“All hail the Chosen One, all hail the Chosen One!”

The hen stepped from the grass to the curb, her wattles freshly washed, her ruddy red feathers gleaming from her dust bath. On the other side of the smoldering asphalt was a sea of beaks and wings, rocking back and forth, beady eyes locked on her. Chanting. Chanting for her.

She took her first steps onto the road; a car whizzed by her beak, but she held her head high and continued walking. This was her final test. In her heart, she had already won.

A blaring horn; tires screeching on asphalt. A car swerved around her, then another. The chickens screamed with delight, but she didn’t bat even one of her eyelids. The cars would bow to her.

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At last she reached the other side, and a wave of feathers engulfed her. She flapped her wings and flew an incredible three feet into the air, then let herself come down on top of the mass. Chanting “The Chosen One is here! The Chosen One is here!” they ran as one lurching body towards the barn. “All hail the Chosen One, who will free us from the Slaughterer!”

In the barn the chickens made a ladder with their bodies towards the Sacred Gardening Shears. With a flap of her wings she mounted the ladder, grabbed the Sacred Gardening Shears in her beak, and turned towards the roaring crowd. The former top of the pecking order, Eggatha, flapped down beside her and placed a crown of twigs on her head. “We release you, oh Chosen One, to slay the Slaughterer and birth the new era of Eggshine Farms!” she clucked, bowing her head.

The Chosen One lifted her head high, spread her wings, and took her first step towards the farmhouse.