Helen the hippo & Moe the mouse

At one time Helen Hippo was quite hoity-toity. In fact, all the time she only wanted to hear  praise about her appereance. At the beginning, this task woudn't requiere too much  effort for her friends, because it was clear that Helen Hippo was dazzlingly beautiful. Yet little by little, her friends were trying to stay away from her, so her beauty started to belie her narcissistic attitude.

Then she thought that she had lost her beauty; for this reason she was brooding over things that she should do to get her beauty back. The following day, Helen Hippo started to get in trim. Helen Hippo worked out to such a point she was worn out. The other animals couldn't understand what she was doing, although there was a method in her madness.

Oddly enough, her friends were scathing with her foolish demeanor. They couldn't recognize her any more, because Helen Hippo's beauty was lacklustre. Predictably, Helen Hippo ended up hearing these inappropriate comments. She felt giddy and ran away. It was a real hassle for her, so who was she really? So she asked herself, 'Am I who I used to be, or am I the hippo I am now?

Helen Hippo decided to look for answers, and as a result, she wandered about from pillar to post but nobody knew how to help her. Until one day, she bumped into an old friend, Moe Mouse. Helen Hippo told him what had happened. Then, after gobbling a piece of cheese, he told her: 'You are what you were and you are what you are now too'. Helen Hippo was astonished, then she asked him: how can I be the same hippo?. Moe Mouse told her: 'You'd better consider the hard trip that you have done, and in the origin of your escape, only in that way are you able to understand what has happend to you'. At that moment, Helen Hippo realized that  she had been pretty boastful with everybody and she felt ashamed and guilty of her attitude.

Then Moe Mouse added: What's done is done! ….and asked her: Are you prepared to go out on a limb? She nodded, and Moe Mouse said: the answer that you are looking for is simple....you have to lose and learn from mistakes to know who you really are. We are our appearance but we are also our character. Therefore, your task during your whole life will be to discover the harmony between both. Yet don't forget that the beauty is only skin deep!

It was a great lesson, I'll never forget this' said Helen Hippo, She came to terms with her error and decided to come back to her home to apologize to her friends. They were finally so lenient with her and discovered her genuine beauty.