The Proud Teapot
Once upon a time, there was a proud teapot. It was proud of its porcelain, proud of its long spout, and proud of its large handle. It had something in front and something at the back! In the front, there was a spout, and at the back, there was a handle. It always talked about these things. But it never talked about its lid. The lid had been broken a long time ago and was later fixed. So, it had a flaw, and people don't like to talk about their flaws, of course, others might. The cup, the creamer, and the sugar bowl—the whole tea set—remembered the teapot's weakness very clearly. They talked about it more than they talked about the intact handle and the beautiful spout. The teapot knew this.