How the Peacock got his Tail

I t was a fine day for grubs thought Peacock, as he lowered

his beak for the millionth time that morning. Indra, god of
rain and thunderstorms had passed overhead during the night
drenching the forest in a great thunder shower and now, in the
warmth of the morning sun, newly hatched grubs were
emerging from leaf and root. It was an easy breakfast feast for
a peacock and he was very grateful. Such treats didnt often
come his way; for in those days he was so plain and
insignificant that it was easy to overlook him.
He reached into the soft ground to spear a nice fat grub when
suddenly he froze quite still. The very ground beneath his feet
seemed to be trembling. As if in reply the sky above suddenly
turned black, only to be torn apart by great flashes of silver
lightning.
From all around came a deep rumbling and roaring as Indra,
god of rain and thunder, battled against Ravana, the demon
king. And the battle was coming closer and closer
There through the trees came Indra! He was running!
Running and looking for somewhere to hide!
Indra was close by now; in fact he was so close that if peacock
didnt move he was in danger of being trodden on. His plain
brown feathers hid him so perfectly on the forest path that
Indra hadnt seen him!
Peacock looked down at the earth and remembered the taste
of his great juicy grub breakfast And if I dont do something
quick to help Indra, that will be the end of my grub feasts. he
said to himself.
Peacock took a deep breath and spread out his great tail
feathers. Indra caught sight of the secret wall of feathers and
crouched down behind it. Only just in time!
Through the trees came Ravana!
Ravana, who had ten heads!
Ravana, who had twenty arms!!
Ravana, whom the gods could not destroy!!!
Poor Peacock wanted to shake. He wanted to tremble, but he
stood quite still without fluttering a feather so that Ravana
passed by hardly noticing such a plain bird.

Then stillness descended on the forest and high above,

the sky lightened into a brilliant blue and when Indra emerged
from his hiding place he reached up a hand into its azure light.
Suddenly a shower of iridescent feathers shimmered down
covering the plain bird. Then Indra gently ran his fingers along
Peacocks tail so that it shone and glimmered with eyes of fire.
Indra smiled a brief smile of approval and delight and was
gone.
But Indra was as wise as he was generous. As a gentle
reminder that his plumage was a gift from a rain god, Peacock
soon found, that despite his wonderful feathers, his feet were
as wrinkled as if he had spent the night standing out in the
rain whilst his harsh cry would warn of an approaching storm.