This page offers a diverse collection of stories themed around vanity and its many lessons, with tales spanning myth, folklore, and fables. Characters in each story face consequences, humorous or tragic, as they grapple with pride, jealousy, and the pursuit of beauty.
Animal Vanity and Pride
In The Stag at the Pool, a stag admires his horns but despises his slender legs. When chased by a lion, his horns become a hindrance, and he realizes his legs could have been his saving grace. In The Fox and the Crow, a fox deceives a crow by praising her voice, tricking her into dropping her cheese. The Camel and Jupiter tells of a camel who envies the bull’s horns, asking Jupiter for a similar feature. Jupiter instead reduces the camel’s ears, punishing his envy. The Peacock and the Crane presents a peacock boasting about his colorful feathers, only to be humbled by a crane who can soar freely in the sky. Meanwhile, The Vain Jackdaw And His Borrowed Feathers follows a jackdaw who dresses in discarded peacock feathers, only to be rejected by both peacocks and his own kind.
Human Vanity and Transformation
The Vanity Of Annie tells of a young girl who learns to appreciate kindness over appearance after an elf transforms her to match her vain nature. In The Red Shoes, Karen’s obsession with fashionable shoes leads to uncontrollable dancing, forcing her to seek drastic measures to rid herself of them. The Emperor’s New Clothes shares the tale of an emperor deceived by con men into parading in nonexistent clothes, only to be exposed by a child’s innocent honesty.
Myth and Folklore
In Echo and Narcissus, the nymph Echo is cursed to repeat the words of others and falls for the vain Narcissus, who ultimately falls in love with his own reflection, leading to his demise. The classic tale of Beauty and The Beast features a young woman who learns to look beyond appearances, finding love with a prince cursed in the form of a beast.
Toys and Fantasy
The story of Suzette And The Butcher centers on a French doll who overcomes initial social rejection in a playroom, finding companionship with a butcher toy. In The Top and Ball, a top becomes enamored with a ball that refuses him. Years later, the now-gilded top loses interest when he encounters the ball again, weathered and worn.
Classic Lessons in Humility
Snow White tells of a beautiful princess whose stepmother’s jealousy leads to her attempted murder, only to be revived by a prince. Similarly, The Peacock tells of a bird gifted beautiful feathers but ultimately grounded by his vanity.