Henry Chicken
Let me tell you the story of Henry Chicken
Henry Chicken lives in a normal little chicken house
in a normal village.
He is neither tall nor short.
He is neither fat nor thin.
He is neither smart nor stupid.
Henry is a completely normal chicken.
On a completely normal morning,
Henry Chicken has his breakfast in the kitchen.
He likes toast with butter
and coffee with cream.
He reads the news on the Internet.
There he sees a terrible message
with a terrible headline.
It reads:
"THE SKY IS FALLING!"
Henry is so scared
he drops his toast into the coffee.
Splash!
"The sky is falling!"
"THE SKY IS FALLING!" shouts Henry
"I have to warn everyone!"
First, he sends an e-mail to his thousand closest friends.
Then he runs down the street to warn everyone else.
The first person he meets on the street is Hanni Hen.
She is coming from the supermarket.
"Good morning Henry Chicken!" Says Hanni Hen.
"Where are you going? Why are you looking so scared?"
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" says Henry Chicken.
"Really? How do you know that?" asks Hanni Hen.
"I've seen it on the internet!" says Henry Chicken.
"Holy cow! Then it must be true!" says Hanni Hen.
"Let's go!"
So Henry Hühnchen and Hanni Henne together
run down the street to the pond.
When they arrive at the pond, they meet Erna duck.
She's having a bath.
"Hello, you two!" Says Erna Duck.
"Where are you going? Why are you looking so scared?"
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
Henry Chicken and Hanni Hen shout in unison.
"Really? How do you know that?" asks Erna Duck.
"I've seen it on the internet!" says Henry Chicken.
"Oh no! Then it must be true!", says Erna.
"Let's go!"
So Henry Chicken, Hanni Hen and Erna Duck run down the street to the farm.
When they arrive at the farm, they meet Gerda Goose.
She is reading poems to Thea Pigeon.
"Hello everybody!" says Gerda Goose.
"Where are you going? Why are you looking so scared?"
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!", they all shout together.
"Really? How do you know that?" asks Thea Pigeon.
"We have seen it on the Internet!", they all shout together.
"Good lord! Then it must be true!" says Gerda Goose.
"We have no time to read poetry. Let's go!"
So Henry Chicken, Hanni Hen, Erna Duck, Gerda Goose and Thea Pigeon
run down the street to the village square.
On the main street they meet Freddy Fox.
He is sitting in a cafe and typing on his laptop.
"Hello everybody!" says Freddy Fox.
"Where are you going? Why are you looking so scared?"
"The sky is falling! THE SKY IS FALLING!", they all shout together.
"Really? How do you know that?" asks Freddy Fox.
"We have seen it on the Internet!", they all shout together.
"Wow! Well then it must be true! ", says the fox.
"But do not worry friends,
I know the perfect hiding place. Follow me!"
Freddy Fox leads everyone through the village,
down the street,
across the field and up a hill.
On top of the hill is a big, dark cave.
"Come in! Come in!" says Freddy.
"There is enough space for everyone!
Here the sky will not fall on our heads.
We are safe."
And so Henry Chicken and all his friends
follow the fox one after the other into the cave.
The next morning, Henry Chicken and his friends have disappeared.
The cave is empty!
Where did they go?
We do not know for sure.
But I can tell you one thing:
Freddy Fox is very happy.
He now has a big, round belly.
"These dumb animals!" he says.
And he sits under a tree,
takes out his laptop
and starts writing again.