THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE

An Aesop’s Fable

Retold and adapted as a readers’ theater script with 7 parts

by Cindy Grigg for
My Reading Resources

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Students become excited about reading in readers’ theater. Help your students
develop fluency by allowing multiple readings of the script. Encourage them to
use expressiveness, intonation, and inflection when rehearsing the text.
Meets:
CCSS R.L. 2.2
CCSS R.L. 3.2
(The moral of this fable is -- Fine feathers don’t make fine birds. OR: Being useful is
more valuable than being beautiful.

Flesch-Kincaid 3.1
Lexile 400
word count: 308

0
THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE
A FABLE BY: AESOP
Adapted as a readers’ theater with 7 parts
by Cindy Grigg
for My Reading Resources

Narrator 1

Narrator 2

Crane

Rooster

Hen 1

Hen 2

Narrator 1: The king loved beauty. His palace was lovely.

He kept lovely animals of all kinds around his
home. Graceful deer leapt over the tall grass.
Bright birds of every color of the rainbow filled the
trees and the palace grounds.

Narrator 2: It’s true; the king kept many beautiful creatures. The
vain peacock thought he was the most beautiful of
all. The chickens scratched in the dirt for bugs. They
watched one morning as the peacock strutted
about.

Rooster: Oh, no. There he goes again. The peacock is strutting

around the lake. He loves to look at himself in
the water. Watch him fan his feathers!

Hen 1: Well, his royal blue feathers are beautiful.

1
Hen 2: See how his beautiful feathers shimmer in the
sunlight! The golden marks on his tail feathers look
like glowing eyes!

Narrator 1: The peacock was aware of his audience. He strutted

over to speak to the chickens.

Peacock: Don’t you think I am the most beautiful of birds? I

think I may be the most beautiful creature that ever
lived!

Narrator 2: The chickens didn’t speak. A graceful white crane

glided over them and landed nearby. It ignored the
other birds.

Peacock: Crane! Look at me. You cannot compare with my

beauty! I wear the colors of royalty. Your feathers
are dirty white. Show me more respect!

Crane: Your feathers are beautiful to see. But can you use
them to soar high into the sky? No, they hold you
near the ground. My feathers carry me toward the
heavens. They help me almost touch the stars. I
wouldn’t want to trade places with you!

Narrator 1: The Crane spread his wide wings and flew toward
the sun.

Crane: Follow me — if you can.

Narrator 2: The Peacock knew that he could not. He stood with

the chickens in the barnyard. They watched the
Crane soar far away into the blue sky.
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