The Stork and Its Beak
Long ago, beside an old forest with cool waters, there lived a stately stork who was immensely proud of himself. This stork would stand on the shore of the clear, mirror-like lake and gaze in admiration at his long beak, which gleamed like silver. The forest's chattering jackdaw, meanwhile, would swish her colorful tail among the bushes and alight beside him every morning. The stork thought his long, pointed beak was the most elegant ornament in the world of birds, and he never missed a chance to boast. The two conceited neighbors would spend the whole day arguing over whose feature was the finer. One autumn morning the jackdaw ruffled her ornate feathers and glided towards the stork with a mocking air.
"Look at the splendor of my tail; that ugly, overgrown beak of yours only tires the eye," she said, bursting into laughter. Incensed by these words, the stork clattered his beak proudly and answered her at once. "My beak is the emblem not only of elegance, but of great strength as well," he said. Just then a thin cry full of panic rose from the hollow of the great plane tree nearby. A little squirrel kit had fallen between the narrow cracks of a log and had become wedged there. The jackdaw tried to help with her long, ornate tail, but when her feathers caught in the branches she was forced to retreat.
Helpless, the birds did not know what to do to rescue the little squirrel thrashing in terror. Without the slightest hesitation the stork sprang forward and thrust his beak, straight as a spear, into that narrow crack. Using his beak with perfect precision, he drew the young squirrel out of the place where it was stuck without doing it any harm. When the jackdaw saw the life-saving, miraculous skill of the long beak she had scorned so haughtily, she bowed her head in shame. The stork, for his part, understood at last in that moment that beauty lies not in empty display but in useful work. True superiority lies not in the elegance of outward appearance, but in the mercy and usefulness shown in hard times. A tree is known by its fruit, and a person by their work.