The Eagle Who Thought He Was a Chicken

A boy found an eagle’s egg and he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The eagle hatched and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chicken do – scratching at the dirt for food and flying short distances with a noisy fluttering of wings. It was a dreary life. Gradually the eagle grew older and bitter.

One day he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring on the currents of air, high above the mountains. “Oh, I wish I could fly like that!” said the eagle. The chicken replied, “Don’t give it another thought. That’s the mighty eagle, the king of all birds – you could never be like him!” And the eagle didn’t give it another thought. He went on cackling and complaining about life. He died thinking he was a prairie chicken never knowing the grand life that could have been his. Never knowing what it felt like to soar.