| Category: | African Legends |
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Hare loved sweet things, and there was nothing he loved more than watermelon. One day, he found a patch of watermelons growing in the middle of the savanna. As he was about to help himself, Elephant appeared and said, "This is my watermelon patch, Hare. You can't have any."
Hare, thinking quickly, said, "Oh, I don't want any watermelons, Elephant. I just want to guard them for you. I'll sit here all day and night to make sure no one steals them!"
Elephant, trusting Hare, agreed. "Fine, but make sure no one touches them."
As soon as Elephant left, Hare began munching on the juicy watermelons, one after the other. When he heard Elephant coming back, he quickly wiped his mouth and sat beside the remaining watermelons, pretending nothing had happened.
"Did you eat any watermelons, Hare?" Elephant asked suspiciously.
"Of course not!" Hare said indignantly. "But I did notice something strange. It seems some of these watermelons are making funny noises. Listen!" Hare tapped on one of the remaining watermelons, and sure enough, it made a hollow sound.
"You're right!" Elephant exclaimed. "These are bad watermelons! We should get rid of them." Hare nodded solemnly, and Elephant began to toss the watermelons away. Hare, hiding a grin, watched as the last of the evidence of his feast disappeared.
From then on, Elephant trusted Hare to guard his patch, never realizing that each time, he was being tricked into throwing away the sweetest watermelons, which Hare had already enjoyed.