The Jackdaw and the Peacocks
Aesop offers us this instructive story so that we will refrain from strutting about in other people’s stuff, and instead live our lives in the clothes that suit us.
A jackdaw, puffed up with foolish pride, found some peacock feathers that had fallen on the ground. He picked up the feathers and, putting them on, he tried to join the lovely peacock flock, scorning his fellow jackdaws. The peacocks, however, tore the feathers off that presumptuous bird and pecked at him until he went away. After having been badly mauled by the peacocks, the jackdaw then sadly returned to his own folk, but he was cast out once again and suffered the pain of public humiliation. One of the jackdaws whom he had originally scorned said to him, ‘If you had been content to dwell among us, satisfied with what Nature had bestowed on you, then you would not have been humiliated by the peacocks, nor would your disgrace have met with our rebuff.’
NOTE: Horace alludes to a version of this story in which it is a crow, not a jackdaw, who puts on other feathers (Epistles 1.3.18 ff.).
Fable 327 (Chambry 161 = Perry 123)
The Jackdaw and the Ravens
There was a jackdaw who was bigger than the other jackdaws. Scorning his fellows, he joined the company of the ravens, having decided to spend his life as a member of their flock. The ravens, however, did not recognize the voice of this bird or his appearance, so they attacked him and drove him away. Rejected by the ravens, he went back again to the jackdaws. But the jackdaws were angry about his presumptuous behaviour and refused to accept him. The final result was that the jackdaw had nowhere to go.
This is also true of someone who leaves his homeland, preferring to live elsewhere: he is treated with contempt abroad and is rejected by his own people for his presumptuous behaviour.
NOTE: For the Greeks, the jackdaw was a bird who was supposed to stick to his own flock. The equivalent of the English proverb ‘birds of a feather flock together’ was koloios poti koloion, ‘the jackdaw (stands) next to the jackdaw’ (e.g. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1155a).
Fable 328 (Odo 3)
The Crow, the Eagle, and the Feathers
A fable against people who boast that they have something they do not.
There was a crow who saw that she was ugly and black, so she complained to the eagle. The eagle told her to borrow some feathers from her fellow birds. The crow did as the eagle suggested, taking feathers from the tail of the peacock, from the wings of the dove, and so on and so forth, appropriating the other birds’ feathers. When the crow decided that she was sufficiently well dressed, she began to laugh at the other birds and yell at them. The other birds then went and complained to the eagle about the boastful crow. The eagle replied, ‘Let every bird take back her feathers, and thus humiliate the crow.’ This is what they did, and so the crow was left ugly and naked.
Fable 329 (Aphthonius 31 = Perry 101)
The Beauty Contest of the Birds
A story about a jackdaw, urging us to hate arrogance.
A beauty contest was held and all the birds went to be judged by Zeus. Hermes fixed the appointed day and the birds flocked to the rivers and ponds where they shed their shabby feathers and preened their finer ones. The jackdaw, however, had no natural advantages to commend his appearance, so he decorated himself with the feathers that had been cast aside by the other birds. The owl alone recognized her own feathers and took them away from the jackdaw, and she incited the other birds to do the same. When the jackdaw had been stripped bare by everyone, he went before the judgement of Zeus naked.
Adornments that do not belong to you can lead to humiliation.
NOTE: For the beauty contest of the animals, see Fable 253.
Fable 330 (Babrius 101 = Perry 344)
The Fox, the Wolf, and the Lions
There was a wolf who had grown so much stouter than his fellow wolves that they started calling him ‘Lion’. This honour was not enough to satisfy the foolish wolf, so he left the pack and began to consort with the lions instead. A fox made fun of him and said, ‘I hope that I never get such an inflated idea of myself as you now have of yourself: you may seem like a lion to the wolves, but when the lions take your measure, you’ll go back to being nothing but a wolf!’
FABLES ABOUT ANIMALS OUT OF PLACE
Fable 331 (Babrius 115 = Perry 230)
The Eagle and the Tortoise in the Air
There was once a slow-moving tortoise who said to the shearwaters of the marsh and to the gulls and the wild terns, ‘If only I too had been made with wings!’ An eagle spoke to her in jest and said, ‘O little tortoise, what wages would you give to me, an eagle, if I were to lift you lightly up into the air?’ ‘I would give to you all the gifts that come from the Eastern Sea,’ said the tortoise. ‘Well then, I will teach you,’ said the eagle. He lifted the tortoise and carried her upside down until they were hidden in the clouds, and then he dropped her onto a mountaintop, completely smashing the shell she wore upon her back. As she breathed her last, the tortoise said, ‘It serves me right! What use did I have for clouds or for wings, when I already had trouble moving about on the ground!’
NOTE: For a quite different story about the eagle and the tortoise, see Fable 111. The Buddhist Kacchapa-jataka has some motifs in common with this fable: a tortoise wants to fly away with two birds who are his friends, so the birds grip a stick between their beaks which the tortoise clings to with his mouth, but of course he cannot manage to keep quiet, and so he plunges to his death.
Fable 332 (Romulus Ang. 7 = Perry 650)
The Beetle in the Air
There was a beetle who came forth fully sated from his dungheap and saw an eagle flying high up in the air, crossing a great stretch of the sky in a brief stretch of time. The beetle then felt contempt for his own way of life and declared to his fellow beetles, ‘Look at that eagle, who is so swift on the wing and so strongly built, equipped with such a savage beak and talons! If she wants, she can soar up to the clouds and plunge downwards as fast as she likes. Meanwhile, we beetles suffer from a sorry state of affairs, being not quite bugs and not quite birds. But my voice is no less pleasant than the eagle’s cry, and her sheen does not outshine my own. I will not crawl around in the dung any more! From now on I will consort with the birds and fly around with them everywhere, joining their society!’ The beetle then rose into the sky, emitting a song that was nothing more than a loathsome sort of buzzing. As he tried to follow the eagle into the upper air, he was unable to endure the strong winds. He fell to the ground, shaken and exhausted, far away from his home. Facing starvation, the sad beetle said, ‘I don’t care if they call me a bug or a bird, if only I can get back home to my dungheap!’
Disaster awaits the arrogant person who puts on airs: he will fail to get promoted and will lose his former position as well.
Fable 333 (Chambry 150* = Perry 116)
The Crab on Dry Land
A crab came up from out of the sea and was looking for food on the land. A hungry fox saw the crab, ran up, and grabbed him. As he was about to be eaten, the crab exclaimed, ‘It serves me right! I am a creature of the sea but I wanted to live on dry land.’
The fable shows that people are bound to fail when they abandon their familiar pursuits and take up a business they know nothing about.
Fable 334 (Chambry 193 = Perry 139)
The Seagull and the Kite
A seagull swallowed a fish and ruptured his throat. When a kite saw the seagull lying dead on the beach, he remarked, ‘It serves you right! You were born to fly in the air and instead you lived your life on the sea.’
Those who abandon their familiar trade and dedicate themselves to an unknown profession naturally come to a bad end.
Fable 335 (Aphthonius 40 = Perry 398)
The Raven and the Swan
A story about a raven, exhorting us to do what is natural to us.
The raven saw the swan and envied his white colour. Thinking that his own colour was due to the water in which he bathed, the ra
ven abandoned the altars where he found his food and instead joined the swans in the swamps and the rivers. This did nothing at all to change the raven’s colour, but he starved to death from a lack of food.
A change of habit cannot alter a person’s nature.
NOTE: Compare the English proverb ‘a crow is never the whiter for washing herself often’ (John Ray, English Proverbs (1670), 121).
Fable 336 (Phaedrus 2.8 = Perry 492)
The Stag Among the Cattle
A stag had been hiding in the woods when he was discovered by some hunters. Hoping to escape certain death at their hands, he ran blindly in terror towards the nearest farmhouse and concealed himself in a convenient stall where the oxen were kept. One of the oxen said to the fugitive, ‘You wretched creature, what on earth are you trying to do? You have sealed your own death warrant by trusting your life to the protection of a human house!’ But the stag implored the oxen, ‘Have mercy, I beg you! At the first opportunity, I’ll run back out again.’ The passing hours of the day gave way to night. A cowherd brought some leafy boughs into the stall but saw nothing amiss. The various farm workers came and went, but no one noticed a thing; the bailiff also passed through but even he didn’t observe anything out of the ordinary. The stag was delighted and began thanking the oxen who had kept quiet on his behalf and had extended such welcome hospitality in a moment of need. One of the oxen said to the stag, ‘We do indeed wish you all the best, but if the man of a hundred eyes should come, your life will hang in the balance.’ Meanwhile, after dinner, the master himself came to inspect the manger since he had noticed that the oxen had been looking rather sickly. ‘Why is there so little fodder here?’ he shouted. ‘And look, not enough bedding! And how much trouble would it be to get rid of these spider webs?’ As the master examined each and every thing, he also noticed the stag’s tall horns. He called his servants and ordered them to kill the stag and to carry his carcass away.
The fable shows that the master has better insight than anyone else when it comes to his own business.
FABLES ABOUT FOOLISH IMITATION
Fable 337 (Syntipas 46 = Perry 203)
The Monkey and the Fishing-net
A fisherman was catching fish by the sea. A monkey saw him, and wanted to imitate what he was doing. The man went away into a little cave to take a rest, leaving his net on the beach. The monkey came and grabbed the net, thinking that he too would go fishing. But since he didn’t know anything about it and had not had any training, the monkey got tangled up in the net, fell into the sea, and was drowned. The fisherman seized the monkey when he was already done for and said, ‘You wretched creature! Your lack of judgement and stupid behaviour has cost you your life!’
This fable shows that people who try to imitate their superiors end up only destroying themselves.
Fable 338 (Ademar 17 = Perry 91)
The Donkey and the Pet Dog
A donkey used to see the master’s pet puppy dog fawning on him day in and day out. The puppy ate his fill of food from the master’s table and was also given many treats by the household servants. The donkey said to himself, ‘If my master and all the servants are so fond of that nasty little dog, then imagine what will happen if I do as the dog does. After all, I am better than a dog, much more talented and useful in so many ways! Yes, pure water from the sacred fountains will be mine to drink, and elegant food will be mine to eat, since I am far superior to that little dog. It is time for me to enjoy the finer things in life and to command the respect of everyone around me!’ As the donkey was reflecting on his situation, he saw the master coming in. He let out a great ‘hee-haw’ and quickly ran to meet him, leaping up and putting his two front feet on his master’s shoulders, licking the master with his tongue and tearing the master’s clothes with his hooves. The master collapsed under the donkey’s weight and at the sound of the master’s shout all the servants came running. They grabbed sticks and stones and attacked the donkey, beating him senseless and breaking his back and his legs. Then they chased him off to the stables, exhausted and barely alive.
Unworthy people should not try to usurp the position of their superiors.
Fable 339 (Babrius 125 = Perry 359)
The Donkey on the Roof
A donkey went up on the top of a house and while he was frisking about he broke some of the roof tiles. A man came running up and dragged the donkey back down to the ground, beating him with a club. The donkey, his back aching from the blows, said to the man, ‘But just yesterday and the day before you were so amused when the monkey did the very same thing!’
NOTE: ‘The donkey on the roof’ was a Latin proverb (e.g. Petronius, Satyricon 63.1), equivalent to our ‘bull in a china shop’.
Fable 340 (Syntipas 1 = Perry 184)
The Donkey and the Cricket
A donkey heard the sound of a cricket chirping and he enjoyed the sound so much that he asked, ‘What kind of food gives you that sweet-sounding voice?’ The cricket replied, ‘My food is the air and the dew.’ The donkey thought that this diet would also make him sound like a cricket, so he clamped his mouth shut, letting in only the air and having nothing but dew for his food. In the end, he died of hunger.
This fable shows that you must not act unnaturally, trying to achieve some impossible thing.
Fable 341 (Babrius 137 = Perry 2)
The Jackdaw and the Eagle
When an eagle seized a sleek and glossy lamb from the flock and carried it off in his talons as a feast for his chicks, the jackdaw decided to do the same thing. Accordingly, he swooped down and clutched at a lamb, but his claws got tangled in the wool on the lamb’s back and he could not escape. The jackdaw said, ‘It serves me right for being such a fool! Why should I, who am only a jackdaw, try to imitate eagles?’
NOTE: For a different ending to this fable, see Fable 342 (following).
Fable 342 (Syntipas 9 = Perry 2)
The Jackdaw and the Eagle
There was a jackdaw who saw an eagle carry away a lamb from the flock. The jackdaw then wanted to do the very same thing himself. He spied a ram amidst the flock and tried to carry it off, but his talons got tangled in the wool. The shepherd then came and struck him on the head and killed him.
This fable shows that when someone lacking in strength tries to imitate someone stronger, he proves that he is not only weak but stupid, and his foolish behaviour can even put his life at risk.
NOTE: In a Greek prose version of this fable (Chambry 5), the shepherd captures the jackdaw and takes the bird home for his children to play with.
Fable 343 (Aphthonius 20 = Perry 394)
The Fox and the Lion Hunting
A story about a fox, exhorting us not to aim too high.
The fox lived together with a lion and acted as his servant. She would point out their quarry, while the lion would carry out the actual attack. Whatever the lion was able to catch was then divided between the two of them accordingly. The fox, however, was jealous because the lion got more to eat than she did, so she decided to go hunting on her own instead of just pointing out their quarry to the lion. But when the fox went to seize something from the flock, she was captured and killed by some hunters.
It is better to serve in safety than to rule in peril.
NOTE: This opposition between the fox and the lion was proverbial (e.g. Aristophanes, Peace 1189: ‘lions at home and foxes in battle’).
Fable 344 (Aristophanes, Wasps 1427 ff. = Perry 428)
The Chariot-driver
A man of Sybaris fell out of his chariot and hit his head on the ground, since he was not a very experienced driver. Another man who was a friend of his came up and said, ‘Everybody should stick to what he knows!’
NOTE: For another Sybaritic fable, see Fable 180.
Fable 345 (Dio Chrysostom, Orations 33 = Perry 461)
The Eyes and the Honey
Aesop said that the eyes were distressed because they considered themselves the most worthy part of the body, yet they saw the mouth enjoying ever
y possible pleasure, especially honey, the sweetest substance of all. Filled with resentment, the eyes complained to the man. But when the man put honey in his eyes, they felt a stinging pain and burst into tears, since they thought that the honey was harsh and unpleasant.
Fable 346 (Babrius 134 = Perry 362)
The Snake and His Tail
Once upon a time the tail of the snake decided that she would no longer follow the head which crept along in front. ‘It’s my turn to be the leader!’ said the tail. The other parts of the snake’s body said to the tail, ‘You wretched creature, why can’t you just keep quiet? How are you going to be our leader when you don’t have eyes or a nose, the things that guide the limbs of animals when they move?’ But the tail did not listen to the other members of the snake’s body, and thus the rational was defeated by the irrational. The back now ruled the front and the tail took the lead, blindly trailing the whole body behind her. Finally the tail led the body into a deep stony hole, scraping its spine against the rocks. Then the stubborn thing began to fawn and beg, ‘O head, my leader, please save us if you will! I have provoked a harmful quarrel with harmful results. If you will just put me back down where I was before, I will behave myself, so that you won’t have to worry about me getting you into trouble ever again.’
Aesop's Fables Page 22
