Meanwhile the rabbit ran down to the seashore with the other end of the rope. The whale was still there resting on the sand-bar, and thinking how great and powerful he was.
“Help! help!” cried the rabbit as soon as he was near enough for the whale to hear him.
The great creature turned, and looked at him lazily. “What is the matter, Rabbit?” he asked.
“Oh, dear good Master Whale, I am in great trouble. My cow is stuck in a marsh and no one on land is powerful enough to pull her out. But you are so strong and wonderful that it would mean nothing to you to get her out for me.”
The whale was pleased at these words, but he said, “I am quite willing to help you, but I do not see how I can do so. I cannot leave the sea nor travel on dry land.”
“No need of that,” answered the rabbit. “I have tied the other end of this rope around her horns. If you will but take hold of this end you can pull her out in a twinkling.”
The good-natured whale was very ready to do this. “I must not pull too hard,” he said, “for so great is my strength that I might not only jerk her out of the marsh but all the way into the sea so that she would be drowned.”
“Yes, you must be careful about that,” answered the rabbit, and then he ran up into the bushes where he had hidden a drum and beat it loudly.
As soon as the elephant heard the drum he began to pull on the rope. At first he did not pull hard, for he thought it was an easy task he had on hand. But the whale, holding the other end, started to swim out to sea, and the elephant found himself pulled down toward the shore. He was very much surprised, but he tightened his hold and began to use his strength.
And now it was the turn of the whale to be dragged toward the shore. “This will never do,” he thought to himself, and he beat the waters, and swam with all his might, and the elephant began to lose ground.