On a morning where the sun might rise, and birds may chirp. A morning where a rooster might crow, and the animals may awaken. A very unusual sort of thing took place. For way up high on a branch not to far from you and I there was an egg. Now there are plenty of eggs in trees nowadays, but this was no ordinary egg. Of course the outside looked about as normal as any egg you could imagine. For if it had looked any different, the mother would have had such a fright as to drop the egg out of the nest from the very start. If that were the case it would have made a good breakfast for some fortunate fox. However, this was not the case so the egg remained in the nest amongst the rest of the other eggs.
When hatching time arrived, the mother got very excited and made sure the nest had no hole in which her babies should fall out. One by one the eggs hatched. Tiny heads began poking out of the shells. The mother, being a robin could not have been happier, her heart filling with pride. Until that is, the last egg started to hatch. For fuzz of the wrong sort of colour started to come out of that egg. The mother looked with horror as a baby chick pecked its way out of the shell. Oh my word, thought the Robin. Now to you and I, this spectacle would not have been as big a shock as all that, after all birds are birds. But you must know Mrs. Redchest was very particular of the kind of bird that should come out of her eggs. How could this have happened, she thought. It couldn't have been that one night with the rooster... No that's not it. Well she would come to the bottom of this. But for now Mrs. Redchest would have to keep secret the fact that one of her babies was different.
The very next day earlier than any of us would care to awaken, the mother robin carried all her babies to the ground, including the misfit. She decided to talk to Mrs. Cluck, the mother hen. She was hoping to pawn off the chick on her. She positioned her children around the chick while they walked, as to hide it from busybodies looking on.
When she arrived at Mrs. Cluck's abode, Mrs. Redchest casually asked if she had noticed a smaller number of chicks then she had started out with. Mrs. Chicken was very put off by this, for she did not lose her eggs. Mrs. Robin apologized and quickly left.
Exhausted after asking every hen she knew, she returned home. Her children were sound asleep in an instant. Mrs. Redchest began thinking of a way to get rid of the chick, for any respectable robin does not run around with a baby chick amoungst their children. She must do something about it. Very quietly the Mrs. Redchest picked up the baby chick and flew out of the nest. She flew far and farther still till she reached a watering hole. She placed the baby chick down and was about to leave, when she heard,
"mother, where are you going?"
"You are a chicken and I am a Robin, therefore you do not belong with me. You must go forth into the world and beg a nice chicken family to take you in. There you shall be happy."
With that she flew off leaving the poor baby chick all on his own. Now you must understand that the Robin had no other choice then to leave it there. How would you like to have a different sort of child accompany you all day long while others looked at you with giggles behind their eyes. Why you'd be the laughing stalk of your neighbourhood. Anyways, the baby chick nestled itself in a pile of leaves and went to sleep.
The morning came and it just so happened that a fox should be sauntering along when the chick he did see. What a lovely breakfast he thought, as he walked over to the chick. With a fright the chick awakened and saw the teeth of the fox so near to his face.
"Dont eat me please!" Cried the chick
"and why not," Answered the fox, " I am very hungry and you would make a delicious breakfast."
"That is all very well and true," answered the chick, "but after I tell you my story, you will feel so sorry for me that your eyes will fill with tears, and you will spare my life."
"That is highly impossible my dear friend," chucked the fox, "for I have never cried in my life." However, the fox allowed him to proceed, for he loved a good story.
" Well you see," started the chick, "I was born into a family in which I looked unlike the rest. My mother did not like this and hid me from the world when we went for walks an outings. She tried to give me away, but could not find anyone. So last night she brought me here and told me I was to go in search of a chicken. I am to ask this hen to take me in as her own. So that is why Mr.fox I am out here all alone."
The fox's eyes indeed began to fill with tears, for he felt so sorry for the poor chick. "What is your name little chick?" The fox asked while wiping away his tears.
"Why, I was never given a name. My mother gave my brothers and sisters names like tommy, and Joanna. I would so like a name, even a plain one like bob would do nicely." Replied the chick.
"NO NAME?!? Exclaimed the fox, " of all the disgraceful things! You poor chick, I shall teach that mother of yours a lesson. And with that he bounded off.
The Fox searched far and wide until he found the Mother Robin he had been searching for. The baby robins were playing in the flowers, while the mother was relaxing her eyes. The fox went up to the mother Robin and asked in his most friendly voice. "Are you by chance Mrs. Redchest? "
"why yes I am." she replied.
"And did you by any chance leave a baby chick out in the middle of the woods all alone?" With this the Robin started to sweat and darted her eyes to and fro."
The fox knew she was lying for when Robins lie they cannot keep their eyes in one spot. "You must pay for what you have done Mrs. Robin. For leaving him and lying to me, you deserve to die."
The mother Robin had no reply to this, for the fox had gobbled her up. Feel not sorry for the baby robins who lost their mother. The fox felt sorry for them for having a mother so deranged that he took it upon himself to find another family for them. And they were not sad, for their mother was controlling and quite a bore.
The chick had also found a family. A nice Hen to be his mother. She took him in right away after hearing his sorrowful tale. Why she even gave him a name. Timothy to be exact.
So the moral of the story is if you even happen to give birth to a chick, do not leave him in the woods all alone, for you are sure to be eaten by a fox sooner or later.
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