Once an Elephant met a Monkey.

“Look how big and strong I am!”he said.“I can break a tree. Can you break a tree?”

“Look how quickly I can run and climb!”said the Monkey.“Can you climb a tree?”

The elephant was proud because he was so strong，and the Monkey was proud because she was so quick.

But which is better，to be strong or to be quick? They did not know.

“The old Owl(貓頭鷹)will tell us. Let us go to her.”said the Monkey.

And they went to the old Owl and said，“Tell us what you think about it. Which is better—to be strong or to be quick?”

The Owl said to them，“Do what I tell you，and then I shall see which is better. Do you see that big fruit tree across the river? Go and pick the fruit and bring it to me.”

So the Elephant and the Monkey went to the river. The river was deep，and the Monkey was afraid to swim.

“I shall carry you，”said the Elephant，“I am big and strong. I am not afraid to swim across the river.”

The Monkey sat down on the Elephant’s back，and they swam to the bank. There was the tree. It was big and the fruit hung very high. The Elephant tried to break the tree，but it was too strong. He tried to pick the fruit with his trunk(象鼻)，but the fruit was too high.

“I can climb up the tree，” said the Monkey. She climbed up the tree and threw the fruit to the ground. The Elephant put it inhis great mouth. Then they swam across the river again，and gave the fruit to the Owl.

“Now tell us，”they said，“which is better，to be strong or to be quick?”

“How can I tell you which is better?”asked the Owl.“You，Elephant，and you，Monkey，you could not get the fruit alone. One swam across the river，the other climbed the tree and picked the fruit.”