It was the
time when Tortoise had deceived the birds at the sky party and fell all the way
to the earth on his hard belongings. His shiny smooth shell suffered the most as
it shattered and scatted around the house.
Tortoise was
sad for days and refused to go out. You see, tortoise had no friend because he
had deceived every animal in the kingdom- the hare, the birds, the snake and
even the fox that prided itself as the most cunning one! However, some animals
visited him. Some went to sympathize with him, some went to see what his destroyed
shell looked like, some went to mock him.
Among these
visitors was Chicken in all his glory- his shinning red comb standing at the
tallest heights, his beautiful feathers dutifully obeying the curves of his
plump body and his smooth and manicured feet that made the ground look unfit
for existence. Thanks to his great beauty, Chicken was a very haughty one and
he believed no other animal was more beautiful than he was. He was always happy
to show off and his visit to the tortoise was no different.
“They say
you fell”, Chicken scoffed. “Was it hard?” he laughed at Tortoise.
Tortoise
cried. He was very sad and angry.
“Well-”,
said Chicken, “you may cover your face in tears but your shell will never be
mended. I, on the other hand, am on my way to win the crown as the beautifullest
animal in the world with my bright red comb, pure white feathers and shiny
smooth feet” he roared in laughter.
An idea
came to Tortoise. “Why don’t you let me help you?” Tortoise suddenly said
“An ugly
old thing like you? Help me? Is that a joke?” Chicken laughed some more
“I hear the
beautifullest competition is in the next town. As a flightless bird, you’ll
have to walk and that will ruin your precious smooth feet”
“If you wear
a loaf of bread on each foot, the bread will soak up the dirt of your journey
and keep your feet safe”
“You want
to trick me?” quizzed the Chicken
“I plan to
mourn and avenge my shell. I have no time for you” Tortoise was irritated
“Fine then”,
said Chicken. “I shall take your bread” and Chicken grabbed the two loaves of
bread gently resting on a table beside Tortoise.
“That stale
bread is the last meal my family has”, Tortoise cried out
Chicken
shouted, “My feet are more important than your bellies”. The chicken wore the
bread on each foot and stormed out of the house.
Chicken danced
happily on his journey to the beautifullest competition as he pictured himself
with the prize crown perched around his bright red comb. At the competition,
Chicken sneered at the other animals and boasted about his beauty. Next,
chicken removed the bread to reveal his beautiful feet but was shocked at the
horror that covered it. His feet were wrinkled, hard and smelly.
Chicken cried
and cried as he ran back to Tortoise’ house. The journey had made Chicken dirty
but he didn’t care to clean up; the tortoise had deceived him and he wanted
revenge. He broke down the door to Tortoise’s house and screamed at Tortoise, “You
deceitful ugly animal!”
“Well-”,
said Tortoise, “you may cover your face in tears but your feet will never be smooth”
Till this
day, the chicken’s legs are rough and scrawny.
“So the world didn't end after all!”, he
declared happily
