提 要

當碰到外人侵門踏戶，敵眾我寡（或敵大我小）的時候，只能用智謀解決問題，千萬不能憑硬拚，也就是：「只可智取，不可力敵。」

Once there lived a big herd of elephants near a river. They would play, eat and rest near the bank. The surrounding area had lush green grass and fruit trees, which served food for the elephants.

However, when summer came, the river dried up. There were no more fruits or grass left.

All the elephants reached out to their master and cried. "Oh! Our Lord! There is no water left in the river. Our infants are facing death and hunger. If we don't move from here, surely we all will die." The King replied, "I know a place, where there is adequate water. We all can quench our thirst there."

The very next morning, the elephants started their journey. After traveling for five days and five nights, finally, the elephants reached their destination. As expected, there was a enormous lake with plenty of water.

However, there were large numbers of holes near the banks of the lake. These holes belonged to a family of hares who lived there happily.

After seeing plenty of water, the elephants jumped and rolled with joy. In doing so, they destroyed the homes of so many hares. Many of the hares got injured. The hares who ran away managed to save themselves from their wrath. The elephants didn't care about anyone. The hares found themselves helpless against the mighty elephants.

After the elephants went back into the jungle, the hares had a meeting. They were aware that the elephants are very powerful and they cannot beat them physically. So, they decided that it's better to run away in order to save themselves from their wrath.

However, one clever hare disagreed and said, "No, we can't leave this place. This is our ancestral home. We have been living here from generation to generation. We must think of some plan to evacuate them forever. Though we are small, with a clever plan, we can expel them".

After explaining his plan, all the hares agreed to help. As per his plan, one hare went to the hilltop. When the king elephant arrived, a hare shouted, "You devil, you are forbidden to enter the lake. Yesterday, you cruel elephants trampled innocent hares with your foot. This lake belongs to the Moon-God."

"Your selfish act invited the ire of the Moon-God. I am the messenger of Moon-God, he has sent me to convey to you his message. If you want to survive, then don't even think about coming near the lake again," he further said.

The king elephant replied, "I am sorry, for my sinful act. Oh, Moon-God! Please forgive me!!" The clever hare sitting on the hill replied, "If you want to be forgiven, come to the lake and ask me for forgiveness. You must also offer condolences to the king of hares." The elephant king walked up to the lake, where he saw the reflection of Moon.

He immediately asked the MOON for forgiveness. He also said sorry to the king of hares, who was waiting for him, as per their plan.

After that, the elephant group never come back to the lake again. The hares lived happily forever.

Put their heads together meaning, one can overcome even the biggest problem.

解 說

曾經，在河邊住著一群大象。牠們會在河邊玩耍、覓食和休息。河岸周圍有茂盛綠茵和果樹，為象群提供食物。

然而當夏天來臨時，河水乾涸。水果與草叢都消失無蹤了。

所有的大象都向牠們的頭領伸長鼻子哭訴：「 哦！我們的主子！河裡沒有水了。我們的嬰兒正面臨死亡和飢餓。如果不離開這裡，肯定我們都會死。」象王回答說：「我知道一個地方，那裡有充足的水。我們都可以在那裡解渴。」

就在第二天早上，大象們開始了牠們的旅程。經過五個晝夜的跋山涉水，象群終於到達了目的地。正如牠們所期待的，那裡有一個非常大的湖，很多的水。

但是，在湖岸附近有許多洞。這些洞屬於一群在大湖旁幸福生活的野兔家族。

看到大片水域後，大象們高興地跳了起來，有的還在地上打滾。牠們這麼一搞，摧毀了大部分野兔的巢穴。許多野兔因此受傷。大象不在乎其他生物，野兔發現，牠們無法對抗巨大的大象。

大象回到叢林後，野兔開會想對策。牠們沒辦法跟大象硬碰硬。因此，決定最好先逃開，以免自己忍不住憤怒報復。

但是，一個聰明的野兔不同意，牠說：「不，我們不能離開這裡，這是我們祖先建造的地方。我們世代相傳。我們必須想出一些永久驅離牠們的辦法。儘管我們個子很小，但有了聰明的計畫，我們就可以趕走牠們。」

在詳細說明了牠的計畫後，所有野兔都同意幫忙。按照計畫，一隻野兔跑到山頂。當象王靠近時，一隻野兔大喊：「邪惡的傢伙，禁止進入湖中。昨天，你們這些殘忍的大象用腳踐踏了無辜的野兔。這個湖，是屬於月神的。」

「你們的自私行為，引起月神的憤怒。我是月神的使者，祂已將信息傳達。如果你們想生存，那就不要考慮再靠近湖水了。」這位月神使者繼續說。

象王回答：「對不起，我的行為有罪。哦，天神，請原諒我！」坐在山頂上的那隻聰明兔子回答：「如果想被原諒，就去湖邊請求，你還必須向野兔王表示慰問。」象王走到湖邊，在那裡看到了月亮的倒影。

牠立即向月神請求寬恕，還對按照計畫等野兔之王，表示歉意。

之後，象群再也不曾回到大湖邊，野兔繼續世代相傳地快樂生活。

集思廣益、齊心協力，最大的問題也可以迎刃而解。