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Stories
I Won’t Hatch
by
Dr. Raj Vatsya
 Once
there was a nest on a branch in a tree. There were four eggs in the
nest.
The oldest egg hatched during the day. It was hot. The hatched chick
ventured out of the nest but scurried quickly back in. The youngest egg
asked, “How is it out there?” “It is hot! Hot enough to burn your
feathers,” the hatched chick replied. “Then I won’t hatch,” the youngest
egg said and squeezed inside the shell. The hatched chick waited for the
weather to cool down a little. It was still hot but it could not stay in
the nest forever. So, it flew away hesitatingly.
When the second egg hatched, it was cold and raining. The hatched chick
ventured out of the nest but scurried quickly back in. “How is it out
there?” the youngest egg asked the second chick. “It is wet. Rain-drops
hit you like cold stones,” the chick replied. “Then I won’t hatch,” the
youngest egg said and squeezed inside the shell. The hatched chick
waited for the rain to subside. It was still drizzling but it could not
stay in the nest forever. So, it flew away hesitatingly.
The third egg hatched during the night. It ventured out of the nest but
could not see and stumbled back to the nest. The youngest egg asked
again, “How is it out there?” The chick replied, “It is dark. You can
hardly see your beak.” “Then I won’t hatch,” the fourth egg said and
squeezed inside the shell. The newly hatched chick waited for the
morning break but it was getting hungry. So it flew away hesitatingly
well before the sunrise to look for some worms.
The last chick inside the shell was getting too large for it to
accommodate. It began to feel cramped. There were no more eggs left to
chat with either. So, it also began to feel lonely. It had to hatch.
When it did, it was a sunny spring morning. The chick flew around all
day and spotted many worms. It returned to the nest at sunset with its
stomach full, and slept whole night. In the morning, the chick awoke and
sang, “It’s beautiful world out there,” and flew away.
January 5, 2008
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