Once, a stag was drinking water at a forest pool. He saw himself in the clear water. ‘How handsome I am!’ he thought, ‘My antlers branch from my head like young trees; my coat is smooth and glossy; my eyes sparkle like stars. I only wish that my legs were sharper. They are so long and thin. I am ashamed of them!’ Just then, the stag heard the sound of a huntsman’s horn. He dashed away through the forest, his long thin legs bearing him swiftly. The forest grew thicker, and suddenly, his great spreading antlers got caught in the branches of a tree and held him there. He struggled to escape, but his antlers held him fast. He was able to break away only when the huntsman and the hounds were very near. ‘How foolish I have been!’ thought the stag, ‘My splendid horns are the cause of trouble, while my thin legs have saved my life!’
The Handsome Stag
