Hetty was very proud of her lovely brown colour and gorgeous figure. “I won the first prize at the Farmers’ Annual Meet for being the most beautiful goat!” she announced. The other animals and birds looked at one another and wondered what to say. “You really must stop being vain, Hetty,” advised Gloria, the oldest ewe. But Hetty refused to change. One day, the gardener had been working at the farm and had left some potted plants near Hetty’s pen. Suddenly, the farm creatures were startled to hear terrible howls and yelps and grunts from the pen. They ran to see what had happened. Hetty was dancing around the pen with a small plant stuck behind her. It was a cactus plant! And the thorns were stuck! The creatures laughed as they pulled out the thorns and poor Hetty sat in a puddle to heal herself! She never preened herself again!
Hetty and the Cactus
