The mice and the weasels were sworn enemies, they fought a lot. However, the mice always lost, and rushed back to the safety of their hole. The mice gathered together to think of a plan to defeat the weasels. They decided that they lost because they did not have a leader.

So they voted by a show of hands and elected a mouse as their leader. The leader was very pleased to be in charge. So, he told the other mice, “I would like to wear the most beautiful pair of antlers on my head. The antlers must be as strong as an antelope’s and as graceful as a deer’s, to show off my majesty.” All the mice worked day and night to make a pair of  strong and graceful antlers for their leader to wear on his head.

One day, the mice and the weasels had an argument and they started to fight again. Though the mice had a leader, the weasels were way too large, and the mice lost again. The scared mice began to run back to the safety of their hole. But the leader could not squeeze into the hole because of the big antlers on his head. He refused to take his beautiful antlers off, and he was captured by the weasels. The weasels told the weeping mouse, “Your vanity made you wear a beautiful pair of antlers on your head, which prevented you from escaping. Such irony!”

老鼠與黃鼠狼是世仇，雙方常常開戰，不過，老鼠每一次都打敗，嚇得逃進洞裡。為了挽回劣勢，所有的老鼠聚在一起開會，認為這幾次的失敗，都是因為沒有領導人的緣故，於是他們舉手表決，選了其中一隻老鼠作為領袖。

這隻老鼠領袖心中十分得意，認為這是無比的光榮，於是對其他老鼠說：「我希望我的頭上能戴著世界上最美麗的角，就像羚羊的角一樣雄壯，像鹿的角一樣優美，顯示我領導者的威風。」所有的老鼠就日夜趕工，參考其他動物頭上的角，做出雄壯又優美的角，戴在老鼠領袖的頭上。

有一天，老鼠與黃鼠狼一言不合，雙方又開戰。老鼠雖然有領袖主持戰局，但是因為黃鼠狼的體型實在太大了，結果老鼠又被打敗，老鼠們就開始四處逃命。大部分的老鼠都順利逃進洞裡，但是這隻老鼠領袖因為頭上有角，怎麼鑽也鑽不進洞裡，而且還不肯將角拔掉，最後就被黃鼠狼抓住。黃鼠狼對大哭的老鼠領袖說：「你愛慕虛榮，做了美麗的角戴在頭上，最後卻有這樣的下場，真是活該呀！」