A HANDSOME HORSE
A wild horse became envious
of the zebras which are naturally blessed with beautiful black stripes all over
their body. The horse spent sleepless nights meditating about a method to get
decorated with beautiful stripes like a zebra. He sought the advice of a monkey
who was the best scholar, artist and beautician of the forest. The monkey led
the horse to a place where a wildfire had just burnt down several trees. Using
the pieces of charcoal from the burnt wood, the monkey painted fine stripes on
the body of the horse. The happy horse thanked the monkey and joined a group of
zebras who accepted him without a doubt. As they were grazing together, a heavy
rainfall occurred. The 'painted zebra' was in great trouble. The stripes of
charcoal dissolved in the rain and created a dirty mess. The stripes lost their
outline. The zebras rejected him. The horse ran away with a disfigured body. He
came to his own relatives who were reluctant to accept him seeing his weird
appearance. Dejected and depressed, he approached the monkey who created the
stripes and requested him to end his misery. The monkey led him to a stream and
washed his body, rubbing hard with the husk of a coconut. Having restored his
natural appearance, the horse watched his appearance in the still water. He
said to himself, "I am really beautiful!"
Every creature is
blessed with a unique form and appearance. We must be ready to accept the gifts
of God instead of worrying about our appearance. Comparing our features with
those of others and trying to imitate others creates unnecessary worry. Let us
look at the less privileged brothers and thank God for His generous gifts. That
is the path to peace and progress.
"Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears..."{Proverbs
31: 30}.
St. Peter advises, "You should not use outward
aids to make yourself beautiful, such as the way you do your hair, or the
jewellery you put on, or the dresses you wear. Instead your beauty should
consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is of the greatest value in God's sight" {1 Peter 3: 3, 4}.
................................................................................................................................
© By:
Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science &
Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally and Leo. S.
John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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