In a vast field in Germany, there were many wheat ears growing. Among them, one wheat ear grew extremely plump, with large and round grains. As a result, this wheat ear was very proud. It always held its head high and looked down on its surrounding companions.
"Look at me. How plump and strong I am," this proud wheat ear often said to the other wheat ears. "None of you have as good a figure as mine. Your grains are small and shriveled." The other wheat ears were very sad when they heard its words, but they had no way to refute it because this proud wheat ear did indeed grow better than them.
As time passed, the harvest season arrived. The farmers came to the fields to harvest the wheat ears. They harvested all the plump wheat ears, tied them into bundles, and were ready to transport them to the barn. When that proud wheat ear saw the farmer walking towards it, it became even more complacent. It thought to itself, "Look, I'm so excellent that I will surely be treated well."
However, when the farmer harvested it, because its stalk was standing too arrogantly upright, it was accidentally broken. But those humble wheat ears, although they didn't seem as plump as it, were all harvested intact.
This proud wheat ear lay on the ground, watching the other wheat ears being carried away, and it regretted very much. It realized that its pride had brought it bad results. It thought, "If only I could have been more modest before and not looked down on the other wheat ears so much."
Since then, this once - proud wheat ear has understood that no matter how excellent one is, one should not be complacent and should maintain a humble attitude. And the other wheat ears, also because of their humility, got a good reward. They were stored, waiting for sowing in the coming year, and continued to add vitality to this land.
