A Giant Oak stood near a brook in which grew some slender Reeds. You laughed when I said I would repay you, said the Mouse. Do not worry about us, replied the Reeds. Such scanty fare is not fit for a Heron. So he put on a pair of spectacles, and with a leather box in his hand, knocked at the door of the Bird's home. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to the hub in a rut. Look at my ribs. I am nothing but skin and bone. But let me tell you something in private. The Snakes soon wished they had not given him permission to stay. How dare you paddle around in my stream and stir up all the mud!, he shouted fiercely. However small you may be, you are better than nothing at all.
The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.