Fable 10: The Peacock and the Pigeon

There was once a young peacock of outstanding beauty. He strutted across a great Lord’s garden day after day, proudly flashing his tail feathers at anyone close enough. They formed a wide fan of emerald and turquoise around his sapphire breast.

Some of the females found him quite shallow. He was more interested in receiving praise for his appearance than actually charming the birds he chased. As such, the peacock had no family to speak of. Not that that mattered to him… he had his fabulous feathers.

Other females, mostly naive and excitable, found him beautiful. They followed him in a giggling gaggle, flapping with fervor whenever he would strike a pose. The peacock would soak their attentions up gladly, making sure to give them a good view.

There was one female that had caught his eye. She had a most pleasing necklace of shining green around her neck, far brighter than the other females. The peacock made it his mission to charm her.

One day, a pigeon approached him.

“Say, fancy bird! You would not happen to know where to find some strong, but little, sticks would you? My wife requires some in which to lay her eggs soon!”

At first, the peacock did not reply, looking over the head of the pigeon. The pigeon waved a wing politely.

“Oh, you were talking to me?”

“Yes, do you happen to know where I can find some sticks to build my nest in the trees?”

“The trees? Why on earth would you live up there? No, I have no idea where to find the little strong sticks you seek.”

Suddenly, the emerald-necked female appeared behind the pigeon, batting her eyelids as she did.

“Now, take your leave you dull little thing. I am required elsewhere.”

With that, the peacock spread his tail feathers, causing the pigeon to squawk as he flapped away.

As winter approached, the peacock stumbled upon the pigeon again. He was sat high up in a tree, tending to his wife and three chicks. The peacock sighed. The female he pursued had chosen a different mate, much stronger than he. He had a patchy bunch of tail feathers. The proud peacock did not know how she could have chosen a male so dull with his own feathers shining in the sun.

His head hanging low, he made his way over to the pigeon. Despite his giggling band of young females, the peacock found himself yearning for some conversation.

“You… you found your sticks then?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, I did!” The pigeon seemed to have forgotten how dismissive the peacock had been previously. He seemed in good humor up in the branches with his family. Quite suddenly, the peacock was struck with a pang of great sadness. He looked down and began to cry softly, cursing himself as he did.

“Heartbreak is it?” the pigeon’s wife asked. She was a pure white dove, as plain as an animal could be.

“Heh, unfortunately, yes,” the peacock replied, turning around to hide his face.

The pigeon flew down to join the peacock by his side.

“There will be others in time,” he reassured after a moment.

“You do not understand, how could you? Look at you! You are so grey and plain,” the peacock spat.

The pigeon frowned at this.

“Help me understand?” the pigeon asked, with an open heart.

“How have you found a mate? You are so ugly! It's not fair!” the peacock wailed.

The pigeon’s frown lowered, becoming annoyed by the peacocks’ tactlessness.

“I met my wife years ago, we used to team up and scare the buzzards away from chicks. We got talking over some muddy grubs and we fell in love, rather quickly I might add,” the pigeon shared.

"We may be plain, but we have beauty in our hearts."

The peacock considered this for a long while. His expression softened; his neck lowered. He appeared to be imagining something. The pigeon stayed to support what he hoped could become a new friend.

Suddenly, the peacock’s head shot upwards, an expression of intense anger upon it.

“Ugh, foolish pigeon! What a terrible tale! There is more to romance like that for us peacocks! We must have the prettiest tails, the biggest fans, the most elegant necks!”

“You really spend that much time caring about your appearance?”

“It is our way.”

“Very well. I wish you luck then, peacock.”

The peacock huffed and strutted away; his head held high on his skinny neck.

As the years went by, the pigeon and the peacock grew older. They shared many conversations about their similarities and differences, yet neither changed their ways. Nevertheless, they gravitated towards one another again and again.

One day, they sat together in a meadow and shared their final words.

“Were you ever as admired as you wished to be, peacock?” the pigeon asked.

“No, not in the way I wanted. I never found the love you found with your wife and chicks,” the peacock stated sadly.

“They did bring me such wonderful happiness,” the old pigeon said tiredly. He had seen his chicks fly away and his wife was taken by nature. He was excited to fly with her soul in the skies again.

“I saw that in your smiles,” the peacock smiled himself.

“You still have time…” the pigeon stuttered. His head was beginning to fall down.

“Thank you, pigeon, for being my friend.”

The pigeon died, leaving the peacock to his final years of life.

In those final years, the peacock settled into his own sense of self. He felt as if his best years had passed. His tailfeathers hung limp and his neck was dull. His herd of admirers had left him and instead of chasing possible mates, he chose to gently peck at the edges of the Lord’s estate. He was content in his unsearching.

That was where he found her. A female of dull beauty. She was brown. A warm brown.

In his youth, the peacock would not have spared this female a second glance, unless it was to ridicule her. But now, the peacock stopped to admire her.

She had a soft smile on her beak as she strode around the edge of the Lord's grounds, pecking swiftly at whatever she could see within the cracks of the undergrowth.

“Would you like to forage with me?” she asked suddenly, not looking up from her efforts.

The peacock considered his answer. A couple foraging together could be seen as improper...

“I don’t bite,” she spoke again.

“Yes, yes I would like to join you,” the peacock decided quickly, desperate for some companionship.

The peacock strode over to the female’s side, eyeing her softly and that is where he stayed.

The peacock did not leave her side for the remainder of his years. She was beautifully witty, kind, and loving. Everything the peacock thought he did not need in his youth, suddenly rushed his soul in an enormous wave. He was finally happy.

Moral: It is better to be rejected with friends than to be admired and lonely.

A/N: The 10 fable series finally comes to an end! Thank you to everyone who came along for this ride with me!

I have learned so much over the last 8 months writing these fables. I have adored the journey so much, I would like to do some more. Yet, I need a theme. All herbivores? Carnivores? Domestic species? Tell me what you would like to see and I will do some short series (3 parts each?).

Socials: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitch!!