THE PEACOCK made complaint to Juno that, while the nightingale pleased
every ear with his song, he himself no sooner opened his mouth than he
became a laughingstock to all who heard him. The Goddess, to console
him, said, “But you far excel in beauty and in size. The splendor of
the emerald shines in your neck and you unfold a tail gorgeous with
painted plumage.” “But for what purpose have I,” said the bird, “this
dumb beauty so long as I am surpassed in song?” “The lot of each,”
replied Juno, “has been assigned by the will of the Fates—to thee,
beauty; to the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to the raven,
favourable, and to the crow, unfavourable auguries. These are all
contented with the endowments allotted to them.”