Foxes and Chickens

Good morning boys and girls. I have a little story for you today.

Once upon a time there was a hen house where all the little chickens went to lay their eggs and hatch their little chicks. They had lived there a long time and were quite content.

One day a fox came by and he said "Hello Chickens, nice place you have here"  The chickens, being the trusting souls that they are said "Well good morning Mr. Fox. It is a beautiful place, isn't it? We're very lucky to have such a fine place to raise our babies."

The Fox, being a fox, sees his golden opportunity here. "Living in such a nice place you must worry all the time." "Oh no" said the chickens, "we feel very safe here."

"Oh really", said the Fox, "What if someone else sees this beautiful place and they want it for themselves? What if someone sees so many wonderful chickens running around here and they are so jealous they want to hurt you, or steal your babies, or even worse...what if they want to EAT YOU?"

"Oh my", said the chickens, "we have never thought of that!" The chickens immediately became nervous and started clucking among themselves.  The fox sat and watched and waited....

Soon the chickens gathered around him. "What shall we do Mr. Fox?" they asked, "We are so afraid."

The Fox said oh so gently, "Oh don't you worry, my little friends, for I have just the solution for you" Relieved to hear this the chickens waited anxiously to hear what they could do to be safe.

"Me and my friends will keep you safe", said the Fox. "We will stand guard outside your beautiful home and make sure no one tries to take it from you. We will stay out here at night while you sleep so no one can get in and hurt you or take your babies." "Oh thank  you, thank you, thank you, " said the chickens and they all went happily about their business of living, clucking among themselves about how lucky there were to have found someone so willing to see to their safety.

Later that evening all the chickens filed into their little coop, happy in the knowledge that someone was there watching over them. The foxes gathered outside.

The next morning all that was left in the chicken coop was feathers,  empty nests, and one lone chicken that had hidden behind a pile of straw! The chicken ran out of the coop in the morning and ran up to the foxes and said "You did this! I saw you! It was you! I'm going to tell the Farmer and he will have you all killed!" 

The foxes, knowing that the little chicken was absolutely correct and being very afraid of the Farmer said "Oh no, little chicken, you are wrong. You must be in shock, we are so sorry for your loss, we are going to help you find who did this, because obviously dear chicken, it couldn't have been us for we were out here all night guarding your little home and we saw no one go in. We are going to help you find out who did this."

The little chicken, knowing that he alone was left to vindicate the death of all of his family and friends, and knowing he was outnumbered by the foxes asked timidly "How are you going to do that? What will you do?"

"We will investigate" said the foxes, quietly high fiving themselves behind their backs. "We will make sure that whoever did this comes to justice. Just give us some time and we will get back to you with what we have learned"

A week later the foxes came back. "Well, little chicken, we have found who did this terrible deed and we are going to tell you so you can tell the Farmer and justice will be done." "Who?", said the little chicken, "Tell me who killed my family and my friends! Who would do such a thing?"

"After a long and thorough investigation we have come to the conclusion that it was the Rooster. He's an angry fowl and he wanted that coop all to himself. The foxes you saw were there trying to protect you but sadly, the Rooster was too fast and too violent, they couldn't stop him in time. You were the only one we could save, and you should be ever so grateful that we were here for you. Now go tell the Farmer and when he gets more chickens to keep you company and we will come back and guard you again."

The moral of this story, boys and girls, is that if you have foxes watching the chicken coop, you will need someone to watch the foxes, and that someone should not be another fox.   Foxes watching Foxes: this is what happens