The Vain Magpie

The Jackdaw, a bird of plain and modest plumage, possessed a heart filled with envy at the sight of the Peacock and his glorious display of feathers. One day, as the Peacock molted his feathers in the spring, the Jackdaw collected the discarded plumes from the ground and, with great labor, fastened them upon his own body with clay and twine. Thus adorned, the Jackdaw strutted about the forest, displaying himself to all creatures with an air of supreme vanity and pride. The other birds gazed upon him in astonishment, and the Jackdaw reveled in their admiration, believing at last that he had achieved true beauty and nobility. Yet when the rains came, the clay dissolved and the twine loosened. The borrowed feathers fell away, one by one, fluttering to the ground like leaves in autumn. The Jackdaw, exposed once more in his true form, became the object of ridicule and scorn from every creature in the forest. Even his own kind, the humble Jackdaws, abandoned him in his shame, for he had forsaken his natural station and attempted to deceive all who beheld him. Lonely and despised, the Jackdaw learned too late that no borrowed adornment, however splendid, could grant him the dignity or respect he had foolishly sought. His natural form, though humble, had been honest and pure. In abandoning it for false pretense, he had lost both his integrity and the society of his fellows.