Now the Elephant’s wife heard the sound of her husband’s voice, and said to her children, “What can be the matter with your Father that he keeps sobbing so?” And the children listened to make sure, and said, “Yes, it really is Father’s voice, the sobbing, and not that of anybody else.”  Presently Father Elephant arrived, and Mother Elephant asked:  “What were you sobbing for, Father?  What have you done to yourself?” Father Elephant replied:  “I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a Monkey, and Friend Tiger beat me; I menaced the Monkey, but he did not fall; if he had fallen to me, I was to have eaten Friend Tiger, but if he fell to Friend Tiger, Friend Tiger was to eat me.  I was beaten, and now Friend Tiger says he is going to eat me.  So I begged leave to come home and see you, and he has given me just seven days’ respite.”

Now for the seven days Father Elephant kept sobbing aloud, and neither ate nor slept.  And the thing came to the hearing of Friend Mouse-deer.  “What can be the matter with Friend Elephant that he keeps bellowing and bellowing; neither does he sleep, so that night is turned into day, and day into night?  What on earth is the matter with him?  Suppose I go and see,” said the Mouse-deer.  Then the Mouse-deer went to see what was wrong, and asked:  “What is the matter with you, Friend Elephant, that we hear you bellowing and bellowing every single day and every single night, just now, too, when the Rains are upon us?  You are far too noisy.”

But the Elephant said:  “It is no mere empty noise, Friend Mouse-deer; I have got into a dreadful scrape.”  “What sort of a scrape?” inquired the Mouse-deer.  “I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a Monkey, and he beat me.”  “What was the stake?” asked the Mouse-deer.  “The stake was that Friend Tiger might eat me if Friend Tiger frightened it down; and if I frightened it down, I might eat Friend Tiger.  It fell to Friend Tiger, and now Friend Tiger wants to eat me.  And my reason for not eating or sleeping any more is that I have got only just seven days’ respite to go home and visit my wife and children and to make my will.”  Then the Mouse-deer said:  “If it came to Friend Tiger’s eating you, I should feel exceedingly sorrowful, exceedingly distressed; but things being only as you say, I feel neither.”  “If you will assist me,” said the Elephant, “I will become your slave, and my descendants shall be your slaves forever.”  “Very well, it that is the case, I will assist you,” said the Mouse-deer.  “Go and look for a jar full of molasses.”  Friend Elephant promised to do so, and went to look for it at the house of a maker of palm-wine.  The owner of the house fled for his life, and the jar fell into Friend Elephant’s possession, who bore it back to the Mouse-deer.

Then Friend Mouse-deer said, “When does your promise expire?” and Friend Elephant replied, “To-morrow.”  So when next morning arrived they started, and the Mouse-deer said, “Now pour the molasses over your back and let it spread and spread and run down your legs.”  Friend Elephant did as he was ordered.  Friend Mouse-deer then instructed the Elephant as follows:  “As soon as I begin to lick up the molasses on your back, bellow as loud as you can and make believe to be hurt, and writhe and wriggle this way and that.”