Why the Peacock's Tail Has a Hundred Eyes

A myth retold from The Book of Nature Myths, by Florence Holbrook

This myth comes from ancient Greece, part of the stories the Greeks told to explain the natural world. Florence Holbrook retold it in 1902. Juno (called Hera by the Greeks) was queen of the gods; her husband, the king of the gods (Zeus), loved to play tricks on her. This story explains why the peacock's tail feathers have round spots that look like eyes. The text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. It is a story worth reading because it shows how ancient people used imagination to explain the beauty around them.

Band

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

Length

short · about 340 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Book of Nature Myths, Florence Holbrook · 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.