image [https://i.imgur.com/vngeAbz.jpeg]

Two chickens stood at the edge of the road, their feathers trembling as they stared at the endless stream of cars zooming by. The first chicken, Bob, took a deep breath, his eyes wide with fear.

"Come on, Jerry," Bob said, trying to sound confident. "We can do this. We just have to wait for the right moment."

Jerry, his friend and fellow feathered warrior, was not convinced. "What if we get squashed?" he squawked, eyes darting from car to car. "You know how many chickens don’t make it to the other side? It's a death trap!"

Bob nodded solemnly. "I know, I know. But listen, Jerry—we’ve been planning this for weeks. We can't just chicken out now." He blinked, realizing what he'd just said.

Jerry’s beak quivered, but he took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, you're right. We have to be brave. We’re not just any chickens—we’re survivors!"

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"That's the spirit!" Bob said, pumping his wings to get the blood flowing. "We just need to wait for the perfect moment and—"

Suddenly, there was a loud whoosh from above. Before either of them could react, a massive shadow swept over them, and in the blink of an eye, a dragon descended from the sky, its claws snatching Jerry clean off the ground.

"JERRY!" Bob squawked in horror, watching as the dragon flapped its wings, rising into the sky with his terrified friend dangling helplessly in its grip.

Jerry flailed his wings uselessly. "BOB! HELP! I was more worried about the road than the sky! Why didn’t we plan for this?!"

Bob could only stand there, beak open, eyes wide. "I—I didn't know there were dragons in the suburbs!" he stammered, still frozen in place as the dragon disappeared over the treetops.

"Don't let my sacrifice be in vain!" Jerry's faint voice called back from the sky. "Cross that road, Bob! Cross that road!"

Bob stood there, staring at the empty sky. Then he looked back at the road, the cars speeding by like nothing had happened. He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and muttered to himself, "I’ll cross the road, Jerry. I’ll do it for you."

He took one step forward, shaking with fear, and then another. Just as he was about to dash across, he stopped, looked back up at the sky, and sighed.

"Honestly," he said, shaking his head, "I think the dragon was probably the better option."