Abrahen Rooster heralded in sunrise with his ‘cock-a-doodle-doo!’
“Henrietta! Is breakfast ready?” Hennifer, Abrahen’s wife screeched.
“Yes, Mama.”
Henrietta had been up since five, doing chores.
“I will now awaken my brothers.”
Henrietta pecked at her brothers. Once they were up, she got them to eat their cornmeal, and packed their schoolbags.
She had something to tell her parents, and ardently hoped that they would be in a good mood.
“Mama! Papa! I have applied to AAIE, The Avian Aeronautical Institute of Eggcellence. My dream is to become a pilot.”
There was stunned silence. Hennifer clucked with displeasure.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You must be catching the Avian Flu! At your age, I was already married, and had laid my eggs. To a hen, family is priority. Only roosters go to work. Everyone knows hens can’t fly far. Purge these silly ideas out of your bird brain. A groom is coming to visit you this Saturday.”
Henrietta’s heart sank. She escorted her brothers to school. On the way back, she bumped into a group of rowdy roosters, who leered at her.
“Look at that hot chick!”
Henrietta longed to sink her claws into these lecherous roosters. Such bad eggs!
She lowered her head and ignored them like she had been taught to. It must be the beads strung on her leg. They seemed to be attracting this unwanted attention.
She sighed. Why couldn’t she have hatched as a rooster instead?
******
It was Saturday. Hennifer groomed Henrietta’s feathers till they gleamed. She applied light shades to her beak and her nails.
“You look beautiful!” she cackled. She flapped her wings and fussed about.
“Don’t worry about marriage. Your rooster will be hen-pecked in no time!”
The groom’s family arrived. Hennifer served them crispy corn cakes and worms cooked in bechamel sauce.
“My Henrietta is an excellent cook! She made these with her own claws! “Hennifer gloated.
“My boy Hen-Solo is a bird apart. Your daughter is incredibly lucky! “the groom’s father exclaimed.
“You read my mind! We are indeed birds of a feather!” chuckled Abrahen.
Henrietta wasn’t listening. She wasn’t even looking at her groom, who on the other hand was eyeing her from beak to nail. She excused herself and sped to the kitchen. She ached to open the envelope that had arrived earlier in the post. She tore it open with her claws.
“Henrietta, get back in here!” hissed Hennifer.
“Mama. Papa. Hen-Solo. I’m sorry. I have just gotten admission into AAIE. I’m going to be a pilot!”
She ignored her family’s glares and Hen-Solo’s look of disgust. She grabbed her bag and the letter with her beak.
“I warn you! If you step out and cross that road, you are chicken-drumsticks to me!” an infuriated Hennifer screamed.
Henrietta stood at the doorstep. Her next step would decide her future.
She made up her mind.
“Goodbye!” she said and crossed the road, never looking back again.
MORAL:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To escape the patriarchy.
*********************
Author’s Note:
The AAIE is a prestigious flight school for training commercial pilots. So far, Henrietta is the third ever hen to have gotten admission into it. We wish her all the best and hope she can shine in this rooster-dominated field and pave the way for other young hens.
________________________________
________________________________
Connect with Penmancy:
________________________________
Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!
- The World From My Bubble - 12 Dec 2023
- Eye Spy Some Truths and a Lie - 31 Aug 2023
- Reaching for the Moon - 19 Aug 2023
What an imagination! Extraordinary ❤