Cluck (How Chickens Lost Their Ability to Fly) (story/book#3)
Cluck
(How
Chickens Lost Their Ability to Fly)
Once upon a time there
was chicken pox. And all adult chickens died, but one. Now there were many
children chickens, called chicks, who were alive because they were vaccinated
against the chicken pox. (The vaccination came from a vegetable called the
purple big nose, but it is known today as the eggplant.) Now, all of the children
(the chicks), who were once eggs, were safe.
The only adult chicken who survived chicken pox was
Cluck. Cluck was a loving and caring chicken. Cluck took special care of each
and every chick, by addressing all of their feelings. Cluck was a little old
and full of wisdom. Cluck was also full of history and memories. Cluck was the
only one in all the chicken land who remembered the good old days.
In the good old days, chickens all flew. They went
real high in the sky. They traveled to many towns, many countries and many
continents, just the way like airplanes do. They traveled to Africa, to Europe,
to the Americas, to Australia, to Antarctica, and to Asia. Those were the good
old days.
Cluck was very fond of the good old days and Cluck was
ready to train the chicks in the art of flying. Sadly, Cluck had only very few
feathers left. Cluck was no longer able to fly because of old age, but Cluck
was still very excited about the chicks’ potential after their learning. So,
Cluck began teaching.
Cluck started teaching. Cluck shared, and shared, and
shared, and shared the best of flying wisdom. But the chicks did not care and
did not care to listen. Cluck tried, and tried, and tried, and tried. But the
chicks replied with, “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah”. Cluck was getting tired of
letting the chicks know that they had flying potential, which of course Cluck
had experienced until now. The chicks did not believe that they could fly. They
tried once or twice, then they decided that there was no need for them to
continue to try.
The chicks wanted Cluck, the chicken to do it for
them. The chicks wanted proof from Cluck which Cluck could not show but tried
nonetheless to demonstrate through many failed attempts. Cluck tried and
failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed. And
Cluck would not stop trying. Cluck, the only living adult chicken, tried Cluck’s
best while the chicks simply ignored it as “hogwash”, all the while they ate
chickpeas all day, told corny jokes and walked only when necessary.
Cluck
was so sad and tried so hard to encourage and convince the chicks that they
were meant to fly that Cluck got sick. It was a difficult time for Cluck. By
this time, the chicks were getting older, not yet chickens, but old enough to
not need Cluck to babysit. So, Cluck walked for many days to reach the next big
town, which was really far, where there was a hospital. After several days on a
grueling journey, Cluck arrived. The hospital was run by little bird-like
creatures that did not have the gift of flying, but instead were just super
tiny with super tiny hands that were great hands for surgery because of their
size. These small creatures were colorful and cute, but they were known to have
a tiny little problem, they hummed a lot, meaning they loved talking.
While in the hospital, no chicks came by to visit. And
it was expected since the days and the difficulty of journeying would be too
great. But Cluck was not alone. These tiny humming creatures with long, slender
bills kept Cluck company. They loved a conversation. And they loved Cluck.
Cluck was reluctant to share the wisdom of flying with them, because in the
past these humming creatures were not known at all for flying. Surely the
wisdom of flying would be of no value to these tiny humming creatures. None of
them, in the whole history of time, had ever flown. These tiny humming
creatures only knew how to hum. That was their past, present and their expected
future.
As things became worse with Cluck’s health, Cluck
began losing the last few feathers, but not the spirit for soaring the skies.
Cluck treasured the time that the humming creatures were spending with an ‘ol
chicken. And Cluck also thoroughly enjoyed their conversations. Cluck was in
high spirits from all of the attention that the tiny creatures gave, so Cluck
decided to inspire them to fly.
They tried, they tried, they tried. They failed, and
failed, and failed. But they still kept trying, and trying, and trying some
more. They tried as much as they loved talking. In the morning, before and
after breakfast, during lunch period, and after lunch and on their walk to
work, school, home, the hospital, while shopping at the mall, everywhere, all
the time, they tried. And failed.
One day, Cluck felt too much pain and not much else.
And sadly, Cluck was fading in and out of consciousness. Cluck had great
difficulty breathing. Cluck’s heart monitoring machine, (called an ambulatory
electrocardiography machine), kept showing pictures of sidewalks and not
mountains, as it should show, if one is in good health. It was a difficult
moment for anyone there to witness. Cluck was dying.
As Cluck, the old chicken, was now closing its eyes
for possibly the last very time, Cluck saw a humming creature flying! Cluck was
so overjoyed and shed a tear. Then Cluck saw two, then three. The humming
creatures had never stopped trying! “They never stopped trying, and they did
not judge me”, Cluck thought. And with the very last strength in Cluck’s whole
entire body, mind, and soul, Cluck flapped the three broken feathers that were left
to each side of Cluck’s arms and Cluck flew into the sky to meet the
hummingbirds.
The end.
[The chicks all grew into chickens with no knowledge
or experience of flying. And they do not believe that they can. They do,
however, all remember Cluck and call Cluck’s name, even today, every time they
regret their inactions, especially when they are being chased. – Cluck, cluck,
cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, clu-cluck, clu-cluck, clu-cluck,
clu-cluck!!!]
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You did it! Your self-authorized voice is both mighty and lovely. Thank you for being you. Thank you for your existence. Thank you for your leadership.
With Admiration,
fern the poet