Jupiter determined, it is said, to create a sovereign over the birds, and made
proclamation that on a certain day they should all present themselves before
him, when he would himself choose the most beautiful among them to be
king. The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched through the
woods and fields, and collected the feathers which had fallen from the
wings of his companions, and stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping
thereby to make himself the most beautiful of all. When the appointed day
arrived, and the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the Jackdaw also made
his appearance in his many feathered finery. But when Jupiter proposed to
make him king because of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly
protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers, leaving the
Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw.
