A flash fiction by Erica Fransisca.
Mama Hen did not usually make much noise, but this morning she clucked so loud that she woke the entire house up. Papa Rooster was the first to come into the kitchen, where his wife stood wide-eyed in front of the fridge. It was still early in the morning, even for chickens, as Papa Rooster had only finished cock-a-doodle-dooing ten minutes ago.
He had no idea what could’ve caused such a ruckus, “What is it, my darling?”
Mama Hen clucked again, pointing her wings frantically at the opened fridge, “Who put the eggs there?”
Sure enough, Papa Rooster saw half a dozen of newly laid eggs lining the fridge’s shelf. He was also surprised, “Surely not I, for how could I kill my own children?”
Then the dozens of chicks trickled in, wondering what had bothered their mother so. Pip, the oldest of them all and who had nearly grown into a rooster himself, spoke up, “What’s wrong, Mama?”
Papa Rooster saw that her wife was too grieved to be able to speak properly, so he cleared his throat and said, “Your mother is upset because someone has been very naughty!”
The younger chicks cowered in fear, for they did not like when Papa Rooster was angry. Pip, however, stood tall and met his father in the eye as he continued to speak in a solemn voice, “One of you have murdered your siblings, so I will ask this only once: who put the eggs in the fridge?”
Murmur shot through the tiny crowd; some even gasped in shock. Somebody had killed their own family? The chicks averted their gazes to the ground as Papa Rooster scanned the group. At last, his eyes fell upon Pip, “Did you do it, old son?”
The young rooster didn’t miss a beat and shook his head, “No, Papa, I could never!”
Papa Rooster did not doubt his words, so he repeated the question to each of the chick, all of whom shook their heads no.
Suddenly, a shrill voice rose from the back of the crowd, “It must be Pop who did it! She’s a spoiled chick and always brags about being the youngest. She probably doesn’t want any newly hatched to take her position.”
All eyes then turned to the smallest chick in the middle of the crowd. Pop’s tiny eyes went wide from the accusation, “No, Papa! I swear I didn’t.”
In that moment, footsteps echoed from the hallway, silencing all the chickens. Thump-thump-thump.
It certainly wasn’t the pitter-patter of chicken claws.
And then in strolled a little human girl in her simple white dress. She was beaming and held a fork in her hand.
“Good morning, Mama Hen,” she called out when she saw that the kitchen wasn’t empty. Then her eyes fell on Papa Rooster and the crowd of chicks behind her. She was surprised, but obviously pleased with the company, “Oh, how exciting to finally meet you!”
The chickens were all but too surprised to respond. A human girl in their house?
As it turned out, Mama Hen had adopted the little girl a few days ago. The house just happened to be too big for the chicks that they had not bumped into her yet. Mama Hen had so conveniently forgotten to announce the addition in their already gargantuan family.
Only Pip wasn’t dazed. He approached the girl and asked boldly, “Did you put the eggs in the fridge, little girl?”
The little girl cocked her head slightly, seemingly confused by the question, “Why, aren’t eggs supposed to go in the fridge? I thought Mama Hen would be pleased that I removed them from the nest for her.”
The wide smile that followed sent the lot into a stupor. Nobody knew how to react, and even Pip was rendered speechless by her genuine ignorance. She frowned at their frozen stares, “Don’t worry, I didn’t break any.”
With a playful grin she retrieved an egg from the fridge and asked the dumbstruck chickens, “Anybody want some fried egg?”
This flash fiction was first published in deviantArt.
If you enjoyed this, read my other flash fiction, Touring Nebula!