On an unusual planet where in the sky two suns shone, one from the east to lie to the west, and the other from the west to lie to the east, lived the rooster Banquiva with his offspring. They were happy and sometimes spending nights under the stars, because on this planet, the spring was the only season. Nights were whiter than the days considering the size of the stars that were a little more massive than our moon.
As soon as the eastern sun sent its first rays, Banquiva jumped from his bed which we, the Earthlings, call “the nest”, smiling, pecking at some oat seeds, and perched at the top of the the closest cherry tree to his domain we, Earthlings, call “the farmyard”, flapped his wings two or three times, stretched out, and threw in his volatile tongue: “cock-a-doodle Doo!!”. At this call, Mrs. Hen rose waking up the first of all the toddlers whom we, the Earthlings, call “chicks”, because they always needed a lot of time to get up. She passed, the pain in the stomach, to the other room to wake up the older ones, and then, with a “cotototot” totally different from that of her husband, she rushed and settled on a nice pile of hay that was really cozy to give birth to another baby, because the wife of Banquiva gave birth each day to a new born which we, the Terrans call “an egg”, and we also say “lay” instead of “giving birth”.
Among her teenagers was Gallus the Great, the eldest of the siblings. He often took initiatives and decided things without asking anyone’s advice. He was often sure of what he was doing, and his parents advised him not to take too much risk. When he wanted to go out, the hen followed him to the threshold of the gate and repeated to him the same thing: “Pay attention to yourself and do not approach those who have four legs, hair, tail and ears. There are carnivores in the area; moreover, do not meet those who have hands and feet and those who do not have a ridge. Always prepare yourself to fly. If you cross one, the wings are made for that! He turned around, looked at her peacefully, smiled, and gently asked her to close the gate behind him.
In his walks, he went to see those that his mother prevented him from meeting, and sincerely, I cannot tell you why he was doing this. When he returned home in the evening, his parents asked him how his day had been, and if he had met a predator; he replied that he had never seen one in his whole life. The parents finally believed him and asked him no more questions.
Days passed, and the fox waited each morning for the arrival of the young cock, Gallus the Great. They both walked, said hello to the weasels, crossed stray dogs and ferrets, and the stopped to discuss for a moment with them, and to all, the fox was saying : “Gallus is mine, none of you would approach him!” Interrupted by these remarks, the young rooster asked the canine fox why he was repeating the same thing each time they passed by another animal; the wily turned a deaf ear.
During their long walks, the fox kept forcing himself to swallow the fruits he found on the ground pretending that it was his favorite meal; Gallus did not believe it too much, but he let things go instead of reasoning them and making a radical decision. One day, during a walk, the fox was betrayed by his instinct and jumped on a young bird fallen from his nest; the young rooster, disgusted, exclaimed: “But you told me that fruits were your favorite meal?!” The fox, taken aback, put the frail creature on the ground and explained that he had seized it in his mouth to put it back in his nest and asked him to go and get a log to hoist himself and return the volatile to his mother. After Gallus had turned his wings, the fox devoured the little creature. On his return, the log on his back, he found that the mouth of the fox was stained with blood … The young gallinaceous worried, and the cunning fox quickly found the parade. He explained that the chick was injured when he fell from the tree which left him with traces of blood on his face, and that he had managed to fly away. The young cock was not fooled at this point but did not want to break his relationship with his companion.
One day, the fox told him:
– We have been friends for a long time, and I do not even know where you live.
– I live with my parents.
– Where do your parents live? For the Mrs. Fox fears that you are living at the sunset of the star that rises first. There are birds of prey there.
– No, I live at the sunset the star that rises the second.
– All right, said the cunning.
– …
As soon as Gallus returned home, Mrs. Hen came up to him with a twinge in her heart and asked him as she did formerly whether he had met those who had four legs. He assured, with his usual calm, that he had never seen one in his life. As soon as he had finished his sentence, a pack of foxes devastated the henhouse, began to devour the older ones, and then took the little ones for dessert. Gallus tried to escape, but his friend the fox caught him by the ridge and made a mouthful out of him.
“Never trust someone who lies, and never lie to someone who trusts you.”
