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.
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