The Horse and the Wheat
Once upon a time, on a wide farm where golden ears of wheat rippled in the wind, there lived a magnificent horse. With its brightly gleaming mane and its muscular body, this animal won the admiration of everyone who saw it and was the pride of the farm. The owner of the farm had appointed a cunning groom to look after his loyal steed with the greatest care. But this groom, who seemed so diligent on the surface, was the slave of a hidden greed. The groom coveted the sacks of fresh wheat and barley that were given to the noble horse regularly every day. Every morning the greedy man secretly stole most of the wheat that should have been given to the horse and began to sell it at the market.
To hide the condition of the steed, which was growing thin and weak, he resorted to an unbelievable trick. From morning until evening he combed the horse's coat, brushed its mane and toiled ceaselessly to make its skin shine. While the groom stroked the horse's body with ornate brushes, he also spoke boastfully. "I am giving you a splendour worthy of kings; the smoothness of your body will dazzle everyone who looks at you," he said. The noble horse, whose stomach rumbled with emptiness, endured the groom's feigned attention and skilful lies for a long time. As the days passed, its neglected body could no longer bear this heavy deception.
Finally, one evening, it turned with a deep sigh towards the groom who was again combing it greedily. The noble animal fixed its sorrowful yet dignified gaze on the eyes of the deceitful man and began to speak. "Brushing me until evening and polishing my coat never makes me forget the deep hunger in my belly," it said. "If you truly want me to be healthy and magnificent, you must stop stealing the wheat that is my right at once," it added. The groom, whose lies and theft had been thrown in his face, dropped the brush in shame and did not know what to say. The owner of the farm, hearing this conversation, immediately drove the lying man away from the farm and gave his horse the food that was its right. Showy ornaments and false compliments can never cover the lack of basic needs and of sincerity. As our old proverb reminds us, actions speak louder than words.