A farmer set up a net in his field to catch some cranes that had been constantly feeding upon his newly-sown corn. When he went to examine the net and to see what the cranes had taken, there was a stork among them.

"Spare me!" cried the stork. "I'm not a crane. Nor have I eaten any of your corn. As you can see, I'm a poor innocent stork, the most pious and dutiful of birds. I honor and respect my mother and father.I---"

But the farmer cut his short. "All this may be true enough, but I only know that I've caught you with those birds who were destroying my crops, and since you were sharing their company, you must share their fate."

Birds of a feather flock together.