King Darzin was still angry at El-ahrairah for tricking him into giving away all his lettuces. Now he was more determined than ever to protect his cabbages. As he ruled over the biggest and richest of the animal cities in the world, he was able to position guards around his vegetables, day and night. El-ahrairah had watched patiently as the cabbages grew and ripened. Now they were ready to be eaten, but he could see no safe way into the garden. One day, the King spotted him nearby and called out to him, "Go away, El-ahrairah, for you will not steal any of my delicious cabbages."

"Your Highness, I would not dream of doing such a thing."

"Then why are you here?"

El-ahrairah thought quickly. "I've seen something that I can't understand. I hoped you might be able to explain it."

"Well, what is it then?"

"I saw a rabbit fly."

King Darzin fixed him with a look of disbelief. "There's no such thing as a flying rabbit," he scoffed.

"But I saw it."

"Nonsense!"

"It's true."

"Impossible!"

"Would you be willing to bet your cabbages on it?"

"If I do, what will you give me when you lose?"

"I promise that no rabbit will ever enter your garden again."

The King considered the wager and agreed. "I accept, but none of your tricks now."

El-ahrairah assured him, "If you come tomorrow Ni-Frith, you will see for yourself." He then headed back to the warren in search of his stalwart friend, Rabscuttle. The two spoke for a long while before setting off together.

They soon came upon a kestrel searching for beetles in the tall grass. "What you want?" the bird asked warily, using the hedgerow vernacular common to all animals.

"I was just admiring your magnificent wings," El-ahrairah replied in awe. "I think you must be an exceptional flyer."

The bird puffed up with pleasure.

Rabscuttle whispered to El-ahrairah who repeated his words. "He said it's only because of your feathers, and even a rabbit could fly with them."

"Bunnies no have wings. They no fly."

El-ahrairah continued, "He doesn't believe you could fly either covered in fur with long ears and a tail like ours."

"I fly! I fly!" he insisted.

Again, Rabscuttle turned to his friend while the bird struggled in vain to hear. "What he say now?"

"He said he won't believe it without seeing it for himself."

The bird seemed at a loss at how to convince him.

El-ahrairah hit upon the answer. "I know how to settle this. Tomorrow Ni-Frith, we could dress you up as a rabbit, and then you could show him."

The kestrel was anxious to prove his superiority and quickly agreed to the plan. He then flew off leaving the two rabbits staring after him as he soared high above the trees. When at last he was gone from sight, they got to work hollowing out a spot in the tall grass large enough to conceal the bird. Next, they dug a shallow scrape beside it. Finally, satisfied with their efforts, they returned to their burrow and slept.

The following day when Frith had reached its highest point in the sky, El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle returned to the clearing where they had found the kestrel. The bird was waiting, hopping from one spot to another. "I come back. Show how I fly dressed like bunny."

Having remembered his trick of covering a clay rabbit in fur to fool a hungry pike, El-ahrairah began pulling tufts from his belly and attached them to the bird's body. Rabscuttle joined in, and soon the kestrel was covered in rabbit fur.

"I look like bunny?"

"Almost." The rabbits found dock leaves and cow parsley to serve in place of ears and tail.

The bird was becoming impatient. "I go now?"

"Not yet." El-ahrairah explained, "King Darzin has heard of your remarkable ability and wishes to see too."

The kestrel appeared immensely proud of that.

"I will go now and bring him here. Until then, you must stay hidden in that hollow in the ground." He indicated the small depression that he and Rabscuttle had dug the previous day. "Do not show yourself when we return or make any sound. When you feel a nudge, you will fly away faster and higher than any bird ever flew, and we will all bear witness to your great gift."

The kestrel repeated his instructions. "I wait for you to come with King. Then I fly dressed as bunny."

El-ahrairah returned alone to the warren, leaving Rabscuttle behind with the bird. In due course, King Darzin arrived wearing an expression of amusement. "So, where is this flying rabbit of yours? Perhaps he has flown away."

"No indeed, Your Highness. He is not far. I will take you there now." El-ahrairah led the King into the clearing, speaking loudly to alert Rabscuttle of their approach. "There he is now."

Rabscuttle was running in circles, occasionally leaping up high in the air. King Darzin stood transfixed at the sight when suddenly the rabbit dashed into a clump of tall grass and took flight. El-ahrairah and the King watched the fur-clad imposter climb higher in the sky, his leaf ears blown back in the breeze until only his flower tail was visible. "But that's impossible," King Darzin mumbled in disbelief. "Rabbits can't fly."

"How can you doubt your own eyes? You clearly saw a rabbit in front of you. Did you not watch it fly away?"

The King had to admit he had although he could provide no explanation for how such a thing could occur. That night, he grudgingly allowed the children of El-ahrairah into his garden where they feasted on his cabbages until none remained. The kestrel was never seen again, but King Darzin would tell the story of the flying rabbit for the rest of his days.