Once upon a time there was a little monster named Kori. He wasn't a very pretty monster. He had drab green fur with some purple splotches, tiny stubbly wings that weren't any good for flying, large round red eyes set above a big nose, and a short tail that only seemed useful for breaking things.

Every morning he would stare morosely at his reflection in the still pond near where he lived. He spent a lot of time just wishing that he was beautiful, so that the animals who lived nearby wouldn't laugh at him so much. He desperately wished for long limbs, graceful wings, lovely eyes. . . .

One morning Kori woke up and felt different! He rushed to the pond to look at himself and couldn't even recognize his reflection. His wish had been granted! He was beautiful. His nose was long and tapered, his wings stretched a dozen feet wide, his limbs were long and agile. And his eyes were a gorgeous blue, the shade of twilight sky.

Joyous, he immediately leapt into the sky and beat his wings, catching a wind current and soaring into the clouds. He performed a barrel roll, an inside out loop, a spiral reaching for the sun. A flock of birds gliding by saw him and sang sweetly to him, joining him in his flight, impressed.

Kori grew tired, using muscles he'd never had before, so he landed in a forest some distance away from his home. He padded nonchalantly around, delighted not to find himself stumbling over his tail or his feet. A family of rabbits noticed him and stopped to stare, awed by his beauty. He struck a pose, so that they could admire him better. A passing fox noticed, too, and took advantage of the rabbits' stunned attitudes to snatch one of the young, tender ones and run away with it.

Appalled, Kori also ran, winding between the trees until he reached a clearing where he paused, panting. He felt horribly guilty for the little rabbit's death, and brooded over the fact that his beauty was the cause.

He looked up, startled by some motion nearby, to find that he had returned to his pond. Standing at the water's edge was a small female monster, looking almost exactly like Kori! Well, like Kori had before his wish had been granted. She was staring sadly into the pond, scrutinizing her reflection. Kori recognized the look on her face, for he'd known it many times himself--she wished, as he had, to be beautiful.

Without thinking, he started toward her, and she looked up in alarm. Seeing him, she gave a cry of dismay and dashed off, only tripping once in her haste. Kori hung his lovely head, shamed that his beauty had caused her grief.

The day had grown late, so with his thoughts full of sadness and guilt, Kori fell asleep right next to the pond. When he woke the next morning, by habit he checked his reflection--and for once was relieved to see the face he had considered ugly for so long. He bounced around in glee, and even managed not to trip over anything in his exuberance.

He caught a snatch of motion out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see the female he'd watched yesterday. She was trying to hide behind a bush, afraid of him. Kori smiled and slowly walked toward her, then held a hand out to her.

"Don't wish to change," he told her. "You're beautiful how you are."

Hesitantly, she placed her hand into his, and smiled shyly at him. Together, they walked away from the pond and its reflection.