A Southern perspective.
Chuck Lazar, Texan, gifted writer, with sense of humor as well as horse sense, spins his version of a familiar folk tale of the civil war era:
How things looked from the Barnyard when Illinois Red Rooster arose and crowed.
ARTICLE CATEGORY: Civil War Trails/Humor, Wit and Satire
Illinois Red: A Parable
The new Head Rooster, named Illinois Red, self-appointed ruler over the henhouse ( Almost none of the hens voted for this weird rooster), had made some new friends, called foxes. The foxes 'helped' him win
the henhouse election. The new rooster wanted to extract his roosterly tribute from the henhouse pretties.
Since some of the hens and young roosters didn't want nuthin' to do with the new Head rooster, or his longtoothed friends, they left the henhouse and went into the barnyard, taking their eggs and chicks with them. The rooster objected, stating that it was his right to not only demand his tribute in the henhouse, but in the barnyard also, since the henhouse and barnyard were perpetual and had metaphysically existed before the actual henhouse was built.
Henhouse and Barnyard, One and Inseparable, was his stand.
The hens, seeing the absurdity of this statement, decided to stay in a corner of the barnyard, happily away from the cocky Illinois Red Rooster. However, they noticed a fox in the barnyard, where obviously he should not be, being a threat to hens and chicks alike. A scrap developed, with the surprised fox being driven ignomineously back into the henhouse by fierce mother hens. Illinois Red, seeing his plan coming to fruition, unleashed his remaining foxes upon the hens, chicks, and eggs in the barnyard.
Feathers and runny eggyolks folks! The battle was fierce for a while, but to save the remainder of the chicks and eggs, the hens submitted, and reentered the henhouse, with the foxes leering at the remaining hens. Illinois Red, suppressing his cock-iness, appeared merciful, implying he could have had all the hens, chicks, and eggs devoured by his fox friends, and yet, the Henhouse and Barnyard were once again, One and Perpetual!
This scared some of the smarter of the loyal hens who had stayed in the henhouse, especially when the foxes and Illinois Red began eyeing them, each out of different longings.
But who dared ask....When will the foxes demand their pay and when will the Rooster demand his due?
.....when the chickens come home to roost?
~ Chuck Lazar ~
Copyright 2003
Since some of the hens and young roosters didn't want nuthin' to do with the new Head rooster, or his longtoothed friends, they left the henhouse and went into the barnyard, taking their eggs and chicks with them. The rooster objected, stating that it was his right to not only demand his tribute in the henhouse, but in the barnyard also, since the henhouse and barnyard were perpetual and had metaphysically existed before the actual henhouse was built.
Henhouse and Barnyard, One and Inseparable, was his stand.
The hens, seeing the absurdity of this statement, decided to stay in a corner of the barnyard, happily away from the cocky Illinois Red Rooster. However, they noticed a fox in the barnyard, where obviously he should not be, being a threat to hens and chicks alike. A scrap developed, with the surprised fox being driven ignomineously back into the henhouse by fierce mother hens. Illinois Red, seeing his plan coming to fruition, unleashed his remaining foxes upon the hens, chicks, and eggs in the barnyard.
Feathers and runny eggyolks folks! The battle was fierce for a while, but to save the remainder of the chicks and eggs, the hens submitted, and reentered the henhouse, with the foxes leering at the remaining hens. Illinois Red, suppressing his cock-iness, appeared merciful, implying he could have had all the hens, chicks, and eggs devoured by his fox friends, and yet, the Henhouse and Barnyard were once again, One and Perpetual!
This scared some of the smarter of the loyal hens who had stayed in the henhouse, especially when the foxes and Illinois Red began eyeing them, each out of different longings.
But who dared ask....When will the foxes demand their pay and when will the Rooster demand his due?
.....when the chickens come home to roost?
~ Chuck Lazar ~
Copyright 2003
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