One day a stag was drinking water from a crystal clear lake and noticed his reflection.

“Look at my antlers! They make me look so handsome,” he thought proudly. Then his eyes fell on his skinny legs. “My legs look so ugly. How I wish it looked as graceful as my crown.”

Just then he heard the rustle behind the bushes. Sensing a predator the deer took off running.

Fearing for his dear life, he turned back and saw a panther charging towards him. Unfortunately, he overlooked a dense, bushy area in front.

“Aah!” he screamed in panic. “My antlers have gotten tangled in the bushes.”

He struggled hard to get out of the bushes, but just as the panther was about to reach him, scrambled free and off he went.

Finally, when he was safe the thought to himself, “I thought my antlers looked terrific, but they could have gotten me killed. Instead, the legs which I thought were ugly saved my life.”

The stag learnt a valuable lesson that day his looks isn’t everything.

Author’s Note:

Like all Aesop’s Fables, this story also has some morals – “Never Judge a book by its cover” / “Vanity leads to downfall”.