Week 12 Storytelling: Henny-Penny

"Ouch!" I heard from down the field. 

I peeked out from the opening of my fox-hole home and saw a little hen staring up at the sky. She hen started to panic and run around. I laughed to myself watching this bird freak out about how it thought the sky was falling, when really an acorn had hit its head. This is the perfect opportunity to have this situation work in my favor, so I continued to watch and follow the hen. 

The hen had run into a rooster and told him of what was happening. I watched as the hen and the rooster both started to panic together and they went on their way. I heard that they were headed to tell the king (the eagle) at the top of the mountain. 

The hen and the rooster ran into a mouse and told it that the sky was falling. The mouse believed them and continued on their journey to the eagle with them. Later on down the road the hen, the rooster, and the mouse ran into squirrel. The squirrel listened to their story, believed them, and then continued on their journey with them. 

I stalked after them for quite a while until I decided it was time to set my plan into action. I ran up ahead to where they could not see me and had them walk straight into me. The hen, the rooster, the mouse, and the squirrel all warned me that the sky was falling and that they were headed to the king to tell him. I listened to them and then stopped them by saying,

"Why, this is the wrong direction to the king. I know a faster way to the top of the mountain. We don't have much time so you should follow me!"

Since they were all so panicked, they did just that and fell into my sly plan. I led them straight to my fox-hole and told them to come in one by one and that I would send them up a large stairwell that led straight to the king. 

The squirrel came in first and right as she came far enough in to where the others could not see I devoured her. She was so delicious! The perfect amount of muscle and fat to keep my stomach happy. I called out for the mouse to come in next. The mouse came in without any suspicion and then again I devoured her. She was delicious as well. Her tail I could've lived without, but still perfect for my hungry tummy. Then I called in the rooster and he came just as willing. I went to go bite his neck and accidentally missed. The rooster gave out a large yell and screamed for the hen to run away. After devouring the rooster I ran out of my fox-hole in search of the hen. The hen was nowhere in sight and I had missed out on another meal. Maybe next time I will drop the acorn myself on the hen's head. This situation worked out so well for me the first time! 

Sky (pexels)

Author's Note: This week I read the stories from the English Fairy Tales Unit. I have grown up hearing a lot of these tales and thought it would be nice to either hear them again or learn some more. I've always really liked the "Sky is Falling" storyline. Lots of different authors have used this tale in their stories. The movie, Chicken Little, is about this tale and I once read a children's book about a chacalaka bird instead of a hen. In my story, I decided to make the story in the thought process of the fox. He is the one that distracts the animals from reaching the king. He uses this scenario of the sky is falling to get yet another meal for himself. 

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales Unit written by Joseph Jacobs and published in 1890.