How the camel lost his good looks

How the camel lost his good looks

They say that long, long ago the Camel used to be one of the most handsome animals. He had a long fluffy tail and nice and mighty horns.
All the animals in the forest and the steppe were envious of the Camel. Many of them wanted to have the kind of tail that the Camel had, or the kind of horns he had.
The Camel knew of this and said proudly: ``You won't find the kind of tail I have, or the horns, anywhere else in the world!''
But it would have been better if he had not boasted.
Once he came up to the river to have a drink of water and there met a Maral. ``I'm invited to a party. Will you lend me your horns, just for a while?'' asked the Maral.
The Camel lent him his horns.
Later on that very day the Camel met a Horse.
``I'm invited to a party,'' said the Horse, ``will you lend me your tail?''
The Camel agreed and stayed on the bank of the river.
The Maral and the Horse ran off. All day long the Camel was drinking water and looking up the road while waiting for them.
But there was no sign either of the Maral, or of the Horse.
The Maral had deceived the Camel and skipped over to the taiga. He stayed there for ever and never went out into the open steppe. He got accustomed to the horns as if they were his.
The Horse never gave back the borrowed tail and when he comes across the Camel, he gets frightened and runs away.
That is how the Camel lost his good looks and sweet temper.