"Madam," said the woodpecker, "your remark is very true. For the proverb says:
A friend in need is a friend indeed,
Although of different caste;
The whole world is your eager friend
So long as riches last.
And again:
A friend in need is a friend indeed;
Fathers indeed are those who feed;
True comrades they, and wives indeed,
Whence trust and sweet content proceed.
"Now see what my wit can devise. But you must know that I, too, have a friend, a gnat called Lute-Buzz. I will return with her, so that this villainous beast of an elephant may be killed."
So he went with the hen-sparrow, found the gnat, and said: "Dear madam, this is my friend the hen-sparrow. She is mourning because a villainous elephant smashed her eggs. So you must lend your assistance while I work out a plan for killing him."
"My good friend," said the gnat, "there is only one possible answer. But I also have a very intimate friend, a frog named Cloud-Messenger. Let us do the right thing by calling him into consultation. For the proverb says:
A wise companion find,
Shrewd, learnèd, righteous, kind;
For plans by him designed
Are never undermined."
