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The Crow and the Peacock

There was once a crow who did not like his feathers.

"I wish I were a peacock!" he would say.

"You are beautiful as you are!" the other crows insisted. 

"How plain and dull you seem to me!" he'd complain, and fly off to admire peacocks.

The peacocks strutted about with their colorful tail feathers outstretched. To the delight of the crow, some of the peacock feathers lay on the ground when the peacocks left.

Crow flew down to the ground and stuck the feathers into his wings and tail. He attached a few sticking up from his head. 

"Now I am as beautiful as a peacock," he said.

But, when he went to join them in their strutting, the peacocks poked him and pecked him. What a fuss!

"You are not a peacock," they said, "Don't imitate us!"

Bruised and still dragging some broken peacock feathers in his tail, he returned home.

After all his insults, no one wanted his company!

As he sat alone, the other crows said, "It's foolish to try and be what you're not. Learn to love the feathers you've got!"

La cornacchia vanitosa
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Comment

In the story of the vain crow, the fundamental values of honesty and truth emerge. The fable is a metaphor for the importance of lowering one's mask by accepting one's uniqueness, including flaws and imperfections that nevertheless make us authentic and trustworthy.

Truth

Trust

Honesty

Uniqueness

Self-esteem

The lectern

A slab tilts in balance on the steep ground and peeps out between a row of imposing trees. The spectator reads the tale by standing in front of it, confronting himself with their own image reflected on the polished surface and discovering its uniqueness.

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