Yesterday, we had to make our Aesop Fables by our imagination. I made one that has its own moral at the end. Hope you enjoy!

                                                                              The Colorful Chameleon and The

                                                                                                   Plain Twig

Once upon a time there lived a colourful Chameleon and a plain Twig in a forest where predators rarely attack. The Chameleon had flashy, bright neon colors on his skin that looked like a rainbow, so always bragged about his colors anytime, anywhere. The Twig and the other animals are sick of his constant praising, but they have nothing to do about it, since the Chameleon can shut them up in a millisecond, all thanks to his ego.

Meanwhile, the plain Twig had only a brown surface, but he was a friendly animal. Always helping others, being the harbor the animals need, the total opposite of the Chameleon. But the animals wish that the Chameleon can just be humble, but that’s a long shot, even if they took action. All they can do is hope that the Chameleon can change so that they can be friends. 

One day, the twig wakes up in a yawn and checks the window. “New day, new bragging from the Chameleon.” he said sarcastically to himself. He walked out of his little hut to take his morning walk, as that is part of his routine. He looked around the forest in a wonder of what’s out there outside the forest. As he was in deep thought, a loud wail snapped him back to reality. 

Curious like the detective he is, he searched where the noise was coming from. “Right on cue.” he said with a sigh. As sure as fate, he saw the chameleon teasing a squirrel and showing how he could blend himself with the bright flowers. Clearly, the squirrel got fed up that he wailed. The Twig grabbed the squirrel’s hand and said, “Don’t even bother listening to all gloating, let’s go somewhere boast free.” The squirrel laughed and gave the Chameleon the side eye while walking away.  

As they were walking, the squirrel explained all the patronising the Chameleon did this morning. Turns out, he disturbed all the animals’ naps just to boast about his colors. The Twig was getting tired of all this nonsense, so he told the squirrel to get all the small animals the squirrel could find, because he’s gonna call a meeting.

The Twig rushed back home, and made tons of posters to the point he ran out of paper. He gave it to the squirrel along with a cart, while the Twig pinned the remaining posters on trees, houses, whatever he could find. He hoped that at least a couple of people would turn up, because he needs to address the Chameleon’s annoyance.

At night, to the Twig’s surprise, the whole town showed up! The number of animals barely fitted his small hut. They began the meeting with each animal telling about the Chameleon’s bullying and boasting. After everyone is done, they had a long think of how to give the Chameleon a lesson he’ll never forget. But no one could think of anything. Everyone wanted revenge so badly, but nothing could come to mind. Even after many weeks, they were running on empty. The twig was starting to lose hope.

A couple of days later, the wind took control over the town. Everyone stayed put inside their homes, waiting for the wind to pass. But the peace didn’t stay for long. The wind began to bite, chomping the animals’ homes. The animals had no choice but to hide underground. Almost everyone is there, except for the Chameleon. He didn’t know about the disaster, since no one told him, so he just walked around the windy atmosphere, not knowing that he almost would have died. 

The Chameleon was walking around the town, wondering where the houses had gone. “Did they construct a new village? Oh, I better see!“ So the Chameleon walked through the depths of the windy forest. Every step was a dragging anchor as the Chameleon strolled and strolled, without a care in the world. But suddenly, whoosh! The Chameleon became startled. He looked around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. When he saw no clue, he kept walking. Whoosh! The Chameleon jumped. He prepared his fists, ready to fight. 

A few minutes later, he found out that it was just his imagination. “Maybe the wind swayed the trees, that’s why.” He reasoned to himself. As he kept walking, he heard a thump behind him. Then another thump, then another, then another! When the Chameleon turned to look what’s behind him, his blood turned cold. A big, massive, ginormous and starving hawk was towering over him. “Looks like I found my lunch.” The Hawk said hungrily. The Chameleon shivered, not knowing what to do. Just as the Hawk was about to charge, a hand pulled the Chameleon underground. 

“AHHHH!” The Chameleon shouted. He felt ground beneath him, but he still shut his eyes and stayed still like a statue. An awkward silence emerged. All the Chameleon can hear are loud thumps made by the Hawk. Soon, he can hear muffled shouting and the swaying of feathers. When the Chameleon thought the coast was clear, he opened his eyes and saw the little animals along with the Twig standing in front of him.

“W-wha, b-but, I…” the Chameleon stuttered. The twig put his arm around him. “I thought about leaving you, and the other animals thought about that as well, but I couldn’t bear seeing a reptile being eaten. Soo…” The Twig explained. “It was you who pulled me in here?” The Chameleon asked. “Yep.” Answered the Chameleon. “I hope that you learned something valuable. We were also planning revenge on you, but karma has its way!” The Chameleon reflected on his teasing and felt guilty. He soon apologized to each animal he teased.

From then on, the Chameleon never bragged about his neon colors and just kept his body as plain as day. He also managed to make friends with the small animals and became best friends with the Twig. The animals got what they wanted, just without the revenge part, since karma already did it for them! Finally, they lived happily ever after.

THE END