A vain lion wanted to find out why the other animals were not as beautiful as he.
First he asked a giraffe.
The giraffe did not know.
Next, the lion asked a bear.
The bear had no answer.
Then the lion asked a hippopotamus and again got no answer.
Finally, the lion met a mouse.
He asked the mouse,
“Tell me, why aren’t you as big, as strong, and as beautiful as I am?”
The mouse looked up at the lion and said,
“Well, I have been sick.”