One day a rabbit named Robin hopped out of his rabbit hole. The night before, he had such a beautiful dream that he wanted to see the Emperor and talk to him about it. Robin Rabbit scampered through woods and fields but, when he came to towns, he went around them because he had heard that most people were not nice to rabbits.

After traveling for four days, Robin Rabbit realized he had lost his way and he did not know how to get directions. Squirrels would only tease him because they never knew how to find anybody. Birds know where everybody is, but there was no telling when they would give wrong directions and laugh when they saw somebody go the wrong way. Cats, dogs, and wolves would sooner eat him up then tell him how to find the Emperor. As for people, they would chase him away or even shoot him because they would assume he had come to steal the lettuce from their gardens like other ill-mannered rabbits.

Not knowing what else to do, Robin Rabbit stood in the middle of the path, lost in thought. the more he thought, the more lost in thought he became, until he was as lost in his thoughts as he was lost on the path.

"Mr. Rabbit, are you lost?"

Robin Rabbit jumped with fright, even though the tone of voice was very nice and polite. When he saw that the human being who spoke was a boy who did not have a shot gun aimed at him, he calmed down a little.

"Who are you?" Robin Rabbit asked the boy.

"My name is Stephen?"

"And why did you ask me if I am lost?"

"Because you look lost to me," Stephen replied. "You have been standing in the middle of the path, scratching your ears for the last four hours."

"Four hours? How much time is that?"

"Can't you tell time? Four hours is four hours, with sixty minutes in each hour. That's Two-hundred and forty minutes altogether."

"Sounds like a long time to be scratching my ears, no matter how itchy they are," said Robin Rabbit.

"That's what I thought," said Stephen.

"Why should you care about how lost I am?" asked Robin Rabbit.

"Because I like rabbits," said Stephen. "Since I like rabbits, I like to help them out if they need any help."

"Well, that is very nice of you. I didn't know any human beings liked rabbits. I only heard that human beings shoot us for stealing their lettuce."

"Yes, that's true. Some human beings are like that, but I'm not. And you won't have to steal anybody's lettuce if you get hungry, because I have some carrots for you."

"Why, thank you very much!" Robin Rabbit replied. I am hungry, very hungry indeed, now that I'm not so lost in thought and I can think about it."

Stephen handed the carrots over to Robin Rabbit who munched on them until they all disappeared in his mouth.

"Those carrots were delicious!" exclaimed Robin Rabbit. "Now, all I have to do is find my way."

"Where are you going, Mister Rabbit?"

"Please call me Robin Rabbit."

"Okay. Where are you going, Robin Rabbit?"

"I am looking for the Emperor. Do you know where he lives?"

"Sure," said Stephen. "He lives in a palace, on top of a hill. Why do you want to see him?"

"I had a beautiful dream and I want to tell him about it," Robin Rabbit answered.

"I wish I had a dream that I could tell the Emperor about," said Stephen, a bit sadly.

"Hmm."

Robin Rabbit scratched his ears and thought a moment.

"Maybe you don't have to have had a dream before you can go and see the Emperor," Robin Rabbit suggested. "Maybe you can go and see the Emperor if only you want to see him badly enough."

"Do you think so?" asked Stephen hopefully.

"I think so," Robin Rabbit answered. "And besides: maybe one dream is enough for the two of us."

"Do you think the Emperor would let us both see him if only one of us has had a dream to tell him about?"

"That is what I think," said Robin Rabbit. "And if you go with me, maybe I won't get lost again and I'll be able to tell him sooner."

"Of course!" cried Stephen. "The Emperor would like that! I'm sure he would! My mother and my father and my brother and my sister are always telling me that the Emperor always likes it when somebody helps somebody else out."

"Even rabbits?"

"Even rabbits."

"Then let's go," Robin Rabbit urged Stephen.

"Okay. I don't have to be home for supper until six o'clock, and my uncle told me you can get to the Emperor's palace in no time."

"So, how do we get there?"

"That's simple," answered Stephen. "We just go up the hill and then walk into the palace."

"What hill? What palace?" asked Robin Rabbit.

"Oh," said Stephen. "I forgot to tell you that we have to see the palace first. Then we can walk into it."

"Well, don't we have to get there first and then we'll see the palace?" asked Robin Rabbit.

"Yes," said Stephen.

"And so how do we get there?"

"My aunt told me that first, we have to close our eyes. Then we have to think about how badly we want to see the Emperor. Okay?"

"Okay."

So Robin Rabbit and Stephen closed their eyes. Robin Rabbit thought about his dream and Stephen wished he would have a dream worth telling the Emperor about.

"How long do we have to keep our eyes closed and think about how badly we want to see the Emperor?" asked Robin Rabbit.

"Just as long as it takes," said Stephen. "Have you done all the thinking you think you have to do?"

"Yes."

"So have I--I think. One-two-three--Open!"

Robin Rabbit and Stephen opened their eyes and saw, right in front of them, the highest hill they had ever seen and, on top of the hill, the biggest palace they had ever seen.

"Do you think that's the Emperor's palace?" asked Robin Rabbit in a whisper.

"Yes, I think it is," said Stephen, his voice shaking with excitement.

"Should we go up now?"

"Yes, I think we should go up now. If we wait too long, the hill and the palace might go to somebody else who wants it."

So Robin Rabbit and Stephen began to climb the hill together. Trees loomed over the path, and the higher they climbed, the darker the path became. After a while, the two friends were quite tired and they were huffing and puffing, but they did not stop climbing the hill. Then, as they turned a corner, a tiger jumped right in front of them and roared with its mouth wide open so that it showed Robin Rabbit and Stephen all its teeth.

"You leave my friend alone!" Stephen commanded the tiger.

But although his words were brave, Stephen stepped backwards to keep from being eaten up. Robin Rabbit jumped in front of the tiger to protect Stephen.

"You leave my friend alone!" Robin Rabbit commanded the tiger.

His words were brave, too but, while his body shook all over, he, too, hopped back to keep from being eaten up.

"I am not obligated to leave you alone," growled the tiger. "I am gibber than you are, and I have much sharper teeth than you have and I can eat you both up in twenty seconds."

"If you do that," said Stephen, "the Emperor will put you in prison and he won't let you out until you are so sorry you ate us up that you'll never eat a boy or a rabbit ever again."

"Why should the Emperor care if I eat you up?" the tiger snarled.

"Because he wants me to tell him about my dream," said Robin Rabbit, "and he wants to give Stephen a dream to tell him about because Stephen has been nice enough to help me find the Emperor's palace."

"Hmm. The Emperor didn't tell me anything about a rabbit with a dream to talk about."

"That's because I haven't had the chance to tell the Emperor about it yet," said Robin Rabbit. "If you let us pass by and walk into the palace, then the Emperor will know about my dream and he won't be mad at you for eating me up before I told him about it."

"The only trouble is that I am very hungry," said the tiger, "and if you tell the Emperor about your dream, that won't help me feel any less hungry."

"Would it be okay if I have you some food that isn't me or Robin Rabbit?" Stephen asked the tiger.

"It depends on what food it is," the tiger replied. "I hate carrots and I hate lettuce, so it won't do you any good to offer me that."

"If you're a tiger," said Stephen as he reached into his deep pocket, "then you're a cat. Right?"

"Right!"

"So, if you're a cat, you should like a can of cat food, right?"

"I'd love a can of cat food!" roared the tiger.

Stephen pulled the can of cat food out of his pocket. Then he pulled out his pocket knife and used the can opener on it to open the can of cat food while the tiger panted loudly with its tongue hanging out. Stephen placed the cat food on the side of the path and then he and Robin Rabbit walked past him while he devoured the food and grunted with satisfaction.

In no time at all, Robin Rabbit reached the palace gates. In front of the gates, there stood two guards wearing uniforms studded with jewels.

"What do you want?" one of the guards asked.

"I wish to see the Emperor," Robin Rabbit answered.

"And why should you see the Emperor?"

"Because I have had a dream and I want to tell him about it."

"And why should the Emperor care about your dream?"

That question left Robin Rabbit at a loss for words. He stood at the gate and scratched his ears as he tried to think of something to say.

"The Emperor should care about Robin Rabbit's dream," said Stephen, "because every dream that is important to a rabbit is important."

"And how do you know that?" the guard asked Stephen.

"Because every rabbit is important."

"You may pass," said the guard.

So Robin Rabbit and Stephen walked into the palace and saw the Emperor. As Robin Rabbit told the Emperor about his dream, Stephen found the dream he wished he had when he looked into the Emperor's eyes.