The Peacock and the Crane
A peacock spread his rainbow-colored tail in the middle of the forest, showing it off. All the birds admired him, and he felt very proud of himself.
One day, the peacock met a plain gray crane by the pond. He laughed and said, "Your feathers are so dull! They have none of my beautiful colors."
The crane smiled calmly and replied, "My feathers may have no color, but I can fly high up among the clouds and stars. Can you fly like that?"
The peacock flapped his wings and tried to fly, but his long, beautiful tail was far too heavy to lift him even a little. Meanwhile, the crane soared easily into the sky.
The peacock learned that outward beauty is not as important as what you can actually do. From then on, he became humbler and learned to admire the strengths of others too.
Moral of the story
Outward beauty doesn't determine someone's true worth — usefulness and ability matter far more. Don't let pride in what you have blind you to the good in others.
The original plot is in the public domain. Copyright is reserved in the Hoot Tales retelling, translation, illustrations, and presentation.
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