There was a king in medieval times who went hunting in Africa. While there, he killed a lion, an elephant, and a hippopotamus. He decided to award the skins of the three animals to his three favorite squires back home in his kingdom.
They thus became known as the Lion Squire, the Elephant Squire, and the Hippo Squire.
Because the king then told many tales about how the hippo was actually the most difficult animal to kill, the Lion Squire and the Elephant Squire grew to become very jealous of the Hippo Squire. They wanted the hippo skin, and came together to plan an assassination of the Hippo Squire.
Seeing as he had eight sons, and the Elephant Squire had ten, the Lion Squire came up with a plan to send all 18 sons to kill the Hippo Squire, who was childless. However, the Hippo Squire was a truly mighty warrior, and he single-handedly defeated all 18 assailants.
And so, it was proven once and for all that the squire of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squires of the other two hides.