The Rat and the Mekillot. A Dark Sun Fable.

A rat was traveling along the High road in Nibenay. He was a very proud Rat, even though he was small and had a bad reputation, as all rats do. As the rat walked along, he kept mostly to a ditch, he noticed a great commotion up the road, and soon a grand procession came into view. It was the Shadow King and his retinue.
The King rode on a huge mekillot, adorned with the most gorgeous trappings and an ostentatious howdah. A great crowd of people followed the procession. They were so taken up with admiration of the mekillot, that the rat was not noticed. His pride was hurt.
"What fools!" he cried. "Look at me, and you will soon forget that clumsy mekillot! Is it his great size that makes your eyes pop out? Or is it his armored hide? Why, I have eyes and ears and as many legs as he! I am of just as much importance, and"—
But just then a slave boy spotted him, and captured him for his families dinner. The rat then knew that he was not as important as the mekillot.