Once upon a time, on a tiny island in the middle of the warm Red Sea, there lived a Parsee man. He wore a tall shiny hat that gleamed in the sunshine, and he had a cooking stove that he carried with him everywhere. The island had nothing on it but one tall palm tree, bright blue water all around, and lots and lots of sunshine.
One beautiful morning, the Parsee man decided to bake a cake. But this was no ordinary cake! He mixed flour and water and sugar and plums and things, and he baked it until it was brown and smelled so delicious that it filled the whole island with the most wonderful smell. It was a Superior Comestible — the finest cake in the whole wide world!
Just then, from the other side of the island, came a Rhinoceros. In those days, his skin was perfectly smooth and tight, like a beautiful rubber suit with three buttons underneath. He had two piggy little eyes and absolutely no manners at all. He stomped right up to the Parsee man's stove, sniffing the air with his big flat nose.
The Rhinoceros looked at the beautiful cake with his greedy little eyes. Without saying please or thank you or anything at all, he spiked that lovely cake right on the tip of his horn! He gobbled it up in one enormous bite — every last plummy crumb. Then he walked away, wiggling his smooth tail, without even saying sorry. The poor Parsee could only watch and say, 'Hmm, I will get even with that Rhinoceros!'
Many days went by. The sun shone hotter and hotter on the little island. One especially scorching day, the Rhinoceros felt so terribly warm that he decided to go for a swim. He walked down to the beach and unbuttoned his smooth skin — one button, two buttons, three buttons — and took it right off! He left it neatly on the sand and waded into the cool blue water.
The Parsee man had been waiting for this moment! He tiptoed down to the beach, quiet as a mouse. He looked at the smooth Rhinoceros skin lying on the sand. Then he reached into his hat and pulled out a whole bag of old, stale, scratchy cake crumbs. He rubbed those itchy crumbs all over the inside of the Rhinoceros skin, filling every corner and fold.
The Parsee man filled that skin with so many crumbs that they were piled up thick and scratchy inside. Then he climbed up to the very top of his palm tree and waited with a big smile on his face. Out in the water, the Rhinoceros was having a wonderful swim, splashing and floating without a care in the world. He had no idea what was about to happen!
When the Rhinoceros came out of the water, he put his skin back on and buttoned it up — one button, two buttons, three buttons. But something felt very wrong! It tickled and it prickled and it itched like crazy! The old cake crumbs were scratching and poking him everywhere! 'Oooh! Aaah! This is terrible!' the Rhinoceros cried, wiggling and jiggling.
The Rhinoceros scratched and scratched against the palm tree — scritch scratch scritch! He rolled on the sand — rub rub rub! He rubbed against every rock on the island. He scratched so hard and for so long that his beautiful smooth skin began to wrinkle and fold and crumple. Big wrinkles here, little wrinkles there, folds and bumps and crinkles everywhere! But the itching just would not stop!
And that, Best Beloved, is exactly why rhinoceroses have wrinkly, foldy, bumpy skin to this very day! The Rhinoceros never got the crumbs out, no matter how hard he scratched. And he never ever stole anyone's cake again! As for the Parsee man, he sat under his palm tree on his tiny island, baking new cakes and smiling to himself, because he knew that good manners are always the very best recipe.
