A FLOWER POT that once lived in a household loved to provoke the attention of the other pottery. So vain was she even, that every day she wore new flowers so as to be noticed.

Unexpected news reached her ears one day: a beauty contest would soon be broadcasted on TV so as to decide on the most beautiful flower pot. As soon as she heard it, she flew with joy. “Now’s my chance to go on TV and have everyone admire my beauty!”, the flower pot exclaimed and applied for the contest. The other pottery of the household, that is, the vases, flower pots and plates, all burst into laughter to hear her, as they considered her ‘over the top’.

Never really caring about what others said, the flower pot lost little time. After visiting each and every flower shop in the city, she bought the most expensive and good-looking flowers she could find. “I’m sure I will impress everyone with these”, she thought and went back home to get some rest.

A few minutes later, however, she got curious as to what flowers or plants the other contestants would wear. So she looked on the internet for each and every one of them, only to be shocked with what she discovered: others wore flowers even more expensive than her own, whereas others wore flowers so exotic and hard to find that she would have to travel to the ends of the planet to get the same.

“I’ll show them who’s the boss”, the flower pot thought and went to the shops again. This time however, seeing she had exhausted her options, she bought wax flowers with which she would surely impress everyone. “Nobody cares if they are fake”, the flower pot thought, “I’ll impress them and no one will take notice”.

As soon as the big day came, she wore the wax flowers and went to the TV studio where the beauty contest would take place. The other flower pots were amazed to see her, even wondering how come there was none among them to be found that looked even close as beautiful as she did. The judges became even more excited as she presented herself so as to be rated by them.

“I have never seen so rare and beautiful flowers, filled with lively colors”, the presenter of the show, that is a parsley carrying a microphone, told her. She blushed to hear his words, and the crowd burst into applause. So excited did everyone get, even, that the flower pot thought she would definitely be the winner of the beauty contest.

Just a few minutes before declaring the winner, however, a pot wearing a sensitive hibiscus flower complained about the building’s temperature. “It’s freezing cold in here”, she told them and asked them to turn the heating on, to which the other contestants agreed as some of them were also wearing exotic flowers that needed heat so as to be preserved. And so, the parsley presenter switched the radiators on to quickly warm the room.

No sooner had a few minutes passed, than the flower pot’s fake flowers started… melting, as they were made of wax. “Your beauty is indeed rare, but it doesn’t withstand the heat”, the judges of the contest told her as soon as they realized she had fooled them. Along with them the crowd burst into laughter, as well as the other flower pots, who had gotten so tired of watering their plants and taking care of them all this time that they found her trick unfair.

“But I just wanted to earn your admiration…”, the flower pot exclaimed, her flowers dripping their wax on the carpet. She, then, went red with shame. After apologizing to everyone and cleaning up the mess, she packed her things and went straight back home.

From that day on, and after taking her lesson, she decided to impress others not with the beauty of her flowers but rather with the diligence and hard work with which she takes care of them.