The Vain Jackdaw.


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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. When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled
before Jupiter, the Jackdaw also made his appearance in his
many-feathered finery. On Jupiter proposing to make him king, on account
of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly protested, and each
plucking from him his own feathers, the Jackdaw was again nothing but a
Jackdaw.

Hope not to succeed in borrowed plumes.




The Milkmaid and her Pot of Milk.


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