The Cock and the Hen

The Cock and the Hen

In a cheerful yard lived a Cock and a Hen. Every morning, Cock hopped onto the fence, puffed out his chest, and loudly announced that a new day had begun.

Hen bustled around her nest from morning till night, searching for grain and strutting importantly across the yard on her bare feet.

One day, she came up to Cock and said:

“Your cock-a-doodle-doo is wonderful. But you’ve forgotten my little shoes again!”

Cock tilted his head in surprise.

“What shoes?”

“The same ones!” clucked Hen. “For years you’ve been promising, ‘When the fair comes, we’ll buy you some nice shoes.’ The fair comes and goes, and I’m still barefoot!”

Cock scratched the ground with one foot and said:

“You’ll have your shoes, Hen. Don’t worry!”

“I’ve heard that before,” she replied. “I lay an egg every day, then another, but the shoes never appear.”

Cock thought for a moment. This time he really wanted to give her advice instead of another promise.

“You know what?” he finally said. “Put your eggs in a basket and take them to the fair. You can trade them for what you need. Then you won’t have to wait for me to remember.”

Hen blinked.

“By myself?”

“Why not? You know what you want better than I do.”

Hen thought it over, then nodded.

The next morning, she took a little basket and set off along the path to the fair. Cock watched her go from the fence and called:

“Choose a comfortable pair! And make sure they don’t pinch!”

“And you,” Hen called back, “should make fewer promises and help right away!”

Cock smoothed his feathers, feeling ashamed.

They say no one knows for certain whether Hen found shoes that fit her chicken feet at the fair. But from then on, Cock remembered one simple thing: a promise is only good when you follow it with action.

And Hen kept cheerfully hurrying around the yard. Whether barefoot or in shoes is another story.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨