Elephant was having a happy time eating leaves high up off a tree. Elephant saw rabbit. Rabbit was on the ground nibbling on small flowers that were growing everywhere.

Rabbit, too, was having a happy time, particularly because Rabbit was well aware elephants do not eat rabbits. Rabbit was confident Elephant wasn't about to make a grab for Rabbit.

Elephant kept darting concerned looks at Rabbit, because Elephant was worried that it might trample Rabbit, accidentally.

Rabbit wasn't concerned about Elephant being so close by. "All I have to do” thought Rabbit, “is to be careful to stay away from Elephant's feet."
An elephant's feet are so huge Rabbit had no trouble knowing where those massive feet were.

After a while Elephant said to Rabbit "Look, little friend, why don't you go eat somewhere else? Please?"

Rabbit was taken by surprise. It looked up at Elephant and asked "Why? I'm not bothering you, Elephant. Your food is way up there. Mine is way down here."

"That's not it" said Elephant. "I don't want to step on you by accident. You're so tiny. Most of the time I don't know where you are. Come on, Rabbit. There are just as many flowers over there. If you go there both of us can eat in happiness and in peace."

Rabbit said to Elephant "I take it, then, you haven't seen that fox hiding in the tall grass."


"What fox?" asked Elephant, turning to look here and there.

"Don't look!" hissed out Rabbit in a whisper. "Keep looking at me!"

Elephant quickly returned to looking down at Rabbit.

"Go back to eating" whispered Rabbit. "We must not act as if we know that fox is there."

"Okay. Sorry" whispered Elephant. Elephant went back to eating while covertly looking around for the fox.

After a few seconds of both of them eating in tense silence, Elephant whispered down to Rabbit. "Just tell me where the fox is and I will go up to it and scare it away."

"Oh, Elephant, Elephant, Elephant," said Rabbit, "you are a good friend, but you don't know much about foxes, do you?"

"Uh, well, okay. But the little I know is enough for me. Foxes are too small to be a danger to me. What else do I need to know?"

"That foxes are very smart" said Rabbit. "If you scare this one away it will run off, but it will sneak back. Next time it will be extra careful to make sure we do not know where it is."

"Why would that matter?" asked Elephant. "If you just stay close to me all the time, that fox won't dare attack you." "I know that." said Rabbit. "Foxes are smart. That's why they are called foxes. You know the saying, 'sly as a fox'?"

"Yes, yes" said Elephant. "I remember the saying. I didn't know it came from foxes being smart. Our teacher in school said the word ‘fox’ is one of the rare words that has at least fifty percent full rhyme within its pronunciation, and that the saying ‘as sly as a fox’ is especially noteworthy for extending that percentage to a little more than fifty-eight percent.”

Rabbit did not respond to Elephant’s explanation because Rabbit did not understand most of it because Rabbit had dropped out of school after Grade five. Elephant had a University degree in Botanical Science.

They grazed in silence for awhile; the University graduate and the Primary School dropout. Rabbit took continual care to be clearly visible to Elephant all the time.

Rabbit whispered to Elephant "Foxes being smart, why was it so easy for me to spy out this one?"

Elephant stopped eating in order to think up an answer. Elephants cannot eat and think at the same time. "I give up" said Elephant. "Why was it so easy?"

"Because this fox wanted me to see it" said Rabbit.

"Now I'm really confused" said Elephant. "If it wanted to catch you to eat you why would it want you to see it?" "Because" whispered Rabbit "there are two more foxes hiding in the tall grass behind us. Don't look!" Rabbit whispered quickly as it noticed Elephant instinctually turning to look behind them.

"Oops!" said Elephant in embarrassment. "Sorry. I think I can see their plan. They want you to move away from that one in front of us so that the two behind us can jump out and grab you." “Yessss” hissed Rabbit.


"You are so smart" said Elephant with a lot of admiration in its voice for Rabbit.

"Thank you, Elephant" said Rabbit. "Well" said Elephant, "now that we know their plan, all we have to do is stay close to each other and they will get tired sooner or later and go away."

"If only it were that straightforward" said Rabbit. "Unfortunately, Elephant, my friend, it gets more complicated."

Elephant stopped eating. It looked down at Rabbit. It was so puzzled that if it could it would have scratched its head while it looked at Rabbit. Unfortunately for Elephant, elephants cannot scratch their heads when they are puzzled about anything.

Elephant stared at rabbit. Elephant was worried.

"This is what they are planning to do" said Rabbit. "The two behind us are going to leap up at you at the back and bite your tail. That will make you turn around and move to them. That's when the one in the front of us is going to make a dash for me."

Elephant's jaw dropped in utter surprise at hearing this. Elephant was finding it difficult to believe an animal as small as a fox would dare attack an animal as large as an elephant. Rabbit looked up at Elephant and saw the disbelief in Elephant's face.

"It's true" said Rabbit. "These three foxes have done it before." "To whom?" asked Elephant. “To me" replied Rabbit.

Rabbit continued. "A few days ago I was chomping on flowers next to Rhinoceros. Those two foxes behind us attacked Rhinoceros. I had seen only the fox in front of us that time. I didn't know what their strategy was. So, I, too, was caught off-guard when the two foxes behind us attacked Rhinoceros.

When Rhinoceros roared and turned to see what was happening behind us the fox in front jumped on me. I was about to be dead in the next few seconds."

"What happened?" asked Elephant in horror. "How did you get away?"

"Out of the heavens an eagle swooped down and grabbed the fox in its claws and flew up away with it."

"Hah!" said Elephant. "So, while they were busy watching you and Rhinoceros the eagle was watching out for a chance to swoop on the fox!"

"Yes" said Rabbit. "But there won't be an eagle this time to come to my rescue."

"You never know, Rabbit. Even as we speak there could be an eagle getting ready to pounce on that fox." "There won't be, Elephant, my friend" said Rabbit. "Don't be such a pessimist" said Elephant "eagles are everywhere all the time. They fly so high we cannot know where they are."

"I know there isn't an eagle here now" said Rabbit "because that fox in the front of us is the same fox the last time. It must have gotten away from the eagle that first time. These three foxes are not going to make the same mistake again. I told you, Elephant. Foxes are smart."

"Yes!" interrupted Elephant somewhat triumphantly "Sly as a fox! See? I remember!"

"Congratulations" said Rabbit sincerely. "Their smartness includes learning quickly from their mistakes. Without an eagle to foil their plans they are going to try something different this time."

"Like what?" asked Elephant. "I don't know" said Rabbit. "We're just going to have to wait and be alert."

The two friends grazed slowly and warily in silence for a few seconds.

"Tell you what" said Elephant. "Taste this." Elephant plucked a leaf from the top of a tree and dropped it in front of Rabbit. Rabbit chewed on the leaf and said with its mouth full "Hmh! Quite tasty."

"Good" said Elephant. "Here's the plan. Climb onto my trunk and I will put you on my back. From there you can reach the leaves and eat all you want with me. When those foxes see that they will give up and leave."

That is precisely what happened. Elephant lowered its trunk. Rabbit climbed onto the trunk. Elephant lifted Rabbit up and put Rabbit on Elephant's back. When the foxes saw that, they growled through their teeth, and left.

Elephant and Rabbit have been good friends ever since. Sometimes Rhinoceros joins them at mealtimes.