Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
89. THE BIRDS, THE PEACOCK AND HIS FEATHERS
Perry 621 (Odo
Against vanity and so on.
The peacock was a remarkable bird both because of the beauty of his feathers
with their various colours and also because he was gentle and courteous.
On his way to the assembly of the birds, the peacock ran into the raven.
The raven asked the peacock if he would give him two of his feathers.
The peacock said, 'What will you do for me in return?' The raven replied,
'I will squawk your praises throughout the courts in the presence of all
the other birds!' So the peacock gave the raven two of his feathers. The
crow then made the same request of the peacock and obtained two of the
peacock's feathers, as did the cuckoo and all kinds of other birds, until
finally the peacock was plucked completely bare. The peacock was supposed
to nourish and protect his chicks but he was unable to do so since he
didn't have any feathers. Winter came, and he died. His chicks went away
and lived as best as they could on their own.
Note: For a different sort of fable about the crow in borrowed feathers,
see Fable 328.
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.