Gilbert the goat was known throughout Sunny Meadow Farm for one thing: his booming bleat! He didn't use it for calling his mother or asking for clover. Oh no, Gilbert used his bleat to *brag*. “I have the biggest horns!” he’d bellow. “I can climb the highest hill!” He thought being the ‘best’ at everything made him important.
The other animals tried to be friendly, but Gilbert often interrupted them with another boast. Penelope the pig wanted to tell him about the delicious mud she’d found, but Gilbert cut her off. “Mud? Pah! I eat the tastiest wildflowers, the ones at the very top of the prickly bushes!” Penelope sighed and wandered off.
One afternoon, Old Man Tiber, the wise tortoise, was trying to move a large, flat stone to create a little sunbathing spot. He strained and pushed, but the stone wouldn’t budge. Gilbert, seeing his chance to show off, rushed over. “Let *me* do it!” he bleated loudly. He lowered his head and rammed the stone… but only bumped it slightly. He tried again, and again, each time boasting about his strength before failing to move it.
Old Man Tiber gently explained, “Strength isn’t always about pushing, Gilbert. Sometimes, it’s about working *with* others.” He called to Bessie the cow and Horace the horse. Together, they carefully pushed and nudged the stone, and with a final heave, it rolled into place.
Gilbert watched, feeling a strange pang in his chest. He hadn’t helped at all, and everyone seemed happier without his boasting. Old Man Tiber noticed Gilbert’s quietness. “Gilbert,” he said kindly, “true strength comes from kindness and helping others. A gentle heart is more valuable than the biggest horns.”
Gilbert thought about Penelope, and how he’d interrupted her. He found her near the apple tree and, instead of bragging, he asked, “Penelope, what was that mud like? You looked like you were having fun.” Penelope’s face lit up. She described the cool, squishy mud, and Gilbert listened, truly listening, for the first time.
He spent the rest of the afternoon helping the other animals – carefully carrying small twigs for Beatrice the bunny’s nest and gently guiding a lost chick back to its mother. He didn’t boast once. He discovered that helping others felt much, much better than bragging.
As the sun began to set, Gilbert realized Old Man Tiber was right. Being kind and gentle wasn’t about being the ‘best’; it was about being a good friend. And that, he decided, was the best feeling of all. He let out a soft, happy bleat, not a boastful one, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of sunny meadows and friendly faces.