Elephants trampled the pond where the rabbits drank, so one of the rabbits went to the elephant-king and said, "I am the Moon's ambassador, and the Moon says: 'Depart! I'll strike you down if you don't obey. Go now!' So says the Moon."
And when the elephant-king put his trunk in the water to drink, he saw the Moon shaking with wrath. The more he drank, the more the Moon shook with anger.
"Run away!" shouted the elephant-king to the herd. "We must flee before the Moon destroys us."
The elephants no longer muddied the water where the rabbits drank.
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 84 in the book. This story of the elephant and the moon's reflection is Indian in origin: The Elephants and the Rabbits.
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