He Who Rides a Borrowed Horse Soon Dismounts
Long ago, in a magical land where colourful flowers bloomed and thick forests stretched, there lived a little jackdaw. This showy crow never liked its own dark grey feathers and always dreamed of being dazzling. On the wide meadow beyond the forest, magnificent peacocks glided about, proud of their graceful walk. From morning till evening the jackdaw perched on a high oak branch and watched their splendid tails with admiration. Hating its own ordinary look, the little bird one day firmly decided to join the peacocks. On a warm summer morning it saw the bright fallen feathers of the peacocks all over the meadow.
With great excitement it gathered these green and blue feathers and carefully fixed them to its own scrawny tail. Looking at its reflection in the water by the stream, the jackdaw suddenly declared itself the most beautiful bird of the forest. Looking down on its own jackdaw friends with scorn, it flew proudly over to the peacocks. The leader of the peacocks at once grew suspicious when it saw this strange bird making odd movements before it. The leading peacock cried out loudly, "You are not noble like us, you are only a fraud trying to show off." The other peacocks too began to screech with anger and to peck at the false feathers.
The poor jackdaw was stunned and tried to flee, but could not escape the hard beaks. The furious peacocks pulled out one by one all the borrowed feathers it had stuck to its body. Even the battered jackdaw's own feathers were damaged, and it was driven from the meadow in disgrace. Returning in shame to its old friends, the crow wanted to take shelter among them. But its old companions turned their backs on it and said, "We do not want among us one who dislikes its own identity." So the jackdaw, having lost both its false title and its true friends, was left all alone in the forest. Those who are not content with their own being and try to boast of the merits of others are doomed in the end to be left alone and helpless. He who rides a borrowed horse soon dismounts.