On a small farm out in the middle of the country, there was a farmer who had all kinds of animals. He had donkeys, chickens, pigs, cows, and rabbits. The animals lived in peaceful harmony, that is everyone except for the chickens. The chickens, there were a dozen or so of them, were exceptional at gossiping and they often made fun of the other animals and spread bad things about them.
The chickens would wake up each morning and search for the newest farm member to gossip about, they even talked behind the farmer's back occasionally. The other animals put up with it for some time but then they couldn't take anymore. They decided to shun the chickens and cut off all communication and contact with them.
The chickens, having no friends to gossip about or pick on, were extremely bored now with all of their free time. However, the addicted gossipers that they were, they still made up things to gossip about, even things like the weather became hot topics.
They were approaching the 100th day of aimlessly gossiping when they heard something from beyond the farm approaching.
The chickens turned their heads and saw four large dogs crossing the pasture. The two eldest chickens had found someone new to gossip about.
"Look Beatrice, those hounds over there are getting closer and closer to our farm!"
"Who do they think they are!"
"I don't know... maybe they are here to steal our eggs or vandalize our pens!"
"They do look like quite wild, quick hens hide your eggs!"
Just beyond the animals cages was a stream, and the dogs made their way to it and stopped to drink.
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| Image of the dogs lapping up the river, by Winter |
"That is just filthy, I guess we can't all be important enough to have a farmer bring us pails of water, right hens?"
The ladies agreed and laughed at the hounds drinking stream water.
The dogs stayed at the waters edge for quite some time, only pausing occasionally from drinking to take a breath.
"What on earth.... why wont they stop drinking?"
"I'm not sure... they appear to be verrrrry thirsty."
"No that's not it, there must be some reason"
"Maybe its because they have never had clean water before?"
The hens chuckled again at the dog's expense.
"No no... wait! I almost forgot, this morning the farmer laid some fresh hides in the river to tan them!"
"Oh yes! Those silly beasts must be trying to reach the hides"
"But how..."
The hens pondered for quite some time and continued to watch the dogs lap up the water.
"I've got it! They are trying to drink up our river!
At that remark every hen in the pen laughed so hard that the other animals nearby in their pens turned to see what was so funny.
They too saw the dogs lapping up the river and a few approached the hens to see if they knew who those strangers were.
"Why those four silly beasts are trying to drink up the whole river to get to the hides at the bottom... Isn't that just the silliest thing you've ever heard??"
The other animals laughed along with the hens, and then they started whispering and spreading the gossip amongst themselves about the ridiculous wild dogs who were silly enough to think they could drink up a river.
The whispers and laugher from the farm grew loud enough to where the dogs could hear them.
One of the dogs perked up and glanced in their direction.
"Oh no.. I hope they don't come any closer... those filthy animals probably don't even know how to communicate with classy hens like us"
The dog turned back and he and his three friends drank the last little bit until their bellies expanded to the max. Then the dogs laid down and gave up, they had no more room for water and they weren't any closer to the hides.
The farm animals laughed even more at their expense.
"I just knew they couldn't do it" said a hen
"Me too... I always thought dogs were stupid animals and that proves it" said the other hen.
The other animals chipped in with the gossiping. Eventually the dogs arose and walked back to the farms edge with their heads held low and their tail between their legs.
It's easy to forgive and join in when you're not the one the cruel act is against.
Author's Note: The Original fable by Aesop was about three dogs trying to drink up a river to reach the hides at the bottom. As you can tell, I did not alter the plot, but I did alter the way the story was told. I chose to tell the story from a gossiping perspective and created the chickens on the farm as the gossipers. I thought this would be a good way to convey a silly story like the dogs trying to consume a whole river. It seemed like an old task and like one other people would gossip about because it was so outrageous.
Bibliography: "The Dogs and the Hides", from Aesop for Children, illustrated by Winter (1919). Web Source: Aesop (Winter)
I really enjoyed your story. I haven't heard this particular fable before. It is quite silly to think of dogs trying to drink a whole river. I liked how you put it in the perspective of the gossiping chickens. I can really picture how chickens would be the ones to start gossiping on a farm. I liked how the story included a lot of dialog between the animals.
ReplyDeleteMadison, great story! Wow, I really liked how you made the chickens gossip about the dogs...that was brilliant! Chickens talk a lot, and I liked how you picked up on their natural habits and used it in your story! I wonder why the dogs thought the only way to reach the hides at the bottom of the river was to drink all the water? I wonder why they didn't think about attempting to swim to the bottom of the river to get the hides? Also, what if the dogs had been the ones who were gossiping instead of the chickens? How would that have changed your story? Would the chickens have been disgusted? Would they have tried to stop them gossiping about them? Overall, great story! It was definitely one I could picture playing out in my mind. I look forward to reading more of your work for this class.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really nice time reading your story! I liked how you used a dialog in your story because that is something I always struggle with! Your story just reminds us how fast gossip can spread and how out of context it gets too! Gossip can be so little to actually hurting people's feelings. I really liked how you made the actual story into something the chickens just made up! Maybe even the reason it became a fable in the begging (If chickens could actually talk!). I can't imagine a group of dogs actually trying to drink the whole river! Especially since rivers are always flowing!!! Great story!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard this story before! (That's one thing I love about stories and reading--you never run out of material. My books-to-read list is a mile long.) I like the angle you chose with it, too. Seeing it from an insider's perspective is always more fun, I think, rather than just an omniscient narrator.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I did think something was going to happen to the hens at the end... I felt like there was a build-up of something the reader didn't know, like the dogs really did have a smart plan in mind and it would somehow be bad for the hens, like a punishment for their gossiping. I think that would have been an interesting way to twist the plot!