The Vain Jackdaw

A fable retold from Aesop

This fable comes from Aesop, a storyteller from ancient Greece. The story has been retold for hundreds of years. A jackdaw is a small grey bird related to crows. Peacocks are famous for their bright, beautiful feathers. This story teaches children about being happy with who they are and the cost of pretending to be someone else. It is a gentle introduction to themes of identity, belonging and consequence.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 334 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Favourite Fables in Prose and Verse, Harrison Weir · Project Gutenberg

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.