“No,” said the mouse. “Cannot the tiger catch me?”
So Ibbity traveled to the jungle, where the tiger lives, and he said:
“Oh, Tiger, the tree threw Ibbity, the wind broke the tree, the hill is able to stop the wind, and the mouse has dug a tunnel through the hill, but you can catch the mouse. Are you not the strongest one?”
But the tiger was caught fast in a net, and he said to Ibbity:
“No, this rope is stronger than I.”
And Ibbity said to the rope:
“Oh, Rope, the tree threw Ibbity, the wind broke the tree, the hill can stop the wind, the mouse has dug a tunnel under the hill, the tiger is able to catch the mouse, but you have caught the tiger. Are you not the strongest one?”
“No,” said the rope, “for the fire burns me.”
So Ibbity ran and ran until he came to a fire, and to the fire he said:
“Oh, Fire, the tree threw Ibbity, the wind broke the tree, the hill stops the wind, the mouse tunnels the hill, the tiger catches the mouse, the rope catches the tiger, but you are able to burn the rope. Are you not the strongest one?”