This fable has been running around in my head ever since the French and the Germans have decided they have a right to determine post-war Iraq’s fate. It’s not exactly as I remember it, but the message is the same… if you don’t help make the bread, don’t expect to eat it.
Once there was a chicken and a rooster. The rooster was very lazy and made the chicken do all his work. “Chicken get me my tea. I’m hungry.”
“Yes rooster.”
The chicken was getting very fed up with the rooster. One fine day summers day the chicken went out to pick some wheat to make some bread.
“Where are you going chicken?”
“To pick some wheat, to make some bread.” So chicken went out to pick the wheat to make the bread. Chicken worked hard all day picking the
wheat whilst running back and forth making things for rooster. At the end of the day chicken had finally finished picking the wheat. The next day
chicken started to make the bread. She had worked hard all day again and had finally finished. When she took it out of the oven the lovely smell
wafted into the rooster’s room and he yelled: “What’s cooking chicken?”
“The bread I was making.”
“Can I have some?”
“No, because you did not did not help me pick the wheat or crush it up into flour or mix it up or bake it!”
“But I am too lazy chicken.”
“I am going to eat all of this yummy bread by myself and you can have this rice.”