Once upon a time, in the infinite land of dreams, there was an old country road that it was risky to travel. Many travelers disappeared after encountering a very tall and powerful ogre. A local legend even claimed that a magician had once fallen victim to him.

This path crossed a small village, followed the edge of a river, and then stretched far beyond the surrounding mountains.

In that village lived a man called Corky. Despite his naivety, he was often entrusted with watching over herds. Cows, goats, or sheep... he had never lost a single animal.

One day, the cleverest villagers, the greatest teasers among them, decided to test the limits of Corky’s naivety. They offered him a very special herd to watch over and feed in the mountains: a herd of holes!

- “Corky!” they said. “You, the best herdsman in the village, we will pay you twenty gold coins to lead the herd you see there!”

- “But there is nothing there!” answered Corky.

- “What! You don’t see the herd of holes? And yet it is truly there!” said the villagers, flashing bright smiles.

Corky was naive, but not stupid. Pretending perfect innocence, he decided to play along.

He became so convincing that the liars began to believe he was more mad than foolish.

Corky made the villagers believe he could see all kinds of holes: big ones, smaller ones, perfectly round ones, badly shaped ones... and so on.

To make sure he had his fun, Corky put on a sad expression. He claimed to remember one hole that had escaped into a ravine. “I could never find it again, because ravines are huge sedentary holes that like to be left alone,” he said, waving goodbye to the village as he set off along the famous Ogre Road.

A few hours later, he stopped at the foot of a green hill. Energetically, he began tearing up grass to imitate the appetite of his herd of holes. He planned to trick the villagers further by inviting them to come and witness the herd’s voracity. Often treated as the village fool, he now had a rare chance to enjoy a small revenge.

Out among the mountain grasses, Corky discovered a patch of carrots. He ate one and found it delicious.

Corky went on perfecting his trick. He was so busy at it... that he failed to notice the presence of the ogre, who looked extremely hungry.

- “What are you doing?” asked the ogre, drooling as he approached what seemed destined to become his meal.

Corky jumped. Quick-thinking and fighting back his fear, he tried to convince the ogre that his herd of holes was real.

- “I am feeding my holes. They must be fattened before the cold weather comes.”

- “But I can’t see anything! What are your holes made of?” replied the ogre.

Corky had no time to answer. He saw a freshly pulled carrot rise into the air and then vanish piece by piece. It was as though a hole were eating a carrot. Strangely, this invisible hole cast a faint shadow on the ground. Like a hole with... rabbit ears.

Corky answered with a question: “And yours? What are your holes made of? Rabbits...?”

- “Yes, they are rabbits! One day, a magician I had between my teeth turned his rabbits into holes. He did not want me to devour them. He sacrificed himself for his rabbits. Now I cannot eat them, but I keep a fond memory of that meal, because the magician was very tasty. Since I am not stupid, I feed the magical rabbits with carrots. At least, I hope that one day they will become real rabbits again.”

Corky was delighted that the ogre had so much to say. This delay gave him time to think.

- “One day I tried to eat a hole in the ground,” continued the ogre, naming the invisible rabbits. “I must confess, it was not very satisfying. You’re left with a pit in your stomach. Unless it wasn’t a real hole. Besides, I consider myself lucky that I haven’t stepped into any holes while walking around. I have to be very careful where I put my feet, because these holes are multiplying at a crazy speed. And what do you feed your holes?” asked the ogre, licking his lips.

Corky took a deep breath and pushed aside his fear of the ogre. If he had to be devoured, at least he would go down laughing. “Oh! My holes? I feed them ogres! Aren’t you afraid? It has been a long time since they last ate. They are so hungry and so thin that, despite my habit of watching over them, I can barely see them.”

The ogre burst out laughing. “Me, eaten by holes! Ha! Ha! Ha!... By those holes there? They’re so thin you can’t even see them. Why do you feed them so poorly?”

- “You know... ogres are not exactly common on the road. Have you ever eaten mocking holes?” said Corky, stuffing his pockets with carrots. “I know where you can find lots of them. Follow me!”

So the ogre followed Corky and his herd of holes, unafraid, because he feared no holes, especially not those belonging to the young man. Still, the ogre offered to bring up the rear of the herd. On the one hand, he would keep an eye on Corky. On the other, he might decide to eat the brave little man’s holes as well.

So Corky led the ogre higher and higher up the nearby mountain until they reached the edge of a deep ravine. He emptied his pockets of all the carrots he had gathered and dropped them near the ogre’s feet. The ogre noticed nothing.

The ogre knew the place well. Far below was his home, hidden in a cave.

- “Look, there is a whole family of mocking holes in there...” said Corky in a low voice. Then, in the same tone, he continued, “...there are mischievous holes hiding in the spaces. If someone shouts, the holes answer back several times, softer and softer each time. Do you know why?”

- “Because it is only an echo!” replied the ogre.

- “Yes! But the echo is made by holes standing one behind another. The last one repeats with all his strength. It is often too far away for us to hear,” said Corky.

- “That’s true, yes! The last one we hear is still shouting very loudly,” agreed the ogre, foolish and a little confused.

- “If you want proof of what I’m saying, you only have to shout the word carrot three times!”

The ogre no longer knew how to escape the trap into which his little ogre brain had stumbled. Yet he sniffed the danger... So he asked Corky to move away, afraid that the young man might try to push him. Then, with his booming voice, he shouted “carrot” only once. The echo took care of the rest...

The echo repeated the word “carrot” again and again, each time more faintly. And Corky too shouted the word carrot with all his might.

But the echo sounded like a call to the magical rabbits, who were drawn toward the carrots Corky had dropped at the ogre’s feet. So much so that the ogre staggered and fell into the void while trying to avoid the many magical rabbit-holes he could not see.

Corky cautiously approached the edge of the precipice. There he saw the ogre breathe his last at the bottom of the ravine.

At that very moment, all the rabbit-holes became real rabbits again.

Corky went down into the ogre’s cave and discovered many treasures. He returned to the road to seek out the rightful owners of those riches. He also tried to comfort the grieving families whose loved ones had vanished into the monstrous hole that had been the ogre’s stomach.

And he made them laugh by describing the surprise on the villagers’ faces when they found themselves invaded by thousands of magical rabbits.