The Rabbit and Bumblebee Bet

Tibetan Folk Tales, by A.L. Shelton, [1925], at sacred-texts.com

p. 80

SEVENTEEN

An empty-handed official has no chance, neither will a wet vine cause the tea to boil.
                                                 Tibetan Proverb.

ONE day a rabbit was sitting by the side of the road under a bunch of nice grass, and near him sat a bumblebee on a big yellow flower. As they sat talking together they made a bet; the rabbit saying, "I can swell up bigger than you can," the bumblebee replying, "You can not." So they decided to try. The rabbit swelled and swelled, and some one passing said, "Look at that rabbit, he looks as big as a wolf." Then the bumblebee puffed and puffed until some one passing said, "Look at that bumblebee, he looks as big as a yak;" so he won the bet.