The Tail of the Bored Peacock

The Tail of the Bored Peacock
by Jace Daniel (b. 1969)

Once upon a time in Peacockland there lived a bored peacock. He had the biggest, shiniest, most colorful tail in all the land, and it was a great source of pride. And yet, as popular as he was amongst his peers, he found his life rather uneventful.

“Show me something new,” the bored peacock thought.

One day, the bored peacock tucked in his lustrous tail and jumped with all his might towards the sky. He flapped his wings once, twice, and another three times, and before you could count to thirty-two, the bored peacock was flying away.

“That’s more like it,” the peacock thought.

The peacock soared to the heavens, glancing down only once on Peacockland as it shrank to a small dot below and out of sight. Before too long, the peacock became quite tired. He glided back down to the earth, landing on a bank of sand. There he found an ostrich, standing still, its head buried in the sand.

“Hello,” the peacock said. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hiding my head in the sand at the first sign of danger,” the ostrich explained.

“Sounds like a real gas,” the peacock said. “Let me give it a try.”

So the peacock buried his head in the sand next to the ostrich.

A minute went by once, twice, and another three times, and before you could count to thirty-two hundred, the peacock became very bored.

“What do we do now?” the bored peacock asked.

“We stand here with our heads buried in the sand,” the ostrich explained.

“Well, I think I must be going then,” the bored peacock said, pulling his head out of the sand. “Enjoy yourself.”

So the bored peacock tucked in his lustrous tail and jumped with all his might towards the sky. He flapped his wings once, twice, and another three times, and before you could count to thirty-two, the bored peacock was flying away.

“That’s more like it,” the peacock thought.

The peacock soared to the heavens, glancing down only once on the ostrich as it shrank to a small dot below and out of sight. Before too long, the peacock became quite tired. He glided back down to the earth, landing atop a tall tree. There he found an owl, sitting still, thinking.

“Hello,” the peacock said. “What are you doing?”

“Who?” the owl asked. “Me?”

“Yes,” the peacock said. “You.”

“I’m thinking,” explained the owl.

“About what?” the peacock asked.

“This, that, and the other thing,” the owl said. “To make me wise.”

“Sounds like a real gas,” the peacock said. “Let me give it a try.”

So the peacock sat atop the tall tree next to the owl, thinking.

A minute went by once, twice, and another three times, and before you could count to thirty-two hundred, the peacock became very bored.

“What do we do now?” the bored peacock asked.

“We just sit here atop this tree thinking about this, that, and the other thing,” the owl said. “To make us wise.”

“Well, I think I must be going then,” the bored peacock said. “Enjoy yourself.”

So the bored peacock tucked in his lustrous tail and jumped with all his might towards the sky. He flapped his wings once, twice, and another three times, and before you could count to thirty-two, the bored peacock was flying away.

“That’s more like it,” the peacock thought.

The peacock soared to the heavens, glancing down only once on the owl as it shrank to a small dot below and out of sight. Before too long, the peacock became quite tired. But he kept flying higher, higher, and higher, and before long, the blue sky turned to black, with the peacock’s brilliant shimmering feathers lit up by stars. He flapped his wings one thousand, two thousand, and another three thousand times, and before you could count to thirty-two million, the peacock was zooming through the vastness of space, glancing down only once on the earth as it shrank to a small dot below and out of sight. The peacock let out his tail, its spectacular blues and greens and silvers and purples and crimsons casting wonderful colors into the endless void. The peacock screamed in delight, blaring his joy across the galaxies.

“YES!” the peacock exclaimed. “THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!”

Nobody ever saw the peacock again. But on a clear night, if you look north in the sky when the starlight is just right, you just might see a glorious array of colors more beautiful than a perfect dream.

And you won’t be bored.