Long ago, all zebras had eyes in the front of their heads. A female zebra always praised herself, “I am so beautiful! Look at my lovely stripes and tail!” However, her favourite thing to boast about was her eyes. “Aren’t my eyes so perfectly placed in the front of my head?” she said. All the animals would whisper behind her, “She always brags! Vain creature!” Soon, they became so annoyed that they started planning to play a trick on her. One day, when the zebra walked past the jackal, she said, “Are my eyes not the most beautiful you have ever seen?” “Yes,” replied the jackal, cunningly. Suddenly, he pounced on her and she fell very hard on her face. This forced her eyes to the side of her head. When the zebra saw her reflection in a stream near by, she was angry at the jackal. She turned around to punish him but the jackal was gone.
The Vain Zebra
