hickens Have Rights Too

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

The Baron and his advisor, Professor Hamblin, had been getting constant reports that there were some farmer’s chickens wandering around the town center mall. The Baron asked the Professor to look into this matter to see how significant the complaints were. Is it just one or two chickens every so often, or on a regular basis?

The Professor looked into the matter and came back with a report within a week. The wandering chickens were there on a daily basis and they all came from the same farm. It was Farmer Peters’ place.

The other chicken farms were a considerable distance from the town mall, but the Peters’ farm was relatively close.

Mr. Peters was asked about this and his stern reply was that his chickens had rights too, and they could wander around if they wished.

When the Baron heard about Mr. Peters’ attitude, he was surprised and amused. The Baron was concerned about the reputation of Lilliland with tourists coming from London, Paris and the United States. “They will think that we are a bunch of backward people and not very cosmopolitan or sophisticated,” said the Baron.

The Professor had an idea that might make Mr. Peters change his mind. In an earlier conversation, the Professor asked if Mr. Peters knew exactly how many chickens he had on his farm. He answered that he did not know for sure, but could only guess at the amount. The Professor asked a follow-up question as to whether Mr. Peters sold many of his chickens to the local restaurants. He said that most of his customers were town’s people but not necessarily restaurants.

The Professor, with his new idea, called Mr. Peters back to his office in Lilliland Castle. There he showed Mr. Peters six different menus from six different Lilliland restaurants.

The Professor noted to Mr. Peters that all of the six restaurants offered chicken potpie at a very reasonable dining rate. The Professor followed up with a question, “Where do you think that all of these restaurants get their fresh chickens. Maybe at their front door or back door?”

Mr. Peters looked in amazement at the Professor. “I am beginning to think that some of my fresh chickens are ending up on the dining tables of these six restaurants. I am going to make certain that all of my chickens are securely fenced in and not subject to roaming around Lilliland.”

The problem was solved and everyone seemed satisfied with the way the problem ended.