The Proud Stag
A stag who boasts of his antlers and dislikes his thin legs learns which of them saves his life.
Tap a word to see it in Turkish · Long press to translate the whole sentence.
A stag drinking from a spring saw his own reflection in the water. He admired the branching antlers on his head: "How magnificent! Like a crown!" Then his eyes slid down to his legs. "Ah, these legs... Thin, feeble. If only they were like my antlers."
Just then the barking of dogs came from afar. Hunters! The stag bolted. Those "feeble" legs carried him like the wind; the dogs fell behind. The stag dashed joyfully into a forest.
But in the forest those magnificent antlers caught in the branches. He struggled and could not get free. The dogs were getting closer.
At the last moment he pulled with all his strength; a piece of his antlers stayed in the branch, but he was free. He came out into the open and ran and ran, and escaped the hunters.
In the evening he came back to the spring. He looked into the water. His antlers were broken and his legs were covered in mud. "What I admired was leading me to my death," he said, "and what I scorned saved my life."
He licked his legs clean. From that day on, whenever he looked into the water, he looked at his legs first and said, "Thank you."
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Proud Stag is a children's tale from Aesop, suitable for ages 4-9 and about 1 minutes long. Read it free on Masal Merkezi, play a lullaby or nature sound in the background, tap any word to see its Turkish meaning and save it to your favorites. For similar tales browse the Aesop's Fables category.
Sign up and your favorites and reading list follow you on every device.
