Never despair - it might not be as bad as you think it is!

There was a young boy who had a pet white chicken. He didn’t have many friends and his chicken became his best friend.

Then his hen vanished and he was heartbroken. A few weeks later the white hen returned with seven beautiful white chicks.

Now there is a custom of the Africans when food is scarce they set fire to the grass to catch any small animals they can eat. A circle of fire is lit and the animals are trapped in the middle. Where they can be caught.

When the fire was over the young boy was walking back to his crawl, and he noticed a heap of charred feathers and smelled burned flesh.

It looked like the remains of a bird that had not escaped from the fire. Then to his horror he realized it was his beloved friend the white hen all black and burned to death.

Out from under the charred remains of his best friend he could hear the sounds of chicks. The mother hen had covered them with her body and they were alive.

The mother hen had given her life for her children. She died that they may live.