The Adventure of Half-Chicken
There once lived a poor half-chicken. One day, he was walking along a big road and got a thorn stuck in his foot. The half-chicken came to a baker and asked, "Help me, pull the thorn out of my foot." The baker pulled out the thorn and threw it into the oven. The next day, the half-chicken came back to the baker and said:"Give me back my thorn."
But the thorn had long since burned up in the oven.
"Give it back, or else give me a good, fresh loaf of bread, or I'll wreck this place!" shouted the half-chicken.
What could the baker do? He gave the half-chicken the bread.
The half-chicken walked away, carrying the bread and feeling happy. He saw some shepherds who had milked their cows and were pouring the milk, but they had no bread. The half-chicken gave them his bread.
"Here's some fresh bread, eat it."
The shepherds were delighted, and the half-chicken waited until they had eaten all the bread, then said:
"Give me back my bread, or else choose the best ram for me, or I'll wreck this place!"
What could the shepherds do? They gave him a ram.
The half-chicken walked on, leading a big, fat ram, and feeling happy. He came across a wedding. He approached and saw that they were slaughtering a very skinny donkey. The half-chicken shouted:
"Why are you slaughtering a donkey? Take my ram instead!"
The people were overjoyed, took his ram, and slaughtered it. They celebrated the wedding, had a great time, and then the half-chicken said:
"Give me back my ram."
"How can we give it back?"
"If not, then give me your bride, or I'll wreck this place!"
They gave him the bride.
The half-chicken led the beautiful bride away, feeling happy. He saw a young man sitting and playing a flute. The half-chicken liked the flute, so he approached the young man and said:
"Give me the flute, and take my beautiful bride in exchange."
He took the flute, climbed up a tree, settled on a branch, blew into the flute, and sang:
"I traded a thorn for bread,
Gave the bread and got a ram,
Traded the ram for a beauty,
And gave her away for a melodious flute!"
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