Once there lived a girl named Josh. She had a friend named Cassandra. now, Cassandra was kind, but, proud and high-and-mighty, whereas, Josh had never, ever been proud.

   One day as the two girls were strolling through a park, an old lady stopped to talk.

   ‘Hello dears!’she said, ‘You girl! You are so beautiful!’ The lady said to Cassandra.

   ‘Well, thank you! I know I am!’ Cassandra replied, feeling an urge of Pride and boasting.

   Josh was happy for Cassandra getting a compliment, but not for her boasting.

   ‘And you dear, you not as beautiful as your friend’ , The old Lady said to Josh.

   Josh was hurt, but, she just smiled.

   A whole week passed like this, they would meet the old lady every time they went to the park and would have the same conversation, and over time Josh got more and more hurt. On the eighth day the old lady said that both of the girls didn’t look beautiful, Cassandra angrily went away with her nose in the air, but , Josh politely smiled a painful smile and went, after saying ‘Good Bye’.

   The next (ninth) day the weather was really bad. The two girls took there mackintosh and went to a lake because Cassandra had insisted:

   ‘I don’t want to hear another insult by that stupid old lady!’

   When they reached the lake, they saw they were alone, which was not surprising, but, they soon realized that they weren’t alone.

   Near the middle of the lake they could make out an old figure trying to stop herself from drowning. It was the old lady they’d met at the park!

   ‘We’ve got to help her!’ Josh urged.

   ‘No! She insulted me And you oughtn’t help her because she insulted you on every encounter!’ Cassandra shot back, haughtily.

   But Josh hadn’t waited to hear the rest of what Cassandra had said, for she had shot off, sat in a motorboat and was now a few feet away from the old lady. Josh heaved her into the boat and sailed off to shore.

   The old lady, on reaching the shore, transformed into a beautiful fairy. Both girls were awed.

   ‘I insulted Josh because I knew she’d be kind even after hearing bad remarks’, the fairy explained, in a now-much-younger voice,’And I appreciated you, Cassandra, because I knew you would be proud, insulted you because knew you would not help me’, the fairy smiled brightly.

   ‘But-but why?!’ Cassandra asked weakly, dumbfounded and ashamed.

   ‘Because, dear, I wanted to make you realize that you should have a big heart and no matter how much someone insults you, you should help them and if someone compliments you, you should not become swollen-headed, but instead, just mouth a polite, pretty thank you’, the fairy finished, and smiled again.

   The words impressed Cassandra and she took an oath there and then.

   ‘I, Cassandra, swear to never be proud again and store a genuine heart of gold’.

   The fairy and Josh were both proud of Cassandra’s bold course of action and appriciated her, and this time Cassandra took the fairy’s advice and said,’Thank you’.

   And they all lived happily ever after.       THE END     😀

 Written by: Zainab Waqas.

          Moral:

  1. Always have a big heart.
  2. Pride comes before a fall.