JUPITER having determined, it is said, to appoint a sovereign over
the birds, proclamation was made that on a certain day the candidates
should present themselves before him, and he would choose the most
beautiful to be king.
The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, yet wishing to rule over the
birds, searched through woods and fields for feathers which had fallen
from the wings of his companions, and stuck them all over his body.
When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled, the
Jackdaw made his appearance in his many-feathered finery, and Jupiter
proposed to make him king.
Upon seeing this, the other birds were indignant, and each plucking
from the Jackdaw his own kind of feathers, they left the proposed king
a plain Jackdaw with no claim to superior beauty.