Long ago the elephant and his nephew the warthog lived happily in the open grasslands.
It so happened that at that time the elephant had short tusks that curved up and the warthog had long curved tasks and the warthog looked very handsome.
The elephant had promised to find food for the warthog during one trip in the open grasslands.
However, the elephant was unable to do so.
That caused a strained relationship between the warthog and the elephant because the warthog felt that the elephant had broken his word.
But sometime later their differences were settled and the two animals became friends again.
But the second time around as the elephant studied the warthog, the elephant became very envious of the long curved tasks that the warthog had.
The elephant finally made up its mind and went to the warthog. “Can we please exchange our tusks for a short while? I need the long curved tasks for a special occasion.” The elephant nodded fervently at the warthog. “I shall return the same to you as soon as my work is over.”
The warthog did not see anything wrong in the request of the elephant and felt that this exchange was for a short time and he happily agreed to it.
After the exchange of tusks, the warthog went to graze in the open grasslands and his life went on.
The elephant on the other hand was thrilled with his long handsome tusks. As soon as he had it, he realized that he did not want to return the tusks to the warthog.
Adapted from folktales of Zambia
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