Rodney the Chicken

Rodney was a very decisive chicken. He had very clear and sound reasoning for everything he did. No matter what the issue, obstacle or goal at hand, Rodney thought every step through over and over again before he ever considered doing it. He was, as all of the other chickens agreed, a true master planner. And a master reasoner. If there wasn't a very, very good reason to do something, if there was any question at all, Rodney would not take on the task. This was the very regimented and thoughtful Rodney.

Rodney stood nervously at the side of the road.

This was, perhaps, his most dangerous task yet. And also it seemed to be the most public. Rodney usually kept his opinions and thoughts to himself. After all, if his thoughts were valuable and groundbreaking he surely wanted to protect them from the other chickens. They were known for copying and stealing any idea, behavior or, well, pretty much anything any other chicken may have. They're kind of annoying in that way Rodney thought. Especially his cousin Frank. He was an odd... chicken and he didn't trust him at all.

On the other hand, if his thoughts were not valuable, why should he bore everyone by sharing them? This was Rodney's reasoning and it seemed very logical to him.

He watched carefully, from the safety of the shoulder, as the cars whizzed by.

Why was everyone in such a huff over this he thought? It wasn't just the other chickens. They were always into his business. This time though... it seemed as if everyone in the whole world wanted to know why he was doing this. A little overly dramatic he thought to himself.

He inched closer to the white line marking the beginning of the traffic. Whoosh! A pick-up truck rattled by.

I mean, obviously he wouldn't attempt such a daring and even life-threatening stunt unless there was a very, very, VERY good reason. Rodney just didn't see why everyone was so into his business on this one. It was his choice and his alone.

His little claws scratched into the pavement as he curled his toes on the white line. He was ready. His plan was in place. After long deliberation and observation he determined that every seventh space was bigger than the others. He thought he may have read this somewhere, but he claimed the idea as his own long ago.

And... THERE was a long space. He waited and counted. Rodney was good at counting. At least as far as chickens go. Two, three, four... His heart was beating abnormally fast he thought. Five. He felt a little dizzy.

Quickly thoughts raced through his little mind. Quite a large mind for a chicken, but still little. What was on the other side again? With all of his adrenaline his mind was blank. Why was he doing this? All of the sudden he couldn't remember. So fast his heart was beating, so dizzying were his thoughts, so tense were his muscles that poor Rodney barely knew where he was or why he was doing what he was doing. But he did remember, through all of the excitement, that he HAD to cross the road.

Six! Something about go on seven but he couldn't get his little mind so stop spinning. Do what on seven?

S-E-V-E-N!!!

Rodney's feet moved like little rockets beneath him. Just a second before everything was going so fast, but now the world seemed to slow down to a crawl. He looked down at his feet as they raced him across the road. He wasn't really in control anymore. It was pure instinct. Survival. It was like the movie of his life was stuck in super slow motion but he couldn't find the remote to fix it.

Whoosh! A car screamed by. That was really close he thought to himself. An alarmingly casual observation for someone completely out of control and running for his life, but somehow Rodney felt intensely calm.

His feet still raced at an alarming speed beneath him and the cars and trucks were zooming by so closely, but Rodney found comfort in the fact that he was no longer in charge. He was not driving this train anymore it was driving him.

Then he saw it. The other side. It was so close now.

Rodney's mind was suddenly spinning again. Not like before, but so much faster now. He had no idea who he was or where he was. All he knew was that he had to reach the other side and he was going to make it! The cars blew by so fast but he knew he was going to succeed! At the last moment, the very last little bit before the white line, Rodney dived for safety.

He launched himself just as a big truck blasted through. "I made it! I made it!" he screamed, not caring who heard him or what they thought of him. He soared over the white line to the safety of the shoulder, but before he touched the ground a large gust of wind from the truck caught his feathers and whirled him about in an uncontrollable spin. Missing the landing zone! he thought to himself as the smooth shoulder of the road beneath him turned to gravel and then wild grasses. Spinning, spinning, spinning. Everything was confusing. Then crash! Rodney somersaulted into a thorny bramble and through a fence.

Rodney was a wreck. Filthy, bruised and his beak seemed to be slightly to the left. He lay on the ground wondering what he would find when he raised his head.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck" he heard. That's odd, Rodney thought to himself. I didn't expect to find more chickens here. He was quite dazed and frazzled from his ordeal. In fact, through all of the chaos of his daring adventure, he had forgotten exactly what the point of it all was.

However, there was one thing he knew very clearly. He didn't know why yet, but Rodney knew he had to get back across that road.