THE COCKY ROOSTER LEARNED HIS

LESSON

I was having a vacation in my home province

where fruit bearing trees abounded, the likes of
mango, coconut, star apple and more. It was very
invigorating as I again inhaled fresh air, in contrast
from the dreary and smoggy metropolis. It was
good to be back from time to time to break the
monotony of life and be refreshed.

I was having a good time wandering in the

nearby farm when I saw a rooster perched atop the
trunk of a felled tree, all alone by himself and
looking so forlorn. I asked the duck who was
happily stomping in a little pond, why it was so and
he told me the story of a cocky rooster.

The large farm was the dwelling place for

different fowls like hens, ducks and geese. There
were cows too who provided milk for the owner.
Some time ago, those fowls were free to roam the
whole place and laid eggs wherever they may
please. They’d come to the barn when the sun was
setting down and in the morning the owner would
feed them. They were happy and content the way it
was.

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 One day, the owner failed to come to the barn
and feed them. One of the fowls, the rooster, took
upon himself to lead, take a look at the house and to
learn what had happened. He found out that the
owner had a heart attack and his son, Jose, would be
taking charge of the farm. He also heard that the
son will be building pens where they would be
cooped up so that he didn’t have to look all over the
farm for eggs. The rooster thought of the way how
he could avoid being locked in.

Came dawn, the rooster flew and stood atop

the barn, with chest out and flapping wings he
crowed so loud that all those living in the farm
including the owner were awaken. So when Jose
came over to see what the commotion was all about,
he was amazed at finding the rooster giving orders
to the fowls that all meekly followed.

“All those which were ready to lay eggs had

to stay within the confines of the barn, others may
roam but only for a short time,” the rooster
commanded.

Seeing this, Jose decided not to build the pens

anymore. He would let the rooster took charge of
them all which he successfully did. As a reward,
the rooster received more feeds than the others.

At first, the intention of the rooster benefited

them all so they had no qualms at following his

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orders. However, with the passing of days, they
noticed a change in him. He became very strict, laid
down several rules and that for every infraction
made there would be meted some form of
punishment, which is being locked in the barn for
five days or shall not be fed for a day.

His belief that he was talented and important

to the farm made his head swelled to the point of
alienating himself to all his friends. He became too
cocky that he thought of himself as the “know it all”
rooster. One of his friends advised him to go slow
and instead looked after their welfare. However, the
rooster rebuffed him and said it was about time to
give those fowls some lessons so they’d learned to
toe the line.

His friend was surprised by his attitude that

he was no longer the amiable rooster he used to be.
Before leaving, his friend gave him a parting
remark, “Remember they are the hens you were
with when you were on the rise up and they are the
same hens you’ll meet when you go down.”

The rooster did not heed the advice and

continued running the farm the way he believed he
must.

One day, a visitor came to the house and

encouraged Jose to watch and join the cockfight at

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the town plaza. They went to the barn to choose
which fowls they would field at the game.

The rooster, thinking this was another way to

show off, readily posed a fighting form.

The visitor took him and said, “This one has

the look of a sure winner.”

Jose confidently replied, “He sure is. Let’s

get him ready and be on our way.”

Head held high, the rooster became more

proud of himself and soon they left for the game of
cockfighting.

When he was gone, the fowls begun clucking

and everyone had something to say about him.

One of them said, “Look at the way he

commands us. He thinks and acts like he’s our lord
and savior.”

The other replied, “He has forgotten he’s just

one of us. I hope he’d soon realized his folly.”

Hours had passed and the fowls were already

resting when the door to the barn suddenly opened
and the rooster was unceremoniously thrown inside.

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 Jose was very furious as he had lost so much
money at the game. The rooster did not keep up to
his expectation, that he was not the fighting cock he
made him believed but just an ordinary rooster after
all.

Wounded all over his body and most of all his

pride, the rooster was very ashamed of what he had
become. Looking at the fowls around him, he tried
to reach out but he was given a cold treatment.
Clucking, they turned their backs on him which he
understands.

With his shoulders slumped, the rooster

begged their forgiveness for all the wrongs he had
made and then left. He flew out as far as he could
and did not return to the barn.

The duck looked at the lonely rooster as he

ended his story.

After hearing it all, I asked, “He is your

friend isn’t he? Isn’t it enough that he has learned
his lesson the hard way? Shouldn’t you be
forgiving?”

Realizing that the rooster deserved a second

chance, the fowls gathered around him and they all
forgave him.

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 The rooster profusely gave them thanks and
made a promise that he’d no longer think for
himself alone but for the welfare of all.

The fowls had also made their promise that

they would lay the best and the most number of
eggs they could so that the owner would be proud of
them.

With this development, Jose was very

satisfied. His farm became one of the most
prosperous farms in the whole town.

Whenever I came back to the place, I always

looked forward at seeing the rooster and his friends
happy and content.

SUBMITTED BY:

CHARITO A. ANTONIO
Lot 15 Blk 2, EMCCO Subd., Pandayan,
Meycauayan City
Email Address: Charito10121959@yahoo.com.ph
Cell No. 09279745313