In the heart of a lush green forest, there lived a tortoise who claimed to be a master healer. He sat in a small hollow near a stream, telling everyone that he possessed secret herbs to cure any ailment. One by one, the forest animals would visit him, take some colorful leaves, and leave feeling better—not because the leaves worked, but because they believed the tortoise's confident words.
One afternoon, a clever rabbit named Riku approached the tortoise. As Riku sat near the tortoise, he noticed something strange. The tortoise's shell was dull and cracked, and his skin looked dry and sickly. Despite claiming to be a doctor, the tortoise himself looked like he needed urgent care.
'Oh, Great Healer,' Riku said with a respectful bow. 'I have a very strange problem. My skin feels dull and dark, and my back feels stiff and crooked. Do you have a special medicine for this?'
The tortoise puffed out his chest proudly. 'Of course! I have a magical leaf that makes skin shine like silk, and a special root that straightens any crooked spine. They are very powerful!'
Riku looked closely at the tortoise's trembling hands and replied, 'That sounds wonderful. But before I take it, why don't you try both medicines first? If you become shiny and straight, I will know for sure that they work, and then I shall take them too.'
The tortoise froze. He knew his 'medicines' were just ordinary weeds. The other animals, who had been listening from behind the bushes, realized the truth. They saw the tortoise's poor health and his empty promises. 'We were fools to seek help from someone who cannot even heal himself!' they cried. The animals left the tortoise alone in his hollow, and the pretender lost his reputation forever.
Moral
Before pointing out the flaws in others, one should first look at themselves.
