The Mice and the Elephants

A colony of mice lived in an abandoned village. One day a herd of elephants trampled through on their way to a lake, crushing many mouse homes. The mouse king bravely approached the elephant king and asked him to take a different path. The elephant agreed, and the mice promised to return the favor someday. Months later, a king's hunters trapped the entire elephant herd in massive rope nets. The elephants struggled but could not break free. A tiny mouse spotted them and raced back to the colony. Hundreds of mice swarmed the nets, gnawing through the thick ropes with their sharp teeth. By dawn, every elephant was free. The elephant king bowed his great head in gratitude, saying, "Never again will I judge anyone by size alone."