One day the Tiger met an Elephant on a narrow forest path and said:
- Get out of the way! I am the king of the forest!
“I recognize only the power of the Lion,” the Elephant objected angrily. – And for insulting me I will trample you to death!..
“Let’s compete then,” suggested the Tiger. - If I win, I will eat you. Well, if it’s the other way around, you me.
The elephant agreed. Then the Tiger roared so loudly that several jackals died from fear. The Elephant trumpeted behind him, but no one fell dead from this.
“Ha-ha,” laughed the Tiger, “now I will eat you, because you are defeated.”
The elephant had to admit defeat. And he asked Tiger to wait a few days to say goodbye to his family.
“So be it,” agreed the Tiger, “but in seven days, counting from today, you must definitely be here.”
The Elephant spent five whole days with his baby elephants and mother elephant, carefully teaching them how to get their own food. On the sixth day, sadly lowering his trunk, he went out to wander through the forest for the last time. The Rabbit noticed that the mighty Elephant was very sad about something, and asked him what had happened. The elephant spoke about his meeting with the Tiger.
“So, tomorrow I will have to die,” he sighed. “Nothing,” said the Rabbit cheerfully, after thinking a little. - You won't die. Wait for me here tomorrow at dawn, and I will save you without much difficulty.
The next day the Rabbit got up at dawn and called all the animals to him, except the Monkey, with whom he was at odds at that time and, of course. Tiger.
“If you would do me one favor!..” he turned to them. “We need to make a commotion in the forest.” Run and shout: The Mighty Rabbit has defeated the Elephant and is now looking for the Tiger!
“Okay, we’ll do that,” the animals readily answered. “You always help us in our misfortunes, Wise Rabbit, and we are happy to serve you.”
Then the Rabbit, taking a bunch of bananas in his paws, jumped onto the back of the Elephant. And the Elephant slowly, as the Rabbit had taught him, went to the place where he was supposed to meet the tiger. And at this time the forest was already filled with loud and alarming cries:
– The mighty Rabbit defeated the Elephant, and now he is looking for the Tiger! The mighty Rabbit is looking for the Tiger!..
Hearing these screams. The tiger became worried. He, it is true, did not really believe that the Rabbit could do any harm to the Elephant or him, and yet he wanted someone next to him who could take his side and fight if the Rabbit really wanted him, having defeated the Elephant. The Tiger explained to the animals that it was he, and not the Rabbit, who was going to eat the Elephant.
“And today,” he growled. “The elephant will come to the appointed place, and I, the mighty Tiger, will eat it.” But I'm not a glutton and if you guys come with me, I'll share it with you.
– We don’t dare! We dare not! – the animals answered in unison. “Then the Mighty Rabbit will eat us and you too!”
Having shouted these words, they ran away, still pretending to be scared to death. The monkey, who was sitting astride a branch and heard what the Tiger was saying, went down and agreed to go with him.
And so the Tiger and the Monkey headed to the appointed place. Having arrived there, they hid behind a bush and began to wait for the Elephant. And since they again heard the cries of animals about the mighty Rabbit, they became worried.
“The Tiger is treacherous,” thought the Monkey, “and if it turns out that the Rabbit is really strong, he can run away, leaving me to my fate.”
Therefore, the Monkey suggested that the Tiger tie his tails in a knot so that neither he nor she could escape when the enemy approached.
“There is strength in unity, friend Tiger,” she explained. “And we shouldn’t be separated.” We should stick together.
The tiger readily agreed, because the same thought troubled him. He thought that the Monkey might escape if the Rabbit was really so strong.
So the Tiger and the Monkey tied their tails and continued to wait. After some time, they saw an Elephant approaching them, on which a Rabbit was sitting. The sly man stuffed bananas into his mouth one after another and shouted incessantly:
- Now I’m eating the brains of the Elephant, and soon I’ll get to the Tiger! The Tiger believed that the Rabbit was eating the Elephant's brains, trembled with fear and invited the Monkey to run away before it was too late.
- Oh, you old fool! – she exclaimed in response. - But these are bananas!.. I probably know this because I eat them myself every day.
However, these words did not convince the Tiger, and then the Rabbit looked fiercely at the Monkey and shouted:
- Oh, you worthless monkey! She boasted that you would bring me a big and fat Tiger, but she herself dragged a small and skinny one.
At this point the Tiger rushed away, shouting at the Monkey:
- Traitor! Now I understand why you volunteered to come with me, why you tied my tail with yours and why you say that brains are not brains, but bananas!..
The monkey begged him to stay, but the Tiger no longer listened and rushed into the thicket, dragging it behind him; after all, their tails were tied.
But then they came across a stump and fell. The tiger immediately jumped up and ran around the stump. The monkey ran around this obstacle towards the Tiger. So their tails wound around the stump. The animals twitched as hard as they could and rushed from side to side until the knot finally broke. Then, with their bloody tails between their legs, they fled in different directions.
Since then, the Tiger and the Monkey have become sworn enemies.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru