The Elephant and the Warthog's Beauty

Originally, the Warthog was a handsome, smooth-skinned animal, while the Elephant had a tough, wrinkled hide. The Warthog was very vain. The Elephant went to him and said, "Friend Warthog, a great dance is being held by the creator, Mwari. It is a custom that one must be anointed with sacred mud before attending." The Elephant showed the Warthog a deep, muddy pool. The vain Warthog, wanting to look his best, jumped in and rolled around until he was completely covered in thick mud. "Wonderful!" said the Elephant. "Now, you must let it bake in the sun to receive the creator's blessing." The Warthog lay in the hot sun. The mud baked into a hard, cracked, and ugly shell that he could never get off. His once-beautiful skin was ruined forever. The Elephant had tricked him. The story is told to warn against vanity and to explain why the warthog has its ugly, lumpy appearance—it is the result of a trick played on its own pride.