[Illustration: What the Peacock and the Crow Told Each Other] What The Peacock and the Crow Told Each Other When the Crow Came to Steal the Peacock's Feathers [Illustration] Said the Lapwing "Crow, I never have seen Such a one as you, Such a one as you For stealing eggs." Said the Crow "Caw, caw, I never have seen Such a one myself, And I am, I am sure Longer in the world." Then the Crow flew away and the Lapwing went on complaining. The Crow flew away and he came to where the Peacock was walking in the King's Garden. He asked the Peacock did he ever listen to stories. "No," said the Peacock as he mounted the steps of the terrace. "No. Certainly not. I do not demean myself by listening to any of the stories they tell down below there." He spread out his tail, and, that he might view his own magnificence, he turned his blue, shining neck. Hoodie the grey-headed Crow with the bright sharp eyes hopped after him. "Jewels! Kings! Magicians! Palaces! Dragons! What do geese, grouse and farmyard fowl know of such things? And yet they presume to tell stories! Tell stories that have nothing in them of Jewels, Kings, Magicians, Palaces, or Dragons!" "Nothing at all about such things," said Hoodie the Crow, as he plucked a feather out of the Peacock's tail. "Yet they will not listen to me," said Purpurpurati the Peacock. "They affect even to scorn my voice! They pretend that it is less resonant than the cock in the farmyard and less musical than the bird's that sings at night." "They'd say anything," said Hoodie the Crow, keeping behind the Peacock's tail. Purpurpurati the Peacock mounted higher on the terrace. "I shall walk before the statue of the beautiful Queen yonder," he said, "and I shall tell you a story. The reason that I shall tell you is that the Queen always listens to me. But I would have her think that it is to you that I am telling the story." "I'll listen to you," said Hoodie the Crow and he plucked another feather out of the Peacock's tail. "When the Queen has been pleased with the sight of my tail, I shall begin," said Purpurpurati, and he spread out his tail. Hoodie the Crow plucked out three feathers. "How pleased she looks," said he. "Yes, she is always pleased by my appearance," the Peacock said, and he turned round and walked the other way. "Did I ever tell you," said Hoodie, hiding the feathers behind a bush. "Did I ever tell you how the Pigeon went to the Crow to learn the art of nest-making?" "I do not know about such things," said Purpurpurati the Peacock. "I'll tell you and then you'll know," said Hoodie the Crow. [Illustration]