Tortoise and the Tug-of-War (Campfire Story)

Tortoise was small. But he thought he was a very important person. And he went around telling everybody, 'Elephant, and Hippopotamus, and I, we three are equals. We are Mwera. We eat at the same table.'

And people went and told Elephant. And Elephant laughed. 'Tortoise? My foot is bigger than his whole body!' And they told Hippopotamus. And Hippopotamus laughed. 'Tortoise? Ha!'

And when Tortoise heard they were laughing at him, he said, 'So! They laugh at me, do they?' And he put on his coat, and went into the forest to find Elephant.

Elephant was lying down. And Tortoise walked right up to him and said, 'MWERA! Chum! I've come to visit! Aren't you going to get up and say hello?'

Elephant stood up, very slowly. 'Tortoise. Who are you calling Mwera?'

'You!' said Tortoise. 'Now, don't get angry. Just because you're big and I'm small, you think you're stronger? Let's test it. Tomorrow morning, a tug-of-war. If one of us pulls the other over, he's the greater. If neither of us can, then we're equals. Mwera.'

'I could squash you with one foot,' said Elephant. But at last he agreed.

So Tortoise cut a long, long vine, and gave one end to Elephant. 'Here's your end. I'll take the other end off into the forest. Tomorrow, when you feel it shake, start pulling. And neither of us stops, not to eat, not to sleep, until somebody wins or the vine breaks.'

And Tortoise walked off into the forest with the other end of the vine. And he kept on walking, all the way to the river where Hippopotamus lived. And he hid the end of the vine in the bushes, and went down to the water.

'MWERA! Chum! I've come to visit!'

And Hippopotamus came roaring up out of the river with his huge mouth open. 'Who are you calling Mwera?'

'You! Now, don't get angry. Let's test it. Tomorrow morning, a tug-of-war.' And he said everything to Hippopotamus that he'd said to Elephant. And he gave Hippopotamus the other end of the vine.

And the next morning, Tortoise went to the middle of the vine, halfway between them, where nobody could see him. And he shook it. One way, and then the other.

And Elephant felt the vine shake, and pulled. TUG! And Hippopotamus felt it shake, and pulled. TUG! And the vine went tight.

TUG! TUG! Elephant pulled it a little toward the forest. Hippopotamus pulled it back toward the river. Back and forth. TUG! Neither one could win.

And Tortoise laughed to himself, and wandered off to find some mushrooms for his lunch. And he ate his fill, and had a drink, and went home, and took a nice long nap.

In the afternoon, he came back to see how they were doing. And the vine was still tight, trembling. TUG! TUG! Both of them still pulling, hungry and worn out, and neither one winning.

So Tortoise took out his knife, and cut the vine.

SNAP! And way off in the forest, Elephant fell over backwards with a crash. And way off at the river, Hippopotamus fell over backwards with a splash.

And the next morning, Tortoise went to visit Elephant, with a piece of the broken vine. Elephant was rubbing his sore leg. 'Mwera,' said Tortoise. 'How do you feel?'

'Tortoise,' said Elephant, 'I had no idea you were so strong. When the vine broke, I fell and hurt my leg. You're right. Strength isn't about how big your body is. We are equals.'

And the day after that, Tortoise went to visit Hippopotamus, who was rubbing his sore head. And Hippopotamus said the very same thing.

And from then on, whenever Tortoise said, 'Elephant, and Hippopotamus, and I are Mwera,' nobody laughed at all. MWERA!