Feathers for Peacock

PreS-Gr 2—This lavishly illustrated work tells how all the birds helped Peacock get his beautiful tail. Under a snowy landscape naked birds huddle in burrows, trying to keep warm without feathers. They decide to ask the wise full moon what they should do in the spring, when they can venture back outside. The creamy moon is shocked at the sight of the naked birds under the midnight blue night sky and advises them to rub against the flowers first thing the next morning. Delighting in the riot of springtime colors, all the birds, except the still-sleeping peacock, pick up the colors of the cherry blossoms, tulips, and green grass. The early birds get the colors but agree to share their new feathers when the still-naked peacock stumbles into their celebration. That night the moon sees Peacock's hodgepodge of borrowed feathers and surrounds him in moonbeams to create a fantastic tail.