The Hare and the Elephant's Tusks

The Hare went to the Elephant and said, "O Great Elephant, your tusks are the most beautiful things in the world. But I have heard that if you plant them, they will grow into a tree that produces ivory fruit." The Elephant, who was very proud of his tusks but also greedy, was fascinated. "How do I do this?" he asked. "You must pull out your tusks and plant them in this fertile soil," the Hare instructed. "Then you must water them every day and not look at them for a full moon." The Elephant, with great pain, pulled out his magnificent tusks and planted them. The Hare immediately dug them up from the other side of the bush and ran away with them. He traded the ivory with men from the coast for a hundred hoes and a hundred goats. The Elephant watered the empty spot for a month. When nothing grew, he realized he had been tricked. He was so ashamed of his tuskless face that he hid deep in the forest and became a solitary, grumpy creature. The Hare, meanwhile, had become a rich man through his cunning.