In ancient times, the camel had wonderful antlers, but the deer had no antlers. The camel was very proud of his horns and always showed off them.
And most of all he loved to mock the deer. He meets a deer and immediately starts teasing:
- Not a beast, but some kind of freak! It’s disgusting to look at a naked-headed man!
One evening, when the camel was admiring its reflection in the lake, a deer ran out of the forest. The camel saw him and began to boast again:
- No one has horns like mine! Even the yak is jealous of me!
The deer approached the camel, bowed his head and said sadly:
— The tiger invited me to visit. How can I go to him so ugly, with such a bare forehead! Give me, camel, your horns for one evening. In the morning you come to the watering hole, I will return them to you.
The camel gave the deer his wonderful antlers for the evening, and the deer went on a visit. In the morning the camel came to the lake - there was no deer. The camel began to drink, saw his reflection in the lake - he pulled back and lifted his head up: he seemed very ugly without horns.
“Hurry,” he thinks, “the deer would bring my antlers. Otherwise, I hate to look at myself.”
He took another sip or two, raised his head again, and began looking right and left to see if the deer was coming to give away its antlers.
I waited all day in vain, the deer did not appear, did not bring any antlers.
The next day the camel came to the lake again and again waited for the deer. All the time he lifted his head up so as not to see his reflection, and looked around to see if there was a deer nearby.
Only this time the deer did not appear. Because when he walked to the lake, fierce wolves chased him.
A deer barely escaped from them in the neighboring forest and remained there forever.
Many years have passed since the camel lost its horns. And only now, when he sees his reflection in the water, he immediately lifts his head, turns it right and left: is there a deer coming, is there antlers carrying him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru