The Pigeon Who Wanted to Be a Crow (A Fairy Tale)

Once upon a time, in a beautiful meadow, there lived a flock of pigeons. They were happy and content, flying through the skies in search of food and enjoying their peaceful lives. But among them was a young pigeon named Pip, who was different. Pip was not satisfied with his simple life. He often looked at the nearby crows and envied their dark feathers, their cleverness, and the way they seemed to have no fear.
“They are so smart, so free, and so powerful,” Pip thought. “If only I could be a crow, my life would be much more exciting!”
One day, Pip saw an old pot of black ink in the meadow, likely left behind by a traveler. A cunning idea popped into his head. “I will cover myself in this ink and become just like the crows!” he thought. “Then I can join their flock, and no one will know I’m just a pigeon.”
Pip eagerly dipped his wings in the ink, splashing it all over his body until his gray feathers were completely covered in black. Feeling proud of his new appearance, he flew toward the crows, convinced that he would now fit in.
When Pip landed near the crows, he puffed out his chest and tried to mimic their calls. “Caw! Caw!” he cried, though it didn’t sound quite right.
The crows, noticing this strange bird, stared at him curiously. “Who is this?” one crow asked. “He looks like a crow, but his voice and movements are… odd.”
Pip continued to strut around, trying to act like them. At first, the crows tolerated his presence, amused by his attempts to fit in. But as time passed, they grew suspicious. Pip couldn’t fly as swiftly or speak their language properly, and he often made mistakes in finding food, not knowing the tricks of survival that the crows had mastered.
Finally, one of the older, wiser crows approached Pip. “You are not one of us, are you?” the crow said. “You may have painted yourself black, but underneath, you are still a pigeon.”
Pip, embarrassed and frightened, tried to deny it. “No, I am a crow! Look at my feathers, they are just like yours!”
The wise crow shook his head. “A true crow is more than just black feathers. It’s not about how you look, but who you are inside. You cannot become something you are not by changing your appearance.”
The other crows began to laugh at Pip, and feeling humiliated, he flew away as fast as he could. His black feathers, now sticky and wet, slowed him down, and when he returned to the pigeons, they hardly recognized him.
“What happened to you?” they asked, puzzled.
Ashamed, Pip explained what he had done. The pigeons, though kind-hearted, shook their heads. “We are pigeons for a reason,” they said. “There is no shame in being who you are. It is better to be a happy pigeon than to pretend to be something you are not.”
Realizing his mistake, Pip washed off the black ink in a nearby pond. As his gray feathers returned, he felt lighter, freer, and more at peace. From that day on, Pip embraced his identity as a pigeon, content to live his life in the meadow with his true friends.
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Moral of the story: It is better to be true to yourself than to pretend to be something you’re not. True happiness comes from accepting who you are, not from trying to change yourself to fit someone else’s idea of perfection.