The Singing Scoutmaster: Hare Challenges the Elephant to a Tug-of-War, The

One day, Hare was hopping through the savanna when he came across Elephant grazing by the river. Hare, always full of mischief, called out, "Hello, Elephant! You think you're so strong, don't you?"

Elephant looked down at the tiny hare and chuckled. "Of course I'm strong, little Hare. I'm the mightiest animal in the land!"

Hare grinned. "Well, I bet I can beat you in a game of tug-of-war."

Elephant laughed so hard that the ground shook. "You? Beat me in tug-of-war? You must be joking!"

"I'm serious!" Hare said, stamping his foot. "I'm so confident that I'll even give you a head start. Meet me at the big tree over there tomorrow morning, and I'll prove that I'm stronger than you!"

Amused, Elephant agreed to the challenge. The next morning, Hare tied one end of a long rope around Elephant's huge trunk and the other end around the trunk of Hippopotamus, who was lounging in the river nearby.

"Stay here, Elephant!" Hare called. "I'm going to the other side to get ready." Then, he hopped over to Hippopotamus and said, "Hey, Hippo! I bet you're not as strong as you think you are. I can beat you in a tug-of-war!"

"What? You, little Hare, beat me?" Hippopotamus snorted. "You're on!"

Hare tied the other end of the rope around Hippo's thick neck and said, "I'm going to the other side to get ready."

Then, Hare hopped into the bushes, leaving Elephant and Hippo at opposite ends of the rope. "Pull!" Hare shouted from his hiding place.

Elephant, thinking Hare was at the other end, began pulling with all his might. At the same time, Hippopotamus, believing Hare was challenging him, pulled in the opposite direction with all his strength. The rope grew taut, and both animals strained and grunted, neither gaining any ground.

"You're stronger than I thought, Hare!" Elephant called out, his feet digging deep into the ground as he struggled to pull.

"You're surprisingly strong, Hare!" Hippo grunted, his muscles rippling as he pulled harder.

For hours, the two mighty beasts pulled and tugged, each convinced they were up against the tiny Hare. Finally, exhausted and out of breath, they both gave up and let go of the rope.

Hare hopped out of the bushes, smiling triumphantly. "Well, I guess I'm the strongest of all!" he called out, laughing.

Elephant and Hippopotamus stared at each other in disbelief. They realized they had been tricked into pulling against each other, all because of the clever little Hare.

"You may be small, Hare," Elephant said with a wry smile, "but you're certainly the smartest of us all."

Hippopotamus nodded in agreement. "Strength isn't everything. Sometimes, cleverness wins the day."

From that day on, Elephant and Hippopotamus were more cautious when dealing with Hare, knowing that even the smallest creature can outsmart the mightiest of beasts.