A Raven and A Swan

There was a raven who was very dissatisfied with its black feathers. In contrast, it greatly envied the swan for having white feathers.

It thought to itself: “How nice it would be if my feathers were white, but they are black, as black as coal, while the swan’s feathers are so beautiful, as white as snow.”

So it carefully observed and finally made a significant discovery: it lived in forests and fields, while the swan lived in the water.

Suddenly, it realized: perhaps it was the swan’s life in the water that washed its feathers white.

So, the raven moved its home from the forest to the lake, becoming the swan’s neighbor.

It started learning to swim and bathe all day long, almost washing off its feathers, and once nearly drowned. But its feathers remained as black and shiny as ever.

In addition, it wasn’t used to the diet in the water, grew thinner, and eventually died.

This story illustrates: changing habits cannot change one’s nature.