The Peacock, they say, did not at first have the beautiful
feathers in which he now takes so much pride. These, Juno, whose
favorite he was, granted to him one day when he begged her for a
train of feathers to distinguish him from the other birds. Then,
decked in his finery, gleaming with emerald, gold, purple, and
azure, he strutted proudly among the birds. All regarded him with
envy. Even the most beautiful pheasant could see that his beauty
was surpassed.
Presently the Peacock saw an Eagle soaring high up in the blue
sky and felt a desire to fly, as he had been accustomed to do.
Lifting his wings he tried to rise from the ground. But the
weight of his magnificent train held him down. Instead of flying
up to greet the first rays of the morning sun or to bathe in the
rosy light among the floating clouds at sunset, he would have to
walk the ground more encumbered and oppressed than any common
barnyard fowl.
_Do not sacrifice your freedom for the sake of pomp and show._
[Illustration: THE PEACOCK]
[Illustration]