Narcissus, the Conceited Fool

Narcissus, the Conceited Fool

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who was so handsome that everyone who saw him admired him. His name was Narcissus. As he grew older, he looked even more stunning, and he became proud of his looks. He was so proud that he looked down on others and could not love anyone other than himself. Unfortunately, a woman named Echo, who lived in the winds, fell in love with him. She was so smitten by his looks that she followed him everywhere. He was, however, too in love with himself to even notice how upset she was as he continued to ignore her. His meanness towards her made her so sad that she kept fading until nothing was left of her but her voice.

One day, when Narcissus was out walking through the forest, he became thirsty and saw a stream of water. He bent down to scoop some water up with his hand to drink. This was at a time before mirrors were invented, and Narcissus had never seen his own face. When he bent down to scoop the water, he saw his reflection in the water. He was so struck by how handsome he looked, he fell in love with the image. He was so in love with his own appearance that he could not look away. He just sat there by the stream staring at himself. He could not even bring himself to scoop the water to drink because he thought the image was too beautiful to disturb. He just sat by the stream until he died of hunger and thirst because he could not leave his image.