徒勞的寒鴉 The Vain Jackdaw
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.
宙斯想要為鳥類立一個(gè)王，指定一個(gè)日期，要求眾鳥全都按時(shí)出席，以便選他們之中最美麗的為王。眾鳥都跑到河里去梳洗打扮。寒鴉知道自己沒一處漂亮，便來到河邊，撿起眾鳥脫落下的羽毛，小心翼翼地全插在自己身上，再用膠粘住。指定的日期到了，所有的鳥都一齊來到宙斯面前。宙斯一眼就看見花花綠綠的寒鴉，在眾鳥之中顯得格外漂亮，準(zhǔn)備立他為王。眾鳥十分氣憤，紛紛從寒鴉身上拔下本屬于自己的羽毛。于是，寒鴉身上美麗的羽毛 一下全沒了，又變成了一只丑陋的寒鴉了。這故事是說，借助別人的東西可以得到美的假象，但那本不屬于自己的東西被剝離時(shí)，就會原形畢露。
