THE VAIN JACKDAW

Jupiter announced that he intended to appoint a king over the birds, and named a day on which they were to appear before his throne, when he would select the most beautiful of them all to be their ruler. Wishing to look their best on the occasion they repaired to the banks of a stream, where they busied themselves in washing and preening their feathers. The Jackdaw was there along with the rest, and realised that, with his ugly plumage, he would have no chance of being chosen as he was: so he waited till they were all gone, and then picked up the most gaudy of the feathers they had dropped, and fastened them about his own body, with the result that he looked gayer than any of them. When the appointed day came, the birds assembled before Jupiter's throne; and, after passing them in review, he was about to make the Jackdaw king, when all the rest set upon the king-elect, stripped him of his borrowed plumes, and exposed him for the Jackdaw that he was.

徒劳的寒鸦

朱庇特宣布，他要任命一个鸟类之王，召集众鸟在指定日期来见他，到时候他会挑选出最漂亮的鸟来做他们的统治者。为了呈现出最好的样子，鸟儿们成群结队地来到一条小溪边，对着水梳洗打扮，整理羽毛。寒鸦也在其中，他意识到自己的羽毛实在丑陋，肯定不会被选中，于是他等到所有的鸟都走了，把他们落下的羽毛中最花哨的收集在一起，粘在了自己身上，这样他看上去就比其他鸟都好看了。到了指定日期，鸟儿们都集合在朱庇特的宝座之前。朱庇特检阅过众鸟之后，准备选寒鸦为王，但其他的鸟对此非常不满，群起攻击这位候选的鸟王，把他伪造的羽毛都扯了下来，让他露出了本来面目。