🐔 New Year’s Day and the Hen Who Mocked the Turkeys
On the very first morning of the New Year, while frost still sparkled on the farmyard ground, a plump little hen named Clara strutted proudly across the yard. The bells from the nearby village had just finished ringing, welcoming a brand-new year.
Clara was in an especially good mood.
Why?
Because she was still alive.
Across the fence, a small group of turkeys stood quietly, feathers puffed and eyes tired. They knew the truth of the season all too well—New Year’s Day was never kind to turkeys.
Clara flapped her wings and let out a loud, confident cluck.
“Well, well,” she said with a smirk, “looks like I made it into another year. Guess being small has its advantages!”
The turkeys didn’t respond. One of them, an old gray tom named Walter, simply lowered his head.
Clara laughed. “All that gobbling, all that showing off… and for what? New Year, same farm rules!”
But as the sun climbed higher, something unexpected happened.
The farmer walked past the turkeys… and kept going.
Then he stopped at the chicken coop.
Clara’s confident clucking turned into silence.
The farmer smiled, picked up a basket, and said, “Eggs first. Breakfast won’t cook itself.”
Clara watched as the turkeys were left alone, quietly pecking at the frozen ground, while she was gently shooed back into the coop—safe, but reminded of her place.
Walter the turkey finally spoke.
“New Year’s lesson,” he said calmly. “Today it’s me. Tomorrow, who knows?”
Clara swallowed hard.
From that day on, the hen still celebrated every New Year—but she mocked less, listened more, and remembered that fortune changes faster than the calendar.
✨ Moral of the Story
The New Year doesn’t belong to the loudest or the luckiest—only to those wise enough to stay humble.
