A Jackdaw tries to win a beauty contest by using feathers from other birds. Lost when found out.
Babarius Translation (The Birds and The Jackdaw)
A contest in Heaven’s courts for beauty’s prize,
Bright Iris, who with the Gods’ tidings hies,
Proclaim’d to birds. The news soon spread to all,
And to himself each hoped the meed would fall.
Rose from a rock, that rarely goat had scaled,
A spring, whose clear wave ne’er in summer fail’d.
To it resorted all the feather’d race,
Intent on washing, each, its wings and face,
Shaking its wings, its plumage combing clean;
When, lo! a jackdaw to approach was seen,
A crow’s now-ancient son. From ev’ry plume
And each wet shoulder he made haste to assume
A stolen feather. Soon his various guise
In the Gods’ sight the eagle’s form outvies.
Him Jove, astonished, victor had declared,
Had not the swallow, Pallas-like, unbared
The cheating rogue, her feathers quick to claim;
“Pray,” said the daw, “expose me not to shame.”
To pluck him, next, the thrush and turtle-dove,
Tomb-haunting lark, and jay, together strove ;
The hawk, a-watch for birds not yet full grown,
Nay, all the birds. Thus was the jackdaw known.
My son, array thee in thy proper dress:
For borrow’d clothes will leave thee garmentless.
How do you think an AI might simplify this fable? Here is one answer, and the illustration above was made from this simplification:
The gods announced a grand beauty contest for all the birds. To look their best, the birds bathed in a clear mountain spring and preened their feathers. A clever jackdaw saw bright feathers floating on the water and stuck to rocks. He secretly stole one from each bird and fastened them to himself. Shining with borrowed colors, he strutted before Zeus, who almost named him the winner. But the sharp-eyed swallow spotted her own feather and cried, “That rogue is wearing what isn’t his!” At once every bird swooped in, snatched back its plume, and left the jackdaw bare and ashamed.
Moral
Borrowed glory soon flies away. Be proud of your own feathers.
Perry. #101