The mysterious happenings of this story took place in a forest, when one fine day all its inhabitants suddenly fell sick. No, it was neither an epidemic of flu nor an outburst of fever. No one suffered from cough and no one complained of headache, pain in the stomach or toothache. They just lost the ability to see certain things.

The worst of it was that they stopped seeing each other. However, their condition would have been understandable if they were not able to see all the things around them. But that was not the way things were.

Rabbit, for example, stopped seeing only Wolf and Bear, but he could effortlessly spot Hedgehog. Moreover, he could see a carrot, but was unable to see a watermelon lying next to it. Can you imagine that? A big scrumptious watermelon!

Bear and Squirrel could not see a carrot, but they had no problem in spotting honey and nuts respectively. What a mess!

It all started when there was a quarrel between Rabbit and Bear. One morning Bunny was leisurely sitting in his house when an idea came to his mind: ‘Why don’t I call Bear to have food together tomorrow?’

‘“But what shall I entertain Bear to?’ Bunny hesitated for a moment. But the next second, his expression changed, ‘Carrot, of course! It’s the most delicious thing in the world!’

At noon, Bear knocked on the door of Bunny’s house.

“Who’s there?” Bunny asked.

“It is me, Bear. You’ve invited me for lunch today,” Bear cheerfully reminded his friend. Hunger pangs were already playing orchestra in his tummy.

“Come in, please. Today, we’ll have an appetising meal,” smiled Bunny, opening the door.

Bear was all happiness, expecting to be offered jars of honey as a treat. Indeed, is there anything yummier than honey? He eyed the dining table, but there were no delicacies on it. Nothing, but empty plates.

“Have a seat, Teddy,” Bunny said, gesturing to the table. The whole table was covered with dishes prepared from carrots — just carrots, carrots cut into small pieces, carrots cut into large pieces, baked and glazed carrots, etc. “Please, help yourself.

You are going to love the lunch I made for you!”

Bear took a seat, and thoughtfully scratched his head. He did not want to seem rude, but the plates were empty! “What are you going to treat me?” Bear asked suspiciously.

“What do you mean? Can’t you see what these dishes contain?”

“To be honest, I really can’t.”

“Here it is — the most delicious meal in the world!” Bunny gave his friend a puzzled look as he said this.

“Are you kidding me?” Bear snarled. With his patience exhausted, he couldn’t remain polite any more. “You invited me to lunch and set the table with empty plates. Were you going to offer me the air instead of meal?”

Now it was Bunny’s turn to take offence. “Shame on you! I’ve spent all morning preparing these dishes, putting my best to please my guest, and you say that I ridicule you. It is you who is making fun of me!”

“That is enough. I’m leaving” Bear grunted, displeased.

He left the table and disappeared. Bunny’s jaw dropped open with surprise. Probably he had never opened it so wide before.

This was an onset of the strange disease in the forest. And then the situation regressed from bad to the worst. Well, you already know the whole story.

A few days later, all the inhabitants of the forest gathered on the Green Lawn.

“It cannot continue like this,” Wolf complained. “If things don’t change, then, in a couple of days, I shall not be able to see anything, except myself.”

Though Wolf spoke loudly, his words were heard only by those few who could see and hear him. “We cannot even discuss the problem, as we do not see each other,” Squirrel voiced.

“We need to get to the reason why it happened,” sadly said Bear, who could see only honey and Hedgehog.

“Let’s go to the Owl and ask her. After all, she is the wisest,” Squirrel offered again.

“Well said, Squirrel!” Fox shouted with enthusiasm. Everyone lauded this brilliant idea.

“Dear Owl, could you explain to us why we got sick and what is the remedy from this illness?” all the animals asked in unison.

Owl was sitting on a tree branch. She scrutinised the audience gathered around her with her wise eyes, then closed them and sank into deep thought. Everyone held their breath, anxious not to disturb her. Finally, Owl opened her eyes and winked.

“Hurray! Owl’s got an answer!” the forest residents were delighted.

“Yes. I do have an answer. But first of all, I have a few questions. Is there anyone among you who is seen by everyone?”

A minute later, after a difficult consultation between animals who could not see many of their kind gathered there, it turned out that everyone could see Hedgehog.

“Excellent! Then another question,” Owl continued. “Who was the first to get infected from this strange disease?” It turned out that the first victims of the mysterious illness were Bear and Rabbit on that ill-fated lunch.

“I was suspecting it!” Owl looked triumphant. “Now it’s all clear. Usually, we perceive those things around us which we like.

For example, Bear loves honey and does not like carrots. There can be the largest and juiciest carrot near him, but as he is not interested in it, he may not even notice it. Bunny, on the other hand, will locate even a hidden carrot, because it is his favourite meal.”

“With carrots it’s understandable, but why I stopped to see Bear?” Bunny was still surprised.

“Because of the quarrel with him. He was not your friend any longer. You got angry with him and did not want to see him.

The same happened with everyone else — they have ceased to see those whom they did not like. Hedgehog is loved by everyone and so everyone can see him.”

“That means, we see only what we want to see?” Squirrel let out sadly. “Is it possible to recover from this disease?”

“Very easily. You must reconcile and start treating each other well. Once you start respecting each other, then once again Bunny will be able to see Bear and honey. And when next time he invites his friend for lunch, he will care to offer exactly what his guest loves the most — honey, but not a carrot. Do you understand?”

“Thank you, wise Owl! Thank you so much!” shouted the residents of the forest. Indeed, they understood everything.

The disease disappeared the next day and no one ever suffered from it again. All the animals reunited and often they invited each other to lunch and made all the things that their guests liked.