starring as the firstborn chick

Stern,

meaning: star by night

starring as King of Hares

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

"A child without education is like a bird without wings"

- old Tibetan proverb

Leen Lefebre

EBBA

THE FIRST EASTER HARE

BOOK SERIES FOUR SEASONS

Frede and Santa (WINTER)

Ebba, the First Easter Hare (SPRING)

Soraia, Child of the Sea (SUMMER)

Jack’s Lantern (AUTUMN)

© 2019 Leen Lefebre (epub)

© 2018 Leen Lefebre - Revised Edition

© 2017 Leen Lefebre (mobi, paperback)

© 2015 Leen Lefebre - Original title: Ebba, de eerste paashaas

All rights reserved

Cover photo © Depositphotos.com/Jan Pietruszka

Cover design © Dieter Ryckewaert & Leen Lefebre

www.leenlefebre.be

twitter.com/leen_lefebre

facebook.com/leen.lefebre

ISBN: 9780463822920 (epub)

ISBN: 9781521031339 (paperback)

ASIN: B06ZYZTJ3J (mobi)

D/2017/Leen Lefebre, uitgever

No part of this book may be translated, used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, or by any manner whatsoever, without prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 Prince Atta's departure

CHAPTER 2 Hulde and Princess Ebba

CHAPTER 3 Ebba's mission

CHAPTER 4 The soldier without a name

CHAPTER 5 Queen Radius and Sapristy

CHAPTER 6 The Promised Land

CHAPTER 1

Prince Atta’s departure

A very long time ago, in a dark field not that far away from here, there once lived a hare, who answered to the name Stern. Stern was not any ordinary hare; he was the king of all hares.

With an iron fist, King Stern ruled over the empire where it had been dark since time immemorial. Anyone, who did not listen to his orders, had to bear the consequences. Even those with blood ties to the king were not spared. His will was the law and it applied to all.

The Hare King had his own narrow ideas about everything. Even though there was no single subject in his entire empire who stood behind his decisions, they all did as he commanded.

For him, the rules were as clear as the full moon. Yes, within his territory in the dark field, you were protected and had a full belly at all times, yet no; food and lodging did not come for free. You would have to work for it, suffer hard, day and night, the whole winter.

But Stern’s empire was not a prison. One could come and go if he or she wanted. If you chose to leave it, nobody would stop you. Yet, one thing was sure: if you left, it was forever. You couldn’t return.

King Stern’s subjects soon realized that without help from within the field, they wouldn’t have much chance of survival on the distant frontier. And that thought kept them quiet.

One, however, decided to tempt fate. Atta was his given name. He was the very youngest of the king’s five brothers, but surely not the most docile hare of the empire.

Together with his love Hulde, he wanted to look for another, for a better, place far away from his brother Stern’s strict authority and dark territory. Before she gave birth to their first child, the fearless Prince wanted to find his own field, bathing in light.

You apostate! King Stern shouted.

Atta humbly bowed his head but then swiftly gathered courage. With his nose up in the air, he barked, Even though I am your little brother, I, like any hare, am entitled to hold my own territory for my wife and child.

Stern’s soul was on fire.

You dare to call yourself a brother? He raged and hit his foot, which was black as soot, against the ground.

The ground under his feet began to shake dangerously. Atta was still standing face to face with his evil brother.

As a true prince you above all should set an example, damn it! Stern bellowed. His sharp voice cut to the bone.

Prince Atta felt extremely annoyed and opened his mouth to say something, as he wanted to stand up for himself. The sharp nails of his clenched fist painfully pierced his snow-white fur.

I also have duties toward my family! he thought to himself but kept quiet. A deep and long sigh left his lips, before he decided to wisely press them back together.

He shook his head. Why on earth would I make more trouble?

Courtly calm, the Prince of Hares stared straight ahead. A battle of words was of no use. His brother was the king of this field and he would always have the last word. So it allowed him two choices: He needed to learn to live with it or had to leave.

The longer Atta thought about it, the firmer his decision became. He, his love, and their future child needed to go far, far away from here. Only then could they lead a peaceful life.

The king grumbled something incomprehensible, while his right eye shone right through Atta’s thick winter coat. The wild, swirling blood pulsed strongly in his neck. Nonetheless, he didn’t move even one leg. The calmness rippled slowly through his veins.

I know what I am entitled to, and I, above all hares, won’t return before I have found what I’m looking for, he decided with certainty.

Atta’s eyelid trembled with tension, but his mind had never been as clear as it was at that moment. I am up for the journey!

He turned away from his brother. He would not look back once while he hurried off the king’s field.

Every single day, Hulde hopped to the field’s frontier from where Atta had fled. Oh, she loved that man, who would soon rescue her and their future child from this dark, dead area, so much.

Atta was brave and she was proud of him. In a little while, they would move to their own field; their own little empire. It would be a luminous spot, where no one told their household what to do and how to behave. It was an abandoned but peaceful area, where they would live as outlaws. The thought of that created blissful feelings within her.

The future of them and their baby wobbled more than ever but it did not frighten her. In the land of dreams, Hulde collected food as a real runner and Atta protected them as a true hunter.

Every day her belly grew more but this hare never thought once of staying safely at home. In fact, you could ask her to do anything, but every single morning she first ran off to the frontier line, where she hopefully stood on the lookout for her lover.

The tempo of the pregnant hare heading for that line where the kingdom ceased to exist, became slower. First, she had run as fast as her long, strong legs could bring her. After one week, that running had turned into hopping and now it looked a lot like hobbling.

As the wheel of time rolled by, Hulde gradually lost all hope of a new, better life. When her bulging belly suddenly started to move, however, the tide turned forever. No; nothing and no one on Earth could ever thwart the happiness of this future mum. The new baby prince or princess would arrive very soon!

Wistfully, Hulde thought of her beloved man, who any time now would become a real dad. When she had first met her white prince, they had had such dreams of having their own field. In that magical place, all hares lived in peace without unreasonable rules.

Atta loved to actively reminisce about that special area, where he himself was brought up as a child. He hoped to find it, even though he had no idea where to start looking.

The current kingdom and that special field in his memories were as different as day to night. As black and dark as it was here,