The peacock and the magical mirror

A grand old peacock and his friends learn a wise lesson.

Photo by Siddhant Kumar on Unsplash

Once upon a time in the land of Britannia, there was a grand old peacock named BBC, renowned for its brilliant plumage of stories. Over time, however, its feathers lost their lustre as whispers of deceit took flight. Hoping to regain its former glory, BBC unfurled a new feather - a magical mirror named “Verify.”

BBC strutted proudly, claiming this mirror, polished by the benevolent government itself, could reflect nothing but the truth. “Look into my mirror,” it squawked, “and see only fact, no fiction.”

Yet, the animals of Britannia weren’t easily swayed. The sly fox, a notorious sceptic, was the first to scoff. “Isn’t it funny,” he snickered, “asking a government-polished mirror to reflect on the very government's missteps? It’s like asking the hen to report on the fox!”

Then, the sceptical lion, Britannia’s grumpy monarch, roared his doubt. “And how are we to trust this mirror,” he growled, “when its reflection is only as clear as its own gaze and understanding? It’s like trusting a bat to judge a beauty contest!”

Next, the motor-mouth parrot squawked her fear. “What if this mirror starts silencing our chirps, pretending to be reflecting the truth, but really just telling us what to parrot?”

Finally, the wise old tortoise, slow yet insightful, voiced his concern. “Our biggest folly,” he sighed, his words as slow as his crawl, “would be if we became so reliant on this mirror that we stopped seeking truth on our own. It’s like letting the rabbit guide the tortoise race!”

Despite BBC’s crowing, the inhabitants of Britannia forest found themselves grappling with more questions than answers. They learned a valuable lesson that day - the search for truth was never as simple as looking into a magical mirror, especially one polished by the same hands that held the power.