Which Was the Stronger, the Tortoise, the Tapir, or the Whale

One day a Tortoise went down to the sea to drink. A Whale saw him and called out: “Here, what are you doing, Tortoise?” “Why, I’m drinking, ’cause I’m thirsty.” Then the Whale began to make fun of the Tortoise’s short legs, but the Tortoise indignantly replied: “Even if my legs are short, I am stronger than you, and I can pull you on shore.” The Whale laughed, “Come on, let me see you do it!” “Well!” said the Tortoise, “just wait until I go into the forest and get a sipó!”[5] Away went the Tortoise into the forest, and there he met a Tapir, who asked him what he was looking for. “I am looking for a sipó.” “And what are you going to do with a sipó?” asked the Tapir. “I want it to pull you down to the sea.” “You!” exclaimed the Tapir, surprised. “I’ll pull you into the forest, and, what’s more—but never mind, let’s try who may be the stronger! Go get your sipó!” The Tortoise went off, and presently came back with a very long sipó, one end of which he tied around the body of the Tapir. “Now,” said the Tortoise, “wait here until I go down to the sea. When I shake this sipó, run with all your might into the forest.” Having attached one end to the Tapir, he dragged the other down to the sea and fastened it to the tail of the Whale. This accomplished, he said, “I will go up into the forest, and when I shake the sipó, pull as hard as you can, for I am going to draw you on shore.” The Tortoise then went into the wood, midway between the Whale and the Tapir, shook the sipó, and awaited the result. First the Whale, swimming vigorously, dragged the Tapir backward to the sea, but the latter, resisting with all his might, finally gained a firm foothold and began to get the better of the Whale, drawing him in toward the shore. Then the Whale made another effort, and in this manner they kept tugging against one another, each thinking the Tortoise at the other end of the sipó, until at last, both gave up the struggle from sheer exhaustion. The Tortoise then walked down to the shore, and the Whale called out to him: “Well, you certainly are strong, Tortoise; I am very tired.” The Tortoise untied the sipó from the Whale, and, having dipped himself in the water, went over to where the Tapir was puffing after his labors. “Well, Tapir,” he said, as he untied the sipó, “you see that I am the stronger.” “It is true, Tortoise, you are very, very strong.” The Tortoise (Sun) has a trial of strength with the Tapir (Moon) or perhaps this is the Tortoise (Sun) provoking the everlasting tidal contest between sea and land.—C. F. HARTT. [5] A sipó is a long root growing in the air, often used as a rope.