The Peacock and the Crane

retold by Sara Huber

Lily, Abby, and the rest of their family had been migrating to Mexico for almost a week. Lily and Abby could hardly wait for the trip to be over! Before they even realized it, they were there!

"Look, girls! See all the beautiful red and pink flowers? Look at the green vines we can make our home in. You will love it here, I promise. In the future, when your father and I are no longer with you, you will have to make this migration alone, and then with your own children. Make sure to scout everything out and memorize the land. You will have only yourselves to rely on in getting here," their mother told them as they came up over the beach and into the tropical forest.

"Lily, look! There are birds everywhere!" said Abby as she heard a kaleidoscopic array of chirps, hums, songs, and screeches.

"Do you think we can find any crows?" asked Lily.

"Well, no. Remember? The crow said they don't migrate," answered Abby.

"What about doves?" questioned Lily.

"No. No doves either. And don't even ask about owls! Would you want to run into another one of those?" joked her sister. "I think a lot of birds here are like us. They are only here for a little while, then they go back to where their from. Let's go meet some of them."

Abby and Lily took off as their mother called behind them, "Don't forget where we are!"

Almost immediately the sisters heard a loud foreign screeching sound coming from the forest floor.

"Abby, that sounds like an owl! I thought you said they weren't here?" asked a puzzled Lily.

"They aren't here. Besides, look! Don't you see that bird? Come on! Let's go talk to him."

Abby led the way down to meet with what the girls would learn to be a peacock. They were immediately entranced by his beautiful blue, purple, green, and gold feathers.

"Excuse me," said Lily. "Might I ask what kind of bird you are?"

"I, my friends, am a peacock. The most handsome bird in the world I will have you know," replied the peacock as he stuck out his chest and threw back his head.

Abby rolled her eyes at their new friend. "You are handsome, Mr. Peacock. Don't you think we are pretty too, though?" she said, fluttering her little wings so he could see them better.

"Well...yes. Yes you are, I suppose. But really, look at how large I am! Don't you think that makes me prettier? There's more of me to see."

"There is more of you to see!" laughed Abby. "Let's have a race! If you're prettier than we are I bet we can beat you in speed!"

"Oh. Why did you have to bring that up!" cried the peacock as his shoulders slumped and his broad smile turned to a frown.

"What! What is it? What did I say? Can't you fly?" asked Abby.

"In fact, no. I can't fly," whispered the peacock as his checked out for any eavesdroppers. "Why don't we keep that a secret between you and me, eh?"

"Well, how do you know if you haven't tried? We'll show you how if you want," offered Lily.

"Oh, I've tried, believe me. Actually, it was much like this the last time around. Have you met any cranes while you've been here? I wouldn't recommend them. So rude! There is one who hangs around here a bit. We ran into each other and me, being me I suppose, well, I asked him if he would agree that I was the prettiest bird around. He agreed, of course. Compared to his dull wings any bird is better! He said, 'You might be prettier, but let's see who can fly higher.' He took off into the sky and I tried to follow. Oh, it was awful. I have never been so embarrassed! I tried to follow him but these feathers were just too many! I could barely get ten feet off the ground. So, you see. I can't fly. I've tried. I just can't."

"Oh, peacock. Well, that's okay. We all don't have to be the best at everything!" replied Lily, trying to cheer up his sour mood. "I'm sure that any bird would say you are the prettiest. Aren't you happy with just that? Besides, flying is really not that great. Your wings get so sore you feel like they are going to fall off. The wind pushes into your face and you feel like you're getting nowhere fast. Then, it starts to rain and each drop feels like a sharp spike driving you to the ground!"

"That sounds awful!" replied the peacock.

"Oh, it is, believe me!" replied Lily. "So, you see. Why would you want to fly anyway? I know what else you might be good at though! My sister Abby and I are new here. Seeing as how this is your home, why don't you show us around some? Do you mind?"

"Of course, of course! Have you met anyone else? Let's see, stay clear of the cranes. Oh, did I already say that? Who else? Well, there are these huge black birds with even larger red and orange bills. They are just mad. They shout all day. You better stay away from them too. Then there are those beautiful red and green parrots. Yes, they are pretty, but not as pretty as me. I am the prettiest bird you know..." trailed on the peacock as he waddled off, leading the smiling sisters on an exploration of their new home.

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Author's Note
I chose to retell the story of "The Peacock and the Crane" because I always imagined the peacock being a very conceited bird and I thought that this story was a good example of that. I also decided to include this story because I wanted to focus on tropical birds since the hummingbird family has finally made it to their final destination, which is a tropical rainforest. I did have to add on quite a bit to this story because the original was only a few lines long. I did, however, keep the version of "The Peacock and the Crane" within the frametale exactly the same as the original.

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The Peacock

What's riches to him
That has made a great peacock
With the pride of his eye?
The wind-beaten, stone-grey,
And desolate Three Rock
Would nourish his whim.
Live he or die
Amid wet rocks and heather,
His ghost will be gay
Adding feather to feather
For the pride of his eye.

Coverpage

Introduction

Story One: The Crow and the Pitcher

Story Two: The Ant and the Dove

Story Three: The Owl and the Grasshopper

Bibilography Information:
"The Peacock and the Crane" from "Aesop for Children"  by Aesop 1919/2006 Webpage Link
"The Peacock" by William Butler Yeats Webpage Link

Image Information:
"Peacock" by Unknown Webpage Link
"Flowers" by Lindos Webpage Link
"Rofous Hummingbird" by Jonathan Rodgers Webpage Link
"Costa's Hummingbird" by Jon Sullivan Webpage Link
"Grey Crowned Grane" by Unknown Webpage Link
"Blue and Gold Macaw" by Unknown Webpage Link
"Toucan Love" by Matthew Piatkowski Webpage Link
"Scarlet Macaw" by Julie Baker Webpage Link