# The Swallow and the Crow explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

A Swallow boasts to a Crow about her noble birth and tragic transformation from a princess into a bird by Juno, but the Crow dismisses her, noting that she still chatters excessively despite losing her tongue.

## Themes in this chapter

### Appearance vs. Reality

The Swallow's claim of noble birth contrasts with her current form and behavior.

### Pride and Folly

The Swallow's pride in her past leads to a foolish boast that the Crow easily undermines.

## Character check-ins

### The Swallow

Boasts about her past as a princess and her transformation by Juno.

### The Crow

Skeptical of the Swallow's story, comments on her incessant chatter.

### Juno

Mentioned as the goddess who turned the Swallow into a bird.

## Key lines

> I was once a princess, said she, the daughter of a King of Athens, but my husband used me cruelly, and cut out my tongue for a slight fault.

The Swallow claims she was originally a princess from Athens, but her husband mistreated her and cut out her tongue over a minor mistake.

_The Swallow's backstory is revealed, setting up her boast._

> You chatter quite enough as it is, said the Crow. What you would have been like if you hadn't lost your tongue, I can't think.

The Crow retorts that the Swallow already talks too much, implying she would be even more unbearable with a tongue.

_The Crow's reply undercuts the Swallow's story with sharp wit._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-swallow-and-the-crow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters