The State of Aesop had forests and meadows, rivers and lakes, mountains and seas. Large and small animals lived on trees, under trees, inside the earth, among rocks or bushes. They flew high in the sky or swam among the seaweed. In the forest, at the top of a chestnut tree, lived the Magpie. Every morning, as soon as she woke up, she flew to the lake and admired the peacocks walking while spreading their feathered tails like a fan. Everything then became colorful. "How beautiful they are!" sighed the Magpie, looking at her reflection in the water. "Why can't I be as beautiful as the peacocks? Why can't I be colorful?..." she muttered.