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The Crow and the Netch
One day a curious crow decided to fly farther than he ever flew before. He flew and flew and finally came upon a creature that he found very strange.
"Friend!" he called as he flew by the creature. "Friend, what is it that you are? I have never seen a flying beast such as you!"
"They call me a netch," the good netch replied.
"A netch! A netch! That's quite the catch!" the crow cackled. "Tell me, netch, how is it that you fly?"
"I've flown these shores since I was born," the netch replied. "I do not know how."
"Don't know, don't know, oh what a show!" the crow called out. "Where are your glossy feathers that help you glide?"
"I have no need of feathers to glide," the netch explained, "but I have a strong, thick hide to protect me."
"A hide! A hide! Oh, what a find," the crow mocked. "Tell me netch, where are your eyes?"
"I need no eyes to sail the skies, as you can plainly see," the netch once more replied.
"No eyes, no eyes, to sail the skies!" the prideful crow continued. "But it makes you far uglier than I!" And he began to laugh at the netch's misfortune.
The crow's laughter grew louder and louder, eventually attracting a nearby cliff-racer. The beast swooped down upon the crow, swallowing him whole, and he could mock the netch no more.
The netch simply sighed and said, "Mocking others is for naught, for none can change their own weakness."
* * *
The Gifted Guar
One day a farmer decided to give his daughter a gift. She had started a family of her own, and he wished good fortune for her. He chose his finest guar and brought it to his daughter's new home.
His daughter was delighted at this gift, but her husband only glared.
"You didn't even let us choose?" the husband asked angrily. "What if this guar is sick, or old, or weak? I must at least inspect it before it's left in our care!"
The daughter tried to calm her husband, but the farmer simply nodded and said, "You may examine this guar as you see fit."
The husband inspected every inch of the guar, even forcing the beast to open its mighty jaws to look at the state of its teeth.
"Well, it will have to do," the husband conceded, though he knew it was a fine guar indeed.
The farmer stroked his chin. "You know, I think you're right. You should be able to pick whichever guar you wish. I know there's plenty for sale in the local market."
The husband simply gaped as his father-in-law walked back home, guar in hand.
His wife slapped her husband's arm and told him, "You fool! Never look a gift guar in the mouth!"
* * *
The Child of the Councilor
One summer's day, a councilor was walking along the market in her splendid regalia, attended by her many servants. She was so splendid that a small mer in the crowd told his mother, "I wish my mother was a councilor, instead of you!"
The little mer never expected the councilor to hear him, nor did he expect her to turn toward him in the crowd.
"I have heard your wish, little one, and I accept," she told the open-mouthed little mer. "You will be my child, and you will have all that you wish."
The little mer was immediately taken to the councilor's manor and placed in a room with toys and sweets. He laughed and clapped his hands, playing and eating all he wished. But soon he grew bored and went to speak to a servant.
"It's no fun playing by myself," he told the servant. "Can I have someone to play with?"
"The child of the councilor has no equal," the servant told him. "There is none worthy to play with you."
The little mer had little time to think on this when a scholar came to his room. The scholar looked upon the little mer with scorn and said, "Your lessons should have begun hours ago! The child of the councilor must know many great things."
The little mer was made to listen to the scholar's lectures for hours and hours, and soon his head ached with all that he was to know.
Eventually it was time for dinner, but the little mer's troubles were not over.
"In those clothes? In that state?" cried his servant, horrified. "You must be washed and clothed if you are to be presented as the child of the councilor!" And so the little mer was scrubbed roughly and forced into very uncomfortable clothes.
By this point the little mer was almost in tears. He missed his home, and his clothes, and his friends. But most of all he missed his mother, who he had never gone a day without.
When the little mer was finally sent to the dining hall, he was met with a surprise. Seated at the dining table was his family, all laughing and smiling. He ran to his mother's arms and cried, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I want you to be my mother after all!"
The councilor, who was seated at the head of the table, smiled and told the little mer, "You have learned a very important lesson, my child. We often forget to be thankful for what we have, when thinking only of what we want."