Page 27 - Fables volume 3

All that Gleams

One of her female chicks hatched wide-eyed and suspicious.
Rather than peck it to death on the spot, as might have been prudent,
the peahen suffered it to fledge and flex its wings. She loved all her
brood, even those coming out of the egg as oddballs.
It was unsurprising to her, therefore, when that particular peachick
began questioning the established order. She knew a mother had to
let go of her offspring sooner or later. If a few minutes of patient
answering would help cushion the shock of growing up in a hostile
world, she was ready to provide it.
“Mother Hen,” peeped her daughter. “Why are all the boychicks
sprouting pretty tail feathers, and we have none?”
“It is because we females are attracted to their display, and will
choose a male with a bigger and more dazzling fan over another with
a less impressive one.”
“Yes,” rejoined the girlchick. “I have felt that attraction. But why
shouldn’t peahens also be attractive to peacocks? What good is
having the power to choose a mate if you cannot show yourself to be
superior to your sisters?”
“Ah,” clucked her mother. “Now you are getting to the crux of the
matter. You must have realized that those huge iridescent trains
require a correspondingly large outlay of a peacock’s internal
resources, his energy and strength. He must be a very fit specimen,
and we can assume his descendants will inherit those qualities. So it is
for the good of the species that we peahens prefer him based on
plumage: it can’t be faked.”
“But look at the cost!” objected the peachick. “The males consume
a lot of food we could be sharing, and those heavy feathers can’t
make it easy for them to get away from the four-legs.”
“So you would share that burden, and expend your vitality on
attracting the male of your choice?”
The smaller bird cocked a gimlet eye at the larger.
“Why not? Why should the sexes be so different?”
“One simple reason, my dear: we have to produce the next
generation. You will find out just how much that can take out of
you!”

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