NOTE: This is an excerpt from my book Ramayana 3000. Ramayana 3000 is a Futuristic Dystopian Science Fiction Book that combines Evolutionary Theories with Hindu Religious Philosophy. You can read my book online directly in your browser (Mobile/ Desktop) here.

The Chicken’s Tale

Once upon a time, there were many birds who lived in a forest. There were parrots, eagles, junglefowl, pigeons, swans, geese and owls. They bonded for life to form families and co-existed peacefully with one another. When the mother became pregnant, the father would build her a nest. He would bring her grain while she sat on the eggs. Once the eggs hatched, he would bring fat juicy worms for his children to eat and he would protect them from snakes and foxes. Once they were ready, he would teach them to fly high in the sky just like him. He would also teach his boys how to build nests so that one day they too could become good fathers.

One day, a lone wolf visited the forest but he could not find any easy prey. The birds could easily fly away from him. And their eggs were safely protected in nests built high among the branches. He went away hungry and dejected.

Another day, a Man came to the forest and built a house. He set up a large coop with many warm nests made of hay. He then invited all the birds in the forest to come and live in the coop. “I will make sure that there was plenty of grain and water for everybody. You will also be safe from foxes and snakes”, he said.

The wise owl advised the other birds against it. Most of the birds decided to heed his advice but the junglefowl were convinced that the Man was acting in good faith.

So they moved into the coop where it was warm and cozy and food was always available. They were now completely idle. So they partied every night and had a lot of fun.

After many generations, the roosters had become very violent. They constantly fought among each other to get to the top of the pecking order for mating rights. And the rooster that got to the top monopolized all the hens.

Some of the roosters left the coop and went back into the woods. But they did not know how to build nests because their fathers had never taught them. They could not convince any hens to come with them into the woods to start new families because they could not build nests. The ones who left the coop soon died alone of starvation.

Among the wild breeds, the roosters built nests, picked worms and helped protect their hens while their eggs were being hatched; among the domesticated breeds, the availability of free food and shelter made such skills redundant. Among the wild breeds, roosters rarely fought with each other; among the domesticated breeds, they spent the majority of their waking hours fighting for dominance. The wild breeds continued to pair-bond with each hen exhibiting loyalty towards her rooster; among the domesticated breeds, concepts like loyalty became antiquated as the most aggressive, dominant rooster was promptly rewarded by all the hens in the coop with sexual access.

Word that the jungle fowl had been domesticated spread around the forest. On hearing this news, the wolf came calling again. This time, he came with his pack brothers. They attacked the fence surrounding the coop and began tearing it down. The Man, seeing the wolf pack, ran away in fright abandoning his pets.

The hens clucked in fear and asked the roosters for help. Most of the roosters flew away to safety abandoning them – they had no genetic stake to protect. The dominant rooster realized that the game was up and escaped with some of his wives into the jungle. The eggs were left behind for the wolves to feast upon.

The roosters who escaped found that they were not adapted to the jungle anymore. They could not find food, they had forgotten how to build nests and their wings were atrophied. Slowly, they perished in the jungle, one by one until they were all gone!

They realized too late that the food and shelter offered by Man were not free; they had to pay a very heavy price indeed!

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Ramayana 3000 is a Futuristic Dystopian Science Fiction Book that combines Evolutionary Theories with Hindu Mythology. You can read my book online directly in your browser (Mobile/ Desktop) here.

You can purchase your paperback copy of Ramayana 3000 here.

You can read my book online directly in your browser (Mobile/ Desktop) here.

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