The animal in this story is a peacock. Peacocks have feathers of many colors. But why do peacocks look different from other birds? A story from Aesop’s Fables explains why.

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The Peacock

There is an old story about why peacocks have beautiful feathers. In this story, the peacock does not have beautiful feathers – yet. The peacock has brown feathers. The peacock looks like the colors of the field. One day the peacock walks in the field. The peacock passes by a rabbit. The rabbit is eating the grass in the field. The rabbit does not see the peacock. The peacock keeps walking. The peacock passes by a deer. The deer is eating leaves on the tree. The deer does not see the peacock either. Then the peacock passes by a group of birds. The birds are singing. The birds do not see the peacock. The peacock makes a wish. He wishes to look different. He wishes to have big, beautiful feathers of many colors. He wishes for the animals to see him. He goes to sleep. He wakes up. He hears a bird talk to him. The bird says, “Look! Peacock, you have beautiful feathers.” The peacock goes to the lake. He looks at his reflection in the water. He sees blue feathers. He sees green feathers. He sees purple feathers. His feathers are big and beautiful. The peacock goes back to the field. The other animals say, “Peacock, your feathers are so beautiful. You are the most beautiful bird.” The peacock is happy. Then the birds say, “Let’s fly to the river! There is good food by the river.” The birds fly away. The peacock wants to fly too. But the feathers are so big. He can’t fly to the river. He says, “Oh no! I made a wish for beauty. But I am a bird. Birds need to fly.” The end.

In this story, the peacock is happy to have big, beautiful feathers. But the feathers can’t fly. Beauty isn’t everything.