The eagle that lived like a chicken (Social-political allegory)

2023-07-11 12:23:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

The eagle that lived like a chicken (Social-political allegory)

Ardi Stefa

A shepherd lived in a hut near a forest and a mountain. Next to the hut he had a coop and a chicken coop, from which he used to get eggs and kill some to eat.

In the year in question there was a severe drought and grass was scarce.

And the shepherd in our story decided to take his goats to the top of the mountain where the humidity was likely to be greater and where he hoped to find fresh grass to feed the cattle.

When he went to the top of the mountain he saw that it was true. Satisfied, he let the goats graze for hours, until night fell. Then he decided to go back to his hut. Descending with the goats in front and thinking about the milk he would get in the morning, he saw a nest of eagles ahead. He approached and outside it he saw two small eagle birds.

One of them had been killed, since, trying to fly, it had fallen and been killed, while the other bird, although it could fly, seemed seriously injured.

The shepherd did not like the eagles at all, because they had done him a lot of damage. Once they had attacked the herd of goats, they had kidnapped a kid and many times they had wreaked havoc in the chicken coop, exterminating it. He started to leave, but felt sorry for the wounded eagle bird and took it with him to his hut. He took care of her as best he could. He treated him, fed him scraps of meat and caressed him.

The bird became well and began to grow, until it became a large, beautiful eagle.

From the moment the eagle grew up, things changed. The shepherd, who was proud of the good he had done, began to worry. There was no way he could forget the damage the eagles had done to his goats and chickens in the past.

One day, the shepherd decided to abandon the eagle in the forest, thinking that now nature would help him survive on his own.

Three times the shepherd left the eagle in the forest and three times the eagle followed him by jumping to the ground.

The shepherd was in despair, he did not know what to do. Then, a crazy idea came to him: To put the eagle in the cage!

As soon as the chickens saw this big bird trembling so much, they retreated in fright. But when they saw that the eagle was sitting quietly and did not disturb them, they slowly approached and got used to its presence. Years passed and the eagle learned to live like chickens, eat like chickens, walk like chickens, and even got to the point of cackling like them.

Once, therefore, a naturalist studying eagles arrived in the area.

Passing by the shepherd's hut, he was speechless when he saw the strange sight: the tamed eagle in the chicken coop!

He ran and knocked persistently on the door of the shepherd's hut, who came out frightened by the great power.

- Who are you, what do you want?

- I apologize, I am a naturalist and I study eagles. But a little while ago I saw something unusual, an eagle living in the coop with your chickens!

The shepherd understood the reason for his surprise and invited him to the hut to tell him the story: how he found, cured and raised the eagle together with the chickens.

The naturalist listened in fascination, until in an instant a simple comment from the shepherd disturbed him.

- As you understand, my friend, the bird has lived so long with the chickens that inside it is no longer just a chicken.

- I am very sorry, but I cannot agree with you, - answered the naturalist.

- Since you don't agree, why don't you try me by taking the eagle and making it fly? - challenged the shepherd.

The naturalist went to the cottage, took the eagle, and did the first thing that occurred to him; threw it in the air shouting: "FLY!"

The eagle did not fly, but fell like a bullet to the ground and, frightened, hid in a corner of the hut.

The shepherd laughed, but the naturalist did not give up.

He took a ladder and leaned it against one of the walls of the hut. He returned to the hut, caught the eagle and together they climbed to the roof. From there he released the eagle saying again "FLY!"

The poor bird fell flat again. It was crushed by the clash of arms, but not killed by the fall. When he recovered from his terror, the eagle immediately hid in the cage.

Then the shepherd, with a smile, said to him:

- If you continue like this, you will kill my chicken.

But the naturalist did not want his years of study, the diplomas he had received, to go to waste. Despite evidence to the contrary and criticism from the shepherd, he was absolutely certain that the soul of an eagle never dies.

So he continued to insist.

Suddenly, the desperate naturalist saw the mountain where the shepherd had found the heron.

- What is that place?,- he asked between his teeth.

- The top of the mountain where I found the eagle. Why?

The naturalist perked up.

- Because I will take her there, to the place where she was born, and maybe she will remember her roots and realize that she can fly.

- You are not well, it seems to me. You refuse to admit you are wrong.

The naturalist said nothing. He returned to the hut, took the eagle and began to walk with his eyes fixed on the top of the mountain. The shepherd grabbed a lantern and followed him. Throughout the night they climbed the mountain, the naturalist tried to think of ways to awaken the sleeping spirit of the eagle.

When they reached the peak where the eagle had been born, it began to lighten and then the naturalist noticed something strange: the frightened eagle was hiding from the sun.

Desperate and without knowing why, the naturalist grabbed the bird by the neck and forced it to face the sun.

Then, something amazing happened. The eagle spread its magnificent wings and flew away.

That day the eagle remembered who it was and regained its true identity, which was not that of a chicken, but that of an eagle!

The shepherd and the naturalist watched with open mouth the reawakening of a sleeping soul...

Ps: The eagle is not better than the chicken, but it sees eighty-two times better than it.

Moreover, the eagle flies, while the hen sits on the ground; the eagle sees landscapes that a chicken cannot even dream of. Of course, the chicken's life is more comfortable, since it has food provided, while the eagle has to hunt, but the price it pays is probably too high, since it is cheap.

Pps 1: Every encounter with events, people, peoples and situations is NOT random.