A Jackdaw chanced to fly over the garden of the King's palace.
There he saw with much wonder and envy a flock of royal Peacocks
in all the glory of their splendid plumage.
Now the black Jackdaw was not a very handsome bird, nor very
refined in manner. Yet he imagined that all he needed to make
himself fit for the society of the Peacocks was a dress like
theirs. So he picked up some castoff feathers of the Peacocks and
stuck them among his own black plumes.
Dressed in his borrowed finery he strutted loftily among the
birds of his own kind. Then he flew down into the garden among
the Peacocks. But they soon saw who he was. Angry at the cheat,
they flew at him, plucking away the borrowed feathers and also
some of his own.
The poor Jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions. There
another unpleasant surprise awaited him. They had not forgotten
his superior airs toward them, and, to punish him, they drove him
away with a rain of pecks and jeers.
_Borrowed feathers do not make fine birds._
[Illustration]
[Illustration]