Many animals lived in the Glade of Cones, where it smelled of conifers and the most beautiful toadstools grew. Burek the bear, Uszatek the rabbit and Kitka the squirrel liked to play there the most. Every morning they met under the big, spreading pine tree and invented new and funny games. One morning Burek brought a colourful ball of leaves into the clearing. Kitty jumped off the branch and was already ready to play, Uszatek jumped up laughing. "Today we're playing ball rolling!" cried Burek and everyone started playing. Every now and then the ball rolled between their paws, sometimes falling into the soft grass, sometimes into the leaves. Once it even jumped over a root and had to be searched for. Suddenly Uszatek rolled the ball very hard and ran after it between the bushes. After a moment there was a quiet rustling sound, then silence. Burek looked at Kitka. "Where is Uszatek? After all, he always laughs the loudest!" Kitka became concerned and called out loudly: "Uszatek, where are you?" Only the echo and rustle of the leaves answered them. Teddy began to look out for his friend between the bushes. Kitty climbed the highest branch and looked all around the clearing. But Uszatek was nowhere to be seen. There was only a lost white fur paw lying on the path under a pine tree. Had the rabbit lost it when he chased the ball? Or had he gone somewhere further afield? The animals looked at each other anxiously. Burek clutched the ball tightly from the leaves, Kitka quietly climbed down from the tree. They knew they had to set off on a search. Just then something rustled in the bushes louder than usual....