There was once a crow that did not like its black feathers.
The crow often admired the colourful feathers of the peacock and wanted to be one among the peacocks.
The crow would often tell its fellow crows, “You all look so dull and plain. look how beautiful the peacocks are. I wish I were a peacock, too.”
Finally, the crow had an idea.
It decided to pick up all the peacock feathers that had fallen down and decided to stick it to its own wings so that it would look like the peacock.
Painstakingly, using tree sap, the crow stuck all the fallen peacock feathers to its tail.
The crow looked at its own work. “Now I am as gorgeous as a peacock.” The crow told itself.
However, when the crow tried to join the flock of peacocks, the crow was mocked and thrown out of the place because the peacocks clearly saw that the crow was not one among them. “Putting on peacock feathers will not make you a peacock.”
Sadly the crow returned to the other crows. But none of the crows now wanted to be with this crow that had shunned them.
A wise old crow came and told the crow its lesson. “We have to accept ourselves for the way that we are and not copy others, blindly. I hope that you have learned your lesson.”
Adapted from the Panchantantra
