Once upon a time, in a faraway desert, there was a beautiful rose bush. This rose was very proud of its pretty petals and lovely color. Its only complaint was that it grew next to a prickly cactus, which it thought was very ugly.

Every day, the beautiful rose would tease and make fun of the cactus. The cactus, however, never said a word. The other plants tried to tell the rose to be kind, but the rose was too busy admiring itself.

One day, a terrible drought hit the desert. There was no water for any of the plants. The rose began to wilt. Its pretty petals dried up, and it lost its bright color.

One afternoon, the rose saw a little bird dip its beak into the cactus to drink some water! The rose felt a little bit ashamed.

Even though it was embarrassed, the rose asked the cactus if it could have some water too. The kind cactus happily agreed! The rose realized its mistake. From that day on, the rose and the cactus helped each other through the hot desert days.

Lesson: Never judge anyone by how they look. You never know when someone might be able to help you!