"No wonder the Swan is so white," thought the Raven, as he looked at his own black feathers. "I dare say I should be, if I were all the time washing myself. I believe I’ll try it."

Then he left his home, where he always found plenty to eat, and came and lived by the lake. He washed himself from morning till night, but he grew no whiter; and, as he found nothing to eat, he came near dying for want of food.