HELLO, kids! Today I will tell you a story which I heard from my granny, who had heard it from her grandma, who in turn had heard it from her elders. It is about the most beautiful bird in the world, the peacock. Do you know how it got its magnificent look from?

Long, long time ago, there lived a rooster and a peacock in a village as neighbours. What an embodiment of chic, pride and handsomeness was the rooster! One could instantly detect him among all other birds by the striking plumage of his long flowing tail with beautiful colourful eyespots, pointed golden feathers on his neck and back that brilliantly shone under the sun when he pompously pranced in the yard, haughtily pecked seeds or rested on the fence post, looking out for his flock.

The fan-shaped crest on the head was made of feathers with bare black shafts and tipped with bluish-green webbing, and resembled some royal crown. Hostile piercing gaze and long sharp spurs on strong slender legs were enough to make not only the unlucky predators, but even other villagers, keep away from his yard.

All birds envied the dandy rooster. “I wish I also had such beautiful feathers!” wistfully thought each of them.

Puffed-up with his own superiority, the arrogant cock never made friends with other birds, except the peacock. It’s hard to say what was the reason of such unusual lenience. Was it the poor, almost beggarly appearance of the peacock, or the fact that their houses were close by, but they were on somewhat friendly terms.

Days passed routinely, when one day the peacock got an invitation from one of his cousins who lived in a faraway land, to come attend his wedding.

“Oh,” he saddened. “But how I’ll go to a function in such a shabby dress?”

“If only I had such a nice outfit!” he sighed, jealously eyeing his magnificent neighbour. “All I have is a tuft of dull feathers, that’s it! I’ll feel so ashamed of myself! I’ll be ridiculed by all the guests!”

Desperate, he was about to throw the invitation card, when a sudden idea popped in his mind.

“Why not to approach the rooster? Maybe he’ll lend me his dress for a while. The worst that can happen will be that he’ll refuse!”

So, seizing the moment when the rooster was in a good mood, the peacock made his earnest request, promising to return the outfit early next morning.

“What if you don’t come back by dawn?” asked the rooster after some thought.

“My generous and gorgeous friend, if I don’t return by the dawn, just crow ‘cock-a-doodle-doo,’ and I’ll definitely come to your call,” peacock hurried to assure him. “If I don’t appear in the morning, then crow at noon; but if by any chance I fail to come back by noon, then crow in the evening, as by that time I will surely be with you.”

Whether the rooster believed his neighbour or he simply stooped to the flattery — I don’t know, but he took his beautiful cloak of feathers and handed it to the peacock, in return for the latter’s feathers.

The moment the peacock put on the beautiful costume, he magically metamorphosed. Now he was the most stunning bird in the village. Filled with joy and pride, he, without further delay, left for the faraway land.

A day passed, then night. Finally at predawn, the patience of the rooster wore thin and he loudly crowed, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

He kept on calling many times, but the peacock didn’t come.

“Let’s wait till noon,” he calmed himself. “He might be on his way.”

As the sun touched zenith, the rooster’s shrill clarion shook the peaceful village, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

There was no sign of the trickster. Till late in the evening the rooster remained on the roof, anxiously waiting for the peacock. He crowed again and again, but the charlatan never showed up.

From that day till today, roosters crow three times a day — in the morning, noon and evening — calling out to peacocks to come back and return their beautiful outfit.