The Story of the Rabbit and the Hippopotamus
A rabbit, going down to the river to drink, met a hippopotamus and began to speak to him. Not far away was an elephant feeding on the trees near the bank of the river. “Come, let us try our strength,” said the rabbit to the hippopotamus, “you try to pull me into the water and I shall try to pull you to the bank, and whoever is pulled over must pay the other.” But the hippopotamus would not listen to such a proposal and laughed, saying, “Why should I waste time pulling with a creature so small as you?” But the rabbit urged him very much to have a try, so at last he consented. Then the rabbit went off to find a rope, but in passing the elephant, who was feeding quietly, he challenged him to a similar trial of strength, but this time the rabbit was to try to pull the elephant into the water. Like the hippopotamus, the elephant at first refused. But in the end he consented. So the rabbit gave him one end of the rope, saying that he would go down into the water and begin to pull. When he reached the river, however, he gave the other end of the rope to the hippopotamus, saying he would now run back and begin to pull. Then the rabbit, pretending to go to pull his end of the rope, slyly lay down in the grass and watched. Then the two great animals began to pull and tug against one another but neither could pull the other over, and all the time the rabbit lay laughing in the grass. All day the great beasts heaved and tugged at the rope. About sunset, quite worn out, they gave up the tug-of-war. The rabbit ran to the river bank where the hippopotamus was standing exhausted half out of the water with the sand all trampled round about. “Well,” said the rabbit, “how did I pull?” The poor hippopotamus had to own up that he was beaten and agreed to pay. Thereupon the rabbit ran to where the elephant still panted amidst trampled grass and brushwood, and said, “Well, how did I pull?” The elephant also had to own defeat and agreed to pay. Thus was the rabbit made rich in a single day.