It was a cold winter’s night. It was snowing on the rooftops and on the streets. It was snowing on the forests and on the fields. The birds had taken to their nests, the badgers huddled together in their sets, and the foxes lay shivering in their dens. Somewhere, in a warm, cosy bed in a warm, cozy room in a warm, cosy house, lay a warm, cosy little girl. Beside the bed sat her father who was about to read her a story.
This is how it began:
     “Once upon a time...”
     “When was it, Daddy?” asked the little girl. She asked a lot of questions.
     “When this story began, love. Now don’t interrupt, please. Once upon a time,” he went on quickly, “in the middle of the forest, a hare bumped into a tortoise. The hare took one look at the tortoise and burst out laughing.
     ‘What a ridiculous creature you are,’ he said.