as for the vain young woodpecker, he had many troubles. he was not contented to let his feathers grow as the grass and the leaves grow, without watching. no indeed! he looked at each one every day and a great many times every day. then, if he thought they were not growing as fast as they should, he worried about it. he wanted to hurry them along, and sometimes, when his sisters did not seem to be looking, he took hold of them with his bill and pulled. of course this did not make them grow any faster and it did make his skin very sore, but how was he to know? he had not been out of the shell long enough to be wise.