The Peacock and the Crane

by Aesop

Fine feathers don't make fine birds.

A PEACOCK, spreading its gorgeous tail, mocked a Crane that passed by, ridiculing the ashen hue of its plumage, and saying: I am robed like a king, in gold and purple, and all the colors of the rainbow; while you have not a bit of color on your wings. True, replied the Crane, but I soar to the heights of heaven and lift up my voice to the stars, while you walk below, like a cock, among the birds of the dunghill.

Moral:
Fine feathers don't make fine birds.

Source:

Aesop's Fables
Copyright 1881
Translator: unknown
WM. L. Allison, New York
Illustrator: Harrison Weir, John Tenniel, Ernest Griset, et.al.