                                The Big Brag

                               By Dr. Seuss

                 The rabbit felt mighty important that day

                On top fo the hill in the sun where he lay.

                 He felt SO important up there on that hill

                That he started in braggin, as animals will

            And he boasted out loud, as he threw out his chest,

               "Of all the beasts in the world, I'm the best!

                  On land, and on sea...even up in the sky

                   No animal lives who is better than I!"

           "Whats that?" growled a voice that was terribly gruff.

                "Now why do you say such ridiculous stuff?"

               The rabbit looked down and he saw a big bear.

          "I'm best of the beasts," said the bear. "And so there!"

          "You're not!" snapped the rabbit. "I'm better than you!"

                "Pooh!" the bear snorted. "Again I say Pooh!

               You talk mighty big, Mr. Rabbit.  That's true.

              But how can you prove it? Just what can you DO?"

                      * "Hmmmm..." thought the rabbit,

                         * "Now what CAN I do...?"

               He thought and he thought. Then finally said,

              "Mr. Bear, do you see these two ears on my head?

                My ears are so keen and so sharp and so fine

             No ears in the world can hear further than mine!"

             "Humpf!" the bear grunted. He looked at each ear.

            "You say they are good," said the bear with a sneer

              "But how do I know just how far they can hear?"

           "I'll prove," said the rabbit, "my ears are the best.

            You sit there and watch me. I'll prove it by test."

          Then he stiffened his ears till they both stood up high

              And pointed straight up at the blue of the sky.

              He stretched his ears open as wide as he could.

                "Shhh! I am listening!" he said as he stood.

                he listened so hard that he started to sweat

               And the fur on his ears and forehead got wet.

              For seven long minutes he stood. Then he stirred

            And he said to the bear, "Do you know what I heard?

          Do you see that far mountain...? It's nienty miles off.

          There's a fly on that mountain. I just heard him cough!

             Now the cough of a fly, sir, is quite hard to hear

          When he's ninety miles off. But I heard it quite clear.

           So you see," bragged the rabbit, "it's perfectly true

            That my ears are the best, so I'm better than you!"

               The bear, for a moment, just sulked as he sat

         For he knew that his ears couldn't hear things like that.

             "This rabbit," he thought, "made a fool out of me.

              Now I've got to prove that I'm better than he."

              So he said to the rabbit, "You hear pretty well.

           You can hear ninety miles. But how far can you smell?

          I'm the greatest of smellers," he bragged. "See my nose?

               This nose on my face is the finest that grows.

               My nose can smell anything, both far and near.

            With my nose I can smell twice as far as you hear!"

                      "You can't!" snapped the rabbit

                         "I can!" growled the bear

             And he stuck his big nose 'way up high in the air.

            He wiggled that nose and he sniffed and he snuffed.

            He waggled that nose and he whiffed and he whuffed.

              For more than 10 minutes he snaff and he snuff.

           Then he said to the rabbit, "I've smelled far enough."

            "All right," said the rabbit. "Come on now and tell

               Exactly how far is the smell that you smell?"


            "Oh, I'm smelling a very far smell," said the bear.

               "Away past that fly on the mountain out there.

               I'm smelling past many great mountains beyond

               Six hundred miles more to the edge of a pond."

           "And 'way, 'way out there, by the pond you can't see,

                Is a very small farm. On the farm is a tree.

             On the tree is a branch. On the branch is a nest,

                A very small nest where two tiny eggs rest.

               Two hummingbird eggs! Only half an inch long!

          But my nose," said the bear, "is so wonderfully strong,

               My nose is so good that I smelled without fail

              That the egg on the left is a little bit stale!

                 And that is a thing that no rabbit can do.

            So you see," the bear boasted, "I'm better than you!

            My smeller's so keen that it just can't be beat..."

                       "What's that?" called a voice.

                         From 'way down by his feet

             The bear and the rabbit looked down at the sound,

           And they saw and old worm crawling out of the ground.

          "Now, boys," said the worm, "you've been bragging a lot.

            You both think you're great. butI think you are not.

                You're not half as good as a fellow like me.

              You hear and you smell. But how far can you SEE?

              Now, I'm here to prove to you big boasting guys

          That your nose and your ears aren't as good as my eyes!"

            And the little old worm cocked his head to one side

              And he opened his eyes and he opened them wide.

            And they looked far away with strange sort of stare.

               As if they were burning two holes in the air.

             The eyes of that worm almost popped from his head.

              He stared half an hour till his eyelids got red.

                     "That's enough!" growled the bear.

                          "Tell the rabbit and me

              How far did you look and just what did you see?"

          "Well, boys," the worm answered, "that look that I took

           Was a look that looked further thatn you'll ever look!

               I looked 'cross the ocean, 'way out to Japan.

                   For I can see further that anyone can.

           There's no one on earth who has eyesight that's finer.

              I looked pasy Japan. Then I looked across China.

              I looked across Egypt; then took a quick glance

              Across the two countries of Holland and France.

              Then I looked across England and, also, Brazil.

           But I didn't stop there. I looked much farther still.

               "And I kept right on looking and looking until

          I'd looked 'roud the world and right back to this hill!

            And I saw on this hill, since my eyesight's so keen,

              The two biggest fools that have ever been seen!

             And the fools that I saw were none other than you,

                 Who seem to have nothing else better to do

              Than sit here and argue who's better than who!"

            Then the little old worm gave his head a small jerk

            And he dived in his hole and went back to his work.
