In Clever Tortoise:A Traditional African Tale by Francesca Martin (2000), all the animals are
living happily beside a lake until Elephant starts to brag about how strong it
is. Then Hippopotamus brags about how strong it is. This frightens the other
animals, so they play a trick on the two giants. They invite each one to play
tug-of-war. Of course, Elephant and Hippo think they will win this game easily.
But the smaller animals weave a long rope that goes from Elephant all the way
to Hippopotamus. Consequently, Hippopotamus and Elephant are the competitors without
realizing it. They pull and pull and pull until Tortoise secretly cuts the rope
and both animals crash. Elephant and Hippo are stunned that the smaller animals
could possibly have beaten them. And they live happily ever after.
