"I am sure you could," said the Rabbit, politely, "only be sure to begin
gently, and pull harder and harder till you get her."

Then he tied the end of the rope tightly round the Elephant's trunk,
and ran away into the bushes. There he sat down and beat the big drum.

The Whale began to pull, and the Elephant began to pull, and in a jiffy
the rope tightened till it was stretched as hard as could be.

"This is a remarkably heavy cow," said the Elephant; "but I'll fetch
her!" And he braced his forefeet in the earth, and gave a tremendous
pull.

"Dear me!" said the Whale. "That cow must be stuck mighty tight"; and he
drove his tail deep in the water, and gave a marvellous pull.

He pulled harder; the Elephant pulled harder. Pretty soon the Whale
found himself sliding toward the land. The reason was, of course, that
the Elephant had something solid to brace against, and, beside, as fast
as he pulled the rope in a little, he took a turn with it round his
trunk!

But when the Whale found himself sliding toward the land he was so
provoked with the cow that he dived head first, down to the bottom of
the sea. That was a pull! The Elephant was jerked off his feet, and came
slipping and sliding to the beach, and into the surf. He was terribly
angry. He braced himself with all his might, and pulled his best. At the
jerk, up came the Whale out of the water.