Half-Chicken
One day, he met a man, and the man said to him:"Half-Chick, oh Half-Chick! Would you carry this purse for me? I’ll tell you who it’s for and where to take it."
Half-Chick the chick replied:
"Why not? I’ll carry it."
And off he went. He walked and walked, went far, and no one crossed his path. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a ladder appeared on the road.
"Where are you going, Half-Chick?" it asked.
"I’m carrying a purse to a certain place."
"Will you take me with you?"
"Why not? I’ll take you."
They walked for a while, and then the ladder stopped:
"Oh, Half-Chick, I’m so tired, I can’t go any further!"
The chick felt sorry for the ladder:
"Climb onto my wing, I’ll carry you."
Not far along, the chick looked up and saw a river.
"Where are you going, Half-Chick?" it asked.
"I’m carrying a purse to a certain place."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Of course, let’s go."
They walked far, the chick, the ladder, and the river.
"Oh! I’m so tired, I can’t go on, my legs are giving out," said the river.
But Half-Chick the chick was lively and cheerful, as if he hadn’t walked at all:
"Climb onto my wing too. I’ll carry you."
He walked and walked, never tiring. Soon, the chick met a fox.
The fox also asked where he was going and if he would take her along. But after walking a bit further, the fox grew tired, barely dragging her feet. Half-Chick the chick said:
"Climb onto my wing, I’ll carry you along with the river and the ladder."
They walked and walked, and then they saw a house. In that house lived the man the purse was meant for. The chick handed him the purse, but the man was no good, wicked: he grabbed the chick and threw him into a well. Half-Chick cried out:
"Ladder, ladder, climb down and save me!"
The ladder leaned against the well’s wall. The chick climbed out and didn’t drown.
The owner caught Half-Chick again, opened the stove where maize was drying, and shoved him into the fire. It was so hot! The chick was about to burn!
"River, river," called Half-Chick, "climb down and save me!"
The river climbed down and put out the fire. Only one spur on the chick’s leg got singed: after all, he didn’t have the other leg to begin with. The owner grabbed Half-Chick again and locked him in a pen. When evening came and the sun set, he took him to the henhouse. The henhouse was full of hens and roosters, all big and strong.
They pounced on Half-Chick and started pecking and plucking him.
"Fox, fox, climb down and help me!" called the chick.
The fox jumped down and chased all the hens away.
And Half-Chick grabbed the owner’s purse and ran off! He shared the money with his friends—the ladder, the river, and the fox—and they all lived together happily ever after.
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