Half - Chicken
Have you ever seen a weather vane?
Do you know why there is a little rooster on one end, spinning around
to let us know which way the wind is blowing?
Well, I'll tell you. It's an old, old
story that my grandmother once told me. And before that, her grandmother
told it to her. It goes like this...
A long, long time ago, on a Mexican
ranch, a mother hen was sitting on her eggs. One by one, the baby
chicks began to hatch, leaving their empty shells behind. One, two,
three, four ... twelve chicks had hatched. But the last egg still
had not cracked open.
The hen did not know what to do. The chicks were running here and
there, and she could not chase after them because she was still
sitting on the last egg.
Finally there was a tiny sound. The baby chick was pecking at its
egg from the inside. The hen quickly helped it break open the shell
and at last the 13th chick came out into the world.
Yet this was no ordinary chick. He
had only one wing, only one leg, only one eye, and only half as
many feathers as the other chicks.
It was not long before everyone at
the ranch knew that a very special chick had been born.
The ducks told the turkeys. The turkeys
told the pigeons. The pigeons told the swallows. And the swallows
flew over the fields, spreading the news to the cows grazing peacefully
with their calves, the fierce bulls, and the swift horses.
Soon the hen was surrounded by animals
who wanted to see the strange chick.
One of the ducks said, "But he
only has one wing!"
And one of the turkeys added, "Why,
he's only a ... half-chicken!"
From then on, everyone called
him Half-Chicken. And Half-Chicken, finding himself at the center
of all this attention, became very vain.
One day he overheard the swallows,
who traveled a great deal, talking about him: "Not even at the court
of the viceroy in Mexico City is there anyone so unique."
Then Half-Chicken decided that
it was time for him to leave the ranch. Early one morning, he said
his farewells, announcing:
"Good-bye, good-bye!
I'm off to Mexico City
to see the court of the viceroy!"
And hip hop hip hop, off he
went, hippety-hopping along on his only foot.
Half-Chicken had not walked very far
when he found a stream whose waters were blocked by some branches.
"Good morning, Half-Chicken. Would
you please move the branches that are blocking my way?" asked the
stream.
Half-Chicken moved the branches aside.
But when the stream suggested that he stay awhile and take a swim,
he answered:>
"I have no time to lose.
I'm off to Mexico City
to see the court of the viceroy!"
And hip hop hip hop, off he
went, hippety-hopping along on his only foot.
A little while later, Half-Chicken found a small fire burning between
some rocks. The fire was almost out. "Good morning, Half-Chicken.
Please, fan me a little with your wing, for I am about to go out,"
asked the fire.
Half-Chicken fanned the fire with his
wing, and it blazed up again. But when the fire suggested that he
stay awhile and warm up, he answered:
"I have no time to lose.
I'm off to Mexico City
to see the court of the viceroy!"
And hip hop hip hop, off he
went, hippety-hopping along on his only foot. After he had walked
a little farther, Half-Chicken found the wind tangled in some bushes.
"Good morning, Half-Chicken. Would
you please untangle me, so that I can go on my way?" asked the wind.
Half-Chicken untangled the branches.
But when the wind suggested that he stay and play, and offered to
help him fly here and there like a dry leaf, he answered:
"I have no time to lose.
I'm off to Mexico City
to see the court of the viceroy!"
And hip hop hip hop, off he
went, hippety-hopping along on his only foot. At last he reached
Mexico City.
Half-Chicken crossed the enormous Great
Plaza. He passed the stalls laden with meat, fish, vegetables, fruit,
cheese, and honey. He passed the Parian, the market where all kinds
of beautiful goods were sold. Finally, he reached the gate of the
viceroy's palace.
"Good afternoon," said Half-Chicken
to the guards in fancy uniforms who stood in front of the palace.
"I've come to see the viceroy."
One of the guards began to laugh. The
other one said, "You'd better go in around the back and through
the kitchen."
So Half-Chicken went hip hop hip
hop around the palace and to the kitchen door. The cook who
saw him said, "What luck! This chicken is just what I need to make
a soup for the vicereine." And he threw Half-Chicken into a kettle
of water that was sitting on the fire. When Half-Chicken felt how
hot the water was, he said, "Oh, fire, help me! Please, don't burn
me!"
The fire answered, "You helped me when
I needed help. Now it's my turn to help you. Ask the water to jump
on me and put me out."
Then Half-Chicken asked the water,
"Oh, water, help me! Please jump on the fire and put him out, so
he won't burn me."
And the water answered, "You helped
me when I needed help. Now it's my turn to help you." And he jumped
on the fire and put him out.
When the cook returned, he saw that
the water had spilled and the fire was out.
"This chicken has been more trouble than he's worth!" exclaimed
the cook. "Besides, one of the ladies-in-waiting just told me that
the vicereine doesn't want any soup. She wants to eat nothing but
salad." And he picked Half-Chicken up by his only leg and flung
him out the window.
When Half-Chicken was tumbling through
the air, he called out: "Oh, wind, help me, please!"
And the wind answered, "You helped
me when I needed help. Now it's my turn to help you."
And the wind blew fiercely. He lifted
Half-Chicken higher and higher, until the little rooster landed
on one of the towers of the palace.
"From there you can see everything
you want, Half-Chicken, with no danger of ending up in the cooking
pot."
And from that day on, weathercocks
have stood on their only leg, seeing everything that happens below,
and pointing whichever way their friend the wind blows.
—The End—
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