Story about happiness: The unhappy crow that compared to everyone else

There was once a crow who lived in the forest and was absolutely satisfied with its life. The crow never compared to any other animal. But one day he saw a swan. “This swan is so white,” he thought, “and I am so black. This swan must be the happiest bird in the world.”

The crow told the swan how he felt. “Actually,” the swan replied, “I was feeling that I was the happiest and most beautiful bird around until I saw a parrot, which has two colors. Now I think the parrot is the happiest and luckiest bird in the world.” After hearing that the crow decided to search for the parrot. When he found the parrot he told what has happened to him so far and what he was thinking. To the crows surprise the parrot replied, “I lived a very happy life until I saw a peacock. I have only two colors, but the peacock has many colors.”

The crow decided to see that for himself so he visited the peacock in the zoo. Once there he saw that hundreds of people had gathered to see the peacock. After the people had left, the crow approached the peacock. “Dear peacock,” the crow said, “you are so beautiful. Every day thousands of people come to see you and your beautiful feathers. Compared to you I am not so lucky and I could never be so happy as you are. Unlike you when people see me, they immediately shoo me away and even throw rocks at me. I think you are the happiest bird on the planet.”

The peacock replied with sadness in his eyes, “I always thought that I was the most beautiful and happy bird on the planet. But because of my beauty, I am entrapped in this zoo. From what I have seen and experienced in my life, I have realized that you are the luckiest bird in the world. Compared to you I am imprisoned and told where I can go and when I have to do something. You are one of the few birds that are not kept in a cage and are free to spread your wings and fly anywhere you wish to.”