THE JACKDAW AND THE DOVES
A jackdaw saw that the doves in a dovecote were very well fed, so he dyed himself
white and went to join them, expecting to share in their food. So long as the
jackdaw kept quiet, the doves thought he was another dove and accepted him,
but when he forgot to keep quiet and let out a squawk, the pigeons then recognized
who he was and they pecked at him until he went away. Unable to feed with the
doves, he then went back again to the jackdaws. But because they did not recognize
his colour, they kept him away from their food and the jackdaw ended up with
nothing to eat at all.
The story shows that we too must be contented with our lot in life, since
being greedy for more is pointless and can even deprive us of the things that
are ours. |