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Pride comes before a fall - the story of Katherine Cahill | Elijah Wee | Singapore

Here is an essay on "Pride comes before a fall - the story of Katherine Cahill" - a lesson or reminder for a number of us to take note of in one way of another. Enjoy ... 



        Arrogance.

         Intelligence, beauty, you name it. Katherine Cahill had it all. She was a girl with striking features that most girls had wished longingly for. Slender, delicate, Katherine was a sixteen-year-old girl, with fair porcelain skin, luxuriant jet-black hair and eyes of a deep violet.

         Her eyes.

         Those eyes of Katherine were bright, sparkling like diamonds, full of intelligence. Your first impression of Katherine would be a young lady of bedazzling beauty. However, do not judge a book by its cover. Below Katherine Cahill’s attractive appearance lies an unbecoming arrogance. When Katherine walked – she walked with a haughty gait of a peacock. She was too good, too clever and she was also very proud. Being the best in all subjects, Katherine looked down and avoided like the plague those who were academically weaker than her. This was why everyone disliked her. Not only that, Katherine’s well-defined eyebrows often appeared to curve up mockingly and her lips would purse in constant disdain at everyone around her, as if conveying silently, “Let me pass, for I am your Queen. I am the best and you are simply a pest.”

         Acting like a Prima Donna, the annoying arrogance around Katherine bugged even the most mild-mannered person. In her mind, the world revolved around her only. Thus by far, no one in school was able to step up onto the same plate as her. What is worse, Katherine was a spoilt girl. Never before did she stop her constant demands for more and more things. New schoolbags, clothes and books were what Katherine always demanded for. And so, with all her proud ways and riches and brains, she was extremely forlorn but she did not stop to reflect on herself for Katherine was good at everything she had laid a finger on. Her haughty behavior angered everybody.

         However, this attitude of Katherine was soon to be changed.

         Time passed by so quickly. Soon, the end of term drew near. By then, all that the pupils including the proud Katherine Cahill could think of was the prize. It was no ordinary prize. In fact, it was an extraordinary prize offered by the principal for the best composition to be written based on one of two subjects. What’s the point of putting in hard effort to think about the composition? Katherine thought to herself. It should be a piece of cake, right? Instead of reading and thinking about the composition, the over-confident Katherine Cahill just sat at her table, doing nothing at all.

         However, it was a totally different thing during the composition test! Katherine was dreadfully worried. She could not think of an idea for the two subjects. Her fingers holding the pen were turning jelly as though they were being weighed down by a ton of bricks. The look on the presiding examiner’s face did not help either. The skin of the examiner’s face was as thin and drawn as the skin of an onion. Her eyes were grey and sharp like the points of two toothpicks. Unrelenting …

         As expected, Katherine did not win the prize. The average and friendly Luke Tan whose essay never featured in any composition competition was the winner of the prize. As Katherine sat at her desk, her face as glum as an oyster, she realised something. ‘Pride comes before a fall’. Right then, Katherine felt she had to change for the better.

         Not to think too highly of herself.

         Not to look down on her fellow pupils.

         Not to be arrogant ever again.
Till the next time,


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