"My good friend Elephant," said Whale in her deep, briny voice, "I have travelled the world through the oceans. I have seen much, and I am certain you are the largest, strongest creature walking the land."

Elephant, who did nothing quickly, nodded slowly. "That I am, Friend Whale," he trumpeted softly.

"And I am the largest creature in the seas," gurgled Whale. "Nothing I have met is greater or more powerful than I."

"I cannot argue that," Elephant agreed. "I have never seen your like."

"Knowing how large and powerful we are, I have had a thought. Together we could rule all the creatures in the world. We could have everything the way we want it. We could be more than just powerful - we could be all-powerful."

"Yes," Elephant said slowly, raising his mighty head. "To rule all the creatures on land and in sea. Yes. Yes, that would be fine. We should do it, Friend Whale. It sounds so easy. You need to think of a plan." Elephant was big, and he liked the sound of ruling the world, but Elephant wasn't keen on thinking.

"Plan?" Whale spouted in surprise and disgust. "Plan? Why, Brother Elephant, look at us. What need have creatures as enormous, as powerful, as important as we for a plan? We will simply divide the world between us. Our massive strength will insure that the lesser creatures follow us. We will tell them what to do and they will do it! They will have no choice."

Rabbit shook his ears and wrinkled his nose like he smelled something bad. "They won't rule me," he said to himself, "no matter how big they are. I will make me a plan."

Rabbit ran to the end of the beach near the village where the People lived. There, among the fishing boats and nets and buoys, he found a stout rope. Wrapping this around his shoulders, he hopped back down the beach where he found Whale sunning herself in the shallows and dreaming of being Queen of the Sea Animals.

"Oh, dear me, dear me," wailed Rabbit in the saddest voice he could create. "Oh, Sister Whale, won't you help me? My friend Cow is stuck in the sand, and I can't pull her out. I am only one little rabbit. You are so big, so strong, so powerful. Can you not save Cow?"

Whale puffed with pride. She was so flattered by all the pleading that she announced, "Yes, I will. I am strong enough to help anyone. I can do anything." She spouted a little, just to show off.

Rabbit ducked his head and chuckled to himself. He asked Whale, "You see this big strong rope?"

"I do," said Whale. "I see your rope. How may I help you?"

"I will tie one end of the rope to you. Then I'll hop down the beach to where Cow is stuck, and I'll tie the other end to her. When I have her tied tightly, I'll beat my drum. When you hear the sound - thumpety, thumpety, thump - you pull and pull hard. Cow is stuck deep, and I want to stay there to help her out. You will be on your own on this end, and it will take all your massive strength to save her. Can you do that?"

"All my strength?" bellowed Whale in indignation. "All my strength? Cow could not survive all my great whale strength. You go tie your rope. You leave the pulling to me."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, Sister Whale," said Rabbit. "And, do remember the drum sound before you pull, won't you? It would do no good if you pull too soon. Say the sound, please."

"Harumph," harumphed old Whale.

"Please," pleaded Rabbit.

Whale sighed. "Thumpety, thumpety, thump," she said at last.

"That's it," Rabbit cried happily. With that, Rabbit tied one end of the rope tightly to Whale's tail, grabbed the other end of the rope, and bounded off through the tall shore grasses.

Soon he bounced up to great gray Elephant who was slowly munching some browse.

"Oh, dear me, dear me," wailed Trickster Rabbit in the same sad voice he had used on Whale. "Brother Elephant, won't you help me? My friend Cow is stuck in the sand near here, and I can't pull her out. I am only one little rabbit. You are so big, so strong, so powerful. Can you not save Cow?"

Elephant looked slowly up from where he grazed. "Cow?"

Rabbit nodded. "My dear friend Cow. She is stuck in the sand. Can't you please help get her out? You're so big and so strong. Please?"

Elephant chewed slowly. "What do I do?"

"This rope," said Rabbit, bouncing excitedly over to the Elephant. "We can use this rope. I'll tie one end to you, then I'll tie the other end to Cow, then I'll beat my drum. When you hear the sound - thumpety, thumpety, thump - then you pull hard. Cow is stuck deep. Do you think you are strong enough to pull her out?"

Now, Elephant was slowing on thinking, but he knew what that question meant.

"Strong enough?" He shook himself to his full height and size, struck out his ears, raised his trunk. "I believe I'm quite strong enough even if had a stack of cows buried in the sand. You just tie the rope and beat the drum and stay back so you don't get hurt when Cow pops out!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you, Brother Elephant," said Rabbit. "And, do remember the drum sound before you pull, won't you? It would do no good if you pull too soon. Say the sound, please."

"Thumpety, thumpety, thump," said Elephant slowly.

Rabbit squealed in delight. Then he tied the end of the rope tightly around Elephant's tail and bounced off into the grasses. He bounded through the dry beach grass till he reached his lair. A moment later, he emerged carrying a small, well-made drum.

"And now," he giggled, "we'll save us a cow. And a rabbit!" He began to beat the drum. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. He giggled again. Thumpety, thumpety, thump.

Whale and Elephant, the one still sunning herself and trying to look impressive in the shallow water, the other munching another mouthful of grass, Whale and Elephant each heard the sound. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. With a mighty flip of her fins, Whale moved away from the shore, pulling the rope behind her. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. Elephant took another bite of grass and then slowly wandered in the opposite direction, pulling the rope as he went.

Thumpety, thumpety, thump. As you can imagine, it took only a few seconds before the rope pulled tight and neither Whale nor Elephant could move another inch.

"This sure is a heavy cow," Elephant slowly thought. Biting hard on his mouthful of grass, he leaned against the rope.

"My, these land cows really get stuck!" Whale took a deep breath and strained against the taut rope.

Thumpety, thumpety, thump.

From his hiding place in the grass, Rabbit watched the two monsters struggling and straining against each other. He rocked back and forth, giggling so hard he could barely beat his drum. On they pulled and tugged and grunted and strained and pulled some more. Each grew tired, each had muscles that burned and ached. Yet each was so proud of their size and strength that neither would give up; each was so stubborn, so sure that he could prove themselves, that they continued to grunt and pull well after sundown.

Thumpety, thumpety, thump.

Elephant wrapped his trunk around a tree so he could pull with that, too. "Wretched cow," he mumbled between closed teeth.

But Whale wedged her fins in the sand and rocks of the shore so she could not be moved, either. "Cursed, clumsy cow," she hissed.

The tree bark wore skin off Elephant's trunk, and he finally let go. The sand and rocks ground against Whale's fins and stomach, and she had to go back to swimming. But neither would surrender.

On through the night they pulled, and on through night drummed Rabbit. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. Rabbit quit giggling and Rabbit got tired, but Rabbit stuck to his plan. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. He knew it was important.

The morning sun found the two huge creatures still moaning and straining, stretching the rope, thrashing in the sand and surf to the sound of Rabbit's drum. Thumpety, thumpety, thump.

Finally there came a moment when the two could no longer pull. With a last exhausted grunt, Elephant collapsed on the sand. Whale gave up, too, and simply floated, letting the rolling waves carry her. Rabbit relaxed at last, slumping over his drum to watch the two worn out would-be rulers of the world. As the sun climbed higher, the three sleepy creatures panted and let their tired, burning muscles sag.

Though Whale was huge, the breakers rolling in to the beach could move her. Slowly, inch by inch, she moved with the waves down the beach toward the dusty gray mass of Elephant. Late in the morning, her tired, massive frame washed close enough to Elephant that they could look each other in the eye.

The two would-be conquerors stared at each other for many minutes before either noticed the rope lying on the sand and floating on the waves between them. It was several seconds more before each realized that the rope tied to their own tails was also tied to the others'. But when they realized it, it was no time at all before they jumped to their feet and fins.

"I'll teach you to pretend to be a cow," trumpeted the King of the Land. He picked up a rock with his trunk.

Whale reared up out of the water. "Never try to fool a Whale!" Sister Whale spouted a geyser of sea water at the Elephant and turned toward the open sea.

Brother Elephant threw the rock at Whale and charged inland away from the beach.

It took but a few seconds for each to reach the end of the rope. The cord snapped up from the sand and water, stretched taut for a tiny, stressful moment (just long enough for each one to get their tails bruised as the rope tightened) - and then it snapped! Free at last, Whale pitched under water to bang into the rough sands off shore; Elephant stumbled forward to crash face first into some trees. There each lay for a long moment, sulking, silent, and collecting what dignity remained to them. Then each rose and quietly slunk away - as well as such large animals could slink. It was the end of their friendship, the end of their partnership, and the end of their plan to rule the other animals. They have not spoken to each other since.

And Rabbit? Rabbit was so sleepy he could not giggle - but he did smile. He crawled into his burrow, packed away his drum and had himself a long, long nap. But even today when he thinks about the monsters who wanted to rule the world, but couldn't save a cow, even today his ears and nose twitch with laughter.