THE VAIN JACKDAW

THE VAIN JACKDAW
JUPITER DETERMINED, it is said, to create a sovereign over
the birds, and made proclamation that on a certain day
they should all present themselves before him, when he
would himself choose the most beautiful among them to
be king. The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched
through the woods and fields, and collected the feathers
which had fallen from the wings of his companions, and
stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping thereby to make
himself the most beautiful of all. When the appointed day
arrived, and the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the
Jackdaw also made his appearance in his many feathered
finery. But when Jupiter proposed to make him king because
of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly
protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers,
leaving the Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw.