Once there was a fox who liked to play tricks. He especially liked to play tricks on his neighbor, a stork.
"That stork is funny looking," the fox thought. "Her legs are so tall. And her bill is useless—it's too long and pointy!"
One day the fox got an idea for a new trick.
"Stork!" The fox waved, carefully hiding his sly smile. "Please come to my house for dinner tonight. I'll prepare a delicious meal for us."
"Why, thank you, Fox," the stork said. "I'd love to come."
At dinnertime the stork knocked on the fox's door.
"I'm looking forward to this meal," she thought. "I wonder what Fox has prepared for us."
The fox greeted the stork and led her to the table. Then he set out two shallow dishes of soup.
The fox eagerly slurped up his soup. But the poor stork stared at her dish and frowned.
"I can't sip this soup!" she thought. "My bill is too long."
The fox pretended not to notice that the stork was having trouble. He slurped his soup noisily.
"Yum! This is so delicious!" he said.
Suddenly the stork realized something. "Fox is playing a trick on me again!" she thought.
But the stork was a very calm bird. She didn't get angry. Instead she got a clever idea.
A few days later, the stork hurried over to the fox.
"It's my turn to invite you for dinner," the stork said. "Please join me for a meal tonight. I'll prepare a delicious meal for us."
"Wonderful!" the fox said.
The fox arrived right on time. As he stepped inside, he sniffed the air. "Mmm! You made fish—my favorite meal!"
"Yes." The stork smiled and set two tall, narrow jars on the table. "Enjoy!"
The stork happily poked her bill into her jar. She pulled out some fish.
The fox stared at his jar in confusion. "How will I eat this?" he thought.
The fox tried to fit his mouth into the jar. But the opening was much too narrow.
Meanwhile the stork was eating easily, using her long bill.
Finally the fox stood up, tossing his napkin on the table. "You're a very rude host!"
The stork smiled calmly. "I can see you're upset, Fox. Maybe it will teach you something important. You should treat others the way you want to be treated!"