There are two men on opposing sides of a table. On the table there were two cups. Each man argued that the cup closer to him was larger, and that the other man was obviously wrong. They argued until their beards grew long and white, then til their sons' beards were long and white, then til their sons' sons' beards were long and white.
Then came along a rabbit. First he went to one side of the table. "Indeed the cup is larger on this side," he nodded. Then he went to the other side and agreed, "Why, this cup is larger than the other!"
Then, because the rabbit was clever, he made a wager. "Whoever's cup is larger will win me for a stew. But if my cup is larger, (he produced a very small cup, the size of a thimble) then you shall give me whatever I desire."
Immediately, they agreed to the wager. After all, they had argued this very issue for years and years. "That tiny cup couldn't possibly be larger!" They all said.
So Rabbit went to the table and brought the two cups together, and it turned out they were both quite small, but Rabbit's cup grew larger and larger as it grew nearer and nearer. Before the men could object, the rabbit neatly folded the two cups into the larger and with a POP they were gone.
Shaken, the men begged the rabbit for forgiveness and lenience.
But all the rabbit asked was, "Would you give me your beards?"
One by one, the rabbit shaved their long white beards, and they were transformed into young lively men. With a smile and a laugh, they headed off arm in arm.
And rabbit took all the beards and made them into a new white fur which he wears to this day.
12.28.23
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