The Mushrooms Measure Up

Autumn has come to the forest. The rain draws a host of mushrooms from beneath the mossy carpet. Here is the chanterelle with its orange crest, the good-humoured grey-stemmed bolete, the jolly dark-brown milkcap, the small tender-hearted butter bolete, and the tall parasol mushroom with its splendid collar. All are happy to see one another.
But then a loud voice rings out: “Come on, can you not see the most beautiful mushroom of all?” There stands the proud fly agaric, its cap bright red and sprinkled with white spots. It has something nasty to say about each of them — the parasol, it claims, is colourless; the bolete, far too stout. The others disagree with the fly agaric’s sharp remarks and decide, by putting one another to the test, to discover who truly is the most beautiful mushroom in the forest.