Animal Activities #72 (How My Hen Got Me Into Trouble With the Whole Compound)

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We had an hen in our compound which my mother bought for a special occasion that was supposed to take place in a month's time. Little did we know this hen has a plan for us.

This hen was smart in the worst way we could ever think of. She figured out how to escape the cage every morning by squeezing through the gap under the cage. After coming out of the cage, the chicken will spend the whole day running around like she paid rent in the compound.

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The first week was fine and fun since it was still new. But the problem started when the chicken discovered our landlord's water leaves garden. The chicken will jump in and scratch the soil then jump out. Later we started noticing that the chicken has eaten up so much veggies in the garden but behaves has she did nothing.

It didn't just end with our landlord's water leaves garden, then next we could notice was that mama Nkechi peppers🌶️ were gone and same with uncle Tunde tomatoes 🍅 were destroyed.

Another thing that surprise us was that after all these, this hen will be sitting close to the cage looking so innocent, pecking the ground like I don't know what you people are talking about.

The breaking point was when the hen walked into the landlord’s living room during a meeting with all the tenants in the compound. The landlord full of anger was discussing increment in the rent and the tenants were arguing with disagreement and the hen jumped on the centre table and laid an egg right there.

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The room went silent for few seconds, then all the tenants present burst out laughing.

The landlord didn’t see it funny and as such did not laugh. He called my mum and said, "If that hen enters my house again, I will personally cook it myself since you have refused to do so.”

For three days I became our hen's personal security. I chased the hen away from flower pots, water leaves garden and blocked the hen from the main house, I made a small fence with old cartons to protect people things in the garden. Though It felt stupid but the thing is that I didn’t want my mother to lose the hen and the money she spent on it.

On the fourth day, the hen escape again and while searching for it, I found the hen under the mango tree, surrounded by all the children in our compound. They were feeding the hen garri and calling the hen “Madam.” That was when it occurs to me that they were not mad at the hen rather they were mad at the mess it caused not the hen itself.

I went to the landlord and told him that if our hen damages anything, that I will clean and replace it.

The hen never stop escaping but our compound people did not complain again. Some people even started putting their left over food for the hen in the cage to eat.

I actually learnt a lesson from our hen because in that case I saw that trouble is not the problem but how we handle it is.

Because I took responsibility in securing the hen and the trouble turn into something useful because our troublesome hen became an asset.

Finally the special occasion arrived and the hen was finally killed and used for soup.

Before the hen was finally killed, I the hen's body guard enjoyed plenty eggs laid by the hen and that was a win win for me.

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I am inviting @josepha, @chant and @dove11 to participate in this contest.