Oliver, the Rabbit Who Was Afraid of Brushing His Teeth

It was a sunny morning. Oliver the little bunny rabbit slowly opened his bright, blue eyes. The sun’s bright rays were tickling his nose and around him he could sense that the whole forest, where his friends lived, was waking up too. Every morning and every evening, all the animals gathered down by the stream that ran through the forest. They talked, laughed, and ate together, and when they had finished eating, they brushed their teeth. All the animal families – the rabbits, the squirrels, and even the littlest mice – looked forward to these gatherings.

Oliver, a curious little rabbit with a white fur coat, loved playing with his animal friends. But what he most certainly did NOT like was brushing his teeth. He was scared that he would brush his teeth out and then he wouldn’t be able to eat any more carrots! He did love carrots.

So last night, while the other animals were dutifully brushing their teeth, Oliver had secretly sneaked away and hidden. He had gone to sleep without brushing his teeth!

Oliver stretched, sniffed the clear morning air, and got up. He hopped down to the clearing next to the stream and, while no-one was looking, he peeked at his teeth in the reflection on the water. They looked just the same as usual, shiny and white. When his mum and dad arrived at the clearing, they didn’t notice anything either. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t know why everyone keeps forcing me to brush them,” he grumbled to himself. “Nothing happens if I don’t.”

So Oliver started skillfully avoiding brushing his teeth every morning and evening. Sometimes he would say to his mum and dad: “I'll brush them as soon as I’ve finished this…